METHODS FOR ELIMINATING RISK IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

Abstract

Public health emergencies can arise from chemical, biological and radio-nuclear as well as natural or man-made environmental hazards. These events can pose a threat to human health, especially with some biological hazards. Therefore, a key role for public health authorities is to identify risks early, assess them quickly, evaluate them and communicate them to decision-makers for prevention or rapid action. While rapid risk assessment for acute public health events has been in practice for decades, there is still room for standardization and improvement of its process and outcomes by taking advantage of new opportunities, especially digitalization and cross-sectoral collaboration. Risk management methods need to be fundamentally improved.