The American Journal of Public Health has published a supplemental issue on “Community Preparedness: The Planet as a Virtual Village.” The supplement introduces the concept of the "virtual village" — a digital community that connects people almost instantaneously, regardless of proximity — as a way to address emergency preparedness in the information age.
Research and perspectives in the open-access issue, which is available online now, address topics such as emergency vaccination program readiness, responses to viral outbreaks and resilience in disaster-prone areas.
The issue showcases the ways community outreach can benefit health and emergency preparedness. For example, one paper proposes using U.S. military veterans as disaster response volunteers, while another discusses engagement with community and faith-based organizations.
The supplement includes editorials, perspectives, open-themed research and Public Health Practice papers. Papers in the supplement include:
- The Virtual Village: A 21st Century Challenge for Community Preparedness
- Building Children’s Preparedness Capacity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention One Event at a Time, 2009–2018
- U.S. Military Veterans: An Untapped Resource as Disaster Volunteers
- Clinical Investigation During Public Health Emergencies: The Resilience Intelligence Network
- Essential Public Health Services Framework: Use for Rebuilding Communities
- CDC Engagement with Community and Faith-Based Organizations in Public Health Emergencies
- Outbreaks of Hepatitis A in US Communities, 2017-2018: Firsthand Experiences and Operational Lessons from Public Health Responses
- Medicaid Utilization Before and After a Natural Disaster in the 2016 Baton Rouge–Area Flood
- Small Area Estimates of Populations With Chronic Conditions for Community Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies
