Citation

Erwin PC. Am. J. Public Health 2018; 108(S5): S351-S352.

Affiliation

Paul Campbell Erwin is with the School of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2018.304712

PMID

30422692

Abstract

There is insufficient evidence available about the translation, dissemination, and implementation of public health preparedness and response (PHPR) interventions. This AJPH supplement, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)–funded initiative, begins remedying this lack of evidence through studies from the Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers and the Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers. Although this collection of articles, reviewed by Qari et al. (p. S355), aims to provide an antidote to the lack of evidence-based PHPR interventions, the larger, overriding concern the articles point to is the 1000-pound gorilla in the room: the decline in federal funding for PHPR.

Watson et al.1 described the trends in federal funding for state and local preparedness through the CDC from 2001 to 2017, showing that, although initial outlays after 9/11 were significant—$940 million in fiscal year (FY)2002—and had resulted in significant preparedness gains, funding decreased by 31% by 2017.1 A large portion of this decrease occurred while governmental health agencies were in the throes of the Great Recession beginning in 2008, creating a one–two punch that knocked many state and local health departments to the mat. Other targets for PHPR funding, such as the Hospital Preparedness Program in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, were also reduced, with this specific initiative going from a high of $515 million in FY2003 to $255 million by FY2017, a 50% reduction.

The National Association of County and City Health Officials’ 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments noted that one fifth of local health departments reported reductions in funding for emergency preparedness compared with the previous year ...

Language: en