ABSTRACT
Effective communication and coordination between government agencies and the general public are important to manage disaster risks and mitigate the risks involved to the public. The main objectives of developing awareness, sending information to the public on time and facilitating swift community responses can be achieved by adopting social media platforms blended with existing communication mechanisms. At present, many government agencies and government officials use social media platforms as one of the leading information dissemination mechanisms. This study was conducted by means of a case study, considering the information dissemination through official Facebook pages maintained by health authorities during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected through the “Health Promotion Bureau” (HPB) Facebook page, the official page dedicated to sharing health-related information with the community. The social network analysis considered changes in the content at the different stages of the pandemic, languages and the different interfaces used to disseminate information. The number of shares was regarded as active participation, which implies the engagements of followers. Two interaction networks were developed to identify the trends and patterns in information dissemination via social media. Further, this study focussed on the influence of pandemic situations on the HPB page followers’ interaction through statistical analysis. Derived interaction networks for different languages showed that posts related to pandemic behaviour and COVID-19 symptoms, etc., have low centrality value. Similarly, the interface interaction network revealed that HPB had used a standard method of reporting particular information like situational updates of COVID-19 in terms of interface. Statistical analysis on the number of shares for different interfaces revealed that the posts with text and image have a higher possibility of sharing by a Facebook user. Quantitative analysis shows that users are sensitive to daily COVID-19 positive cases, although the initial interaction for the HPB's page was reduced. Users tend to share the daily COVID-19 report posted by the page whenever a cluster was identified, as it leads to an increment in the rate of reporting infected cases. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
The construction industry is considered one of the most dangerous industries due to its hazardous nature of work. Currently, the health and safety procedures in the construction industry are observed to be low in most parts of the world. The impacts of COVID-19 have extensively revealed the lack of preparedness in health and safety procedures in the industry. Even before COVID-19, dengue outbreaks have posed a significant threat to the industry. In such as a context, this study has aimed at identifying the current practices in the construction industry for enhancing the level of health and safety in construction sites for biological hazards and challenges in implementing those practices. The study has drawn on a focus group discussion considering dengue outbreaks in Sri Lanka as a case in point and a systematic literature review that consists of 21 publications on biological hazards in construction sites. According to the findings, current practices can be identified under four groups namely, hazard elimination, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE). In implementing these practices, the lack of guidance, inadequate compliance to safety procedures, cost implications, and breakdowns in supply of PPE act as the main challenges. Although some measures are frequently practiced in awake of COVID-19, the long-term run of those measures can pose several consequences. It highlights the need for long-term planning in regard to biological hazard preparedness in construction sites. The paper presents a framework that can be followed in developing a code of practice for biological hazard preparedness of the construction industry. The proposed framework assists policymakers in shaping up the current health and safety procedures into a sustainable stage. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 pandemic has given insights into the systemic risks of a hazard, demonstrating the potency of biological hazards to not only render one sector dysfunctional but also fail the entire system. The grave and devastating impacts of the current COVID-19 call for the need to assess the state of global and national preparedness for future pandemics. This chapter provides an outline of Sri Lanka's response to the COVID-19 pandemic while delving into the current status and gaps concerning preparedness for pandemics in the country. The analysis is aimed at providing key recommendations for policymakers to improve national-level preparedness for anticipated pandemic threats. This chapter has drawn on a review of secondary literature and primary data gathered through in-depth interviews conducted with key informants in the disaster management and public health sectors in the country. Findings show that while preparedness planning for biological hazards is predominantly a responsibility of the health sector in the country, there is a pressing need to strengthen such preparedness through a unified legal framework and system of governance that allow for the transfer of relevant expertise, infrastructure, and lessons learned from previous hazards contexts to situations of pandemics;the incorporation of pandemic preparedness into national-level DRR efforts and subnational-level DRR planning;intensifying national focus on building economic and social resilience;emulating a multisectoral approach, enhancing private sector participation, and establishing a national framework to foster preparedness for parallel hazards. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Without any doubt, the outbreak of novel coronavirus;mostly known as COVID-19 has divided the recent timeline of world into three periods namely, before COVID-19, during COVID-19 and after COVID-19. The devastating impacts that occurred during COVID-19 have already been a wake-up call towards how the existing systems should be strengthened for the period after COVID-19 to mitigate the risk of future pandemics. During the pandemic, functionality of healthcare facilities started to fail in a cascading manner highlighting the need for addressing the systemic nature of risks with novel approaches. Architects, engineers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers have started to plan on how the future healthcare facilities have to be altered for the new normal, COVID-19. This paper delves into the challenges rendered on healthcare facilities during COVID-19, immediate actions taken to mitigate the impacts, and new approaches suggested for the period after COVID-19. The study has drawn on a review of recently published scholarly articles, reports, international and national policy and frameworks, news items, magazine articles, etc. pertaining to the behavior of healthcare facilities during the crisis and future hospital designs. Apart from the challenges and immediate actions in mitigating the negative impacts, this paper has summarized new approaches for future hospital designs under two categories namely, hospital design and built environment, and hospital management and operation. It is evident that pandemic has highlighted the paramount importance of sustainable Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies towards more resilient healthcare facilities in the future. But still, these new approaches have to be further validated through multi-sectoral approaches since the crisis is not still over. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The government-led public healthcare services in Sri Lanka became a major strength in managing the COVID-19 comparatively well. However, natural hazards are a major threat to this healthcare system, as they cause severe damages, especially to curative healthcare infrastructures such as hospitals. Floods have been the major contributor to the economic loss of the Sri Lankan healthcare system. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a proper flood risk assessment framework for Sri Lankan hospitals. Design/methodology/approach: This research study has attempted to develop a flood vulnerability assessment tool for hospitals using the concept of Depth Damage Functions (DDFs). Flood vulnerability curves have been developed for identified critical units of hospitals considering the damage caused to building contents which are predominantly expensive medical equipment. The damage caused only by wetting was considered in generating vulnerability curves. Structured interviews were conducted with government officials in the healthcare sector to gather details on the cost and damages of medical equipment. Pilot studies were carried out in two hospitals identified as located in flood-prone areas and have previous experiences of flooding, to acquire data regarding building contents of the critical units. Findings: The developed vulnerability curves indicate that no major damage would occur to building contents in critical units (other than the labor room) until the inundation depth reaches a value of 0.6–0.9 m (varies for each type of unit). It is also noteworthy that after a certain range in the inundation depth, the damage increases drastically, and building contents would incur total damage if the inundation depth passes a value of 1.2–1.5 m. Originality/value: This study explains the initial phase of developing a flood vulnerability assessment framework for Sri Lankan hospitals. Not many studies had been carried out to assess the vulnerability of hospitals specifically for floods using vulnerability curves. The study recommends a zoning system with pre-defined vulnerability levels for critical units during a flood, which can be associated with evacuation planning as well. Further studies must be carried out to verify this system for hospitals in Sri Lanka. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.