Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response

Publications and Resources

Fire and Smoke from air CDC is committed to providing timely and accurate information to the public on all issues related to public health preparedness and response. This includes reporting on the progress that state and local health departments are making to prepare and protect their communities, providing planning resources to public health professionals, and simple guides to help the general public prepare their homes and families for an emergency. We hope that you find our resources helpful and check back often for updated publications.

Resources for the Public

Be Ready Infographics CDC has a new library of infographics that teach readers about how to be ready for a range of different disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires, and more. Share them on social media or print them out to post in your office, school, or home.
All-Hazards Preparedness Guide PHPR’s All-Hazards Preparedness Guide provides general preparedness information as well as comprehensive steps to follow before, during, and after specific hazards. Specific hazards covered include: Earthquake, Extreme Heat, Flood, Hurricane, Landslide/Mudslide, Pandemic Influenza, Radiation, Tornado, Tsunami, Volcano, Wildfire, and Winter Weather.

Resources for Professionals

Identifying Vulnerable Older Adults and Legal Options for Increasing Their Protection During All-Hazards Emergencies is intended to help close many of the gaps in emergency planning and preparedness for vulnerable older adults. It aims to give public health officials, the Aging Services Network, emergency management personnel, and other partners the information, strategies, and resources they need to improve the planning and protection of vulnerable, community-dwelling older adults during all types of emergencies.
The National Strategic Plan for Public Health Preparedness and Response (2011) is a guide for CDC, the entire public health system, and its stakeholders to secure the health of the nation and attain the plan’s collective 2020 vision of “people’s health protected – public health secured”. The development of the document was a collaborative effort between preparedness leaders internal and external to CDC and led by Dr. Ali S. Khan and the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response.

Reports

2012 State-By-State Report on Laboratory, Emergency Operations Coordination, and Emergency Public Information and Warning Capabilities is CDC’s fourth preparedness report. Designed to increase accountability regarding the nation’s investment in preparedness activities, the report features national-level data as well as individual fact sheets for the 50 states, 4 cities, and 8 insular areas supported by the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement.
Public Health Preparedness: 2011 State-by-State Update on Laboratory Capabilities and Response Readiness Planning (2011)presents national-level data as well as fact sheets with data on preparedness activities occurring in each of the 50 states and 4 localities supported by CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement. The report provides available data on two of the activities reported in the 2010 report, laboratory capabilities and response readiness planning for medical countermeasure distribution.
Public Health Preparedness: Strengthening the Nation's Emergency Response State by State (2010) features national data as well as individual fact sheets for the 50 states and 4 localities supported by CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement. The report also highlights snapshots of state and local response activities occurring during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.
Public Health Preparedness: Strengthening CDC's Emergency Response (2009) explains CDC's role in preparing the public health infrastructure to respond effectively to all types of hazards. The report also describes the broad range of preparedness programs funded at CDC and at state and local health departments which are supported by the Congressional Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response allocation.
Public Health Preparedness: Mobilizing State By State (2008) highlights preparedness progress and challenges at state and local public health departments and outlines CDC's efforts to address those challenges. The report presents national data as well as state-specific snapshots for the 50 states and 4 localities supported by CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement.

Non-CDC Publications

Public health preparedness and response in the USA since 9/11: a national health security imperative.
Dr. Ali S. Khan (Director of CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response) details progress and challenges in public health preparedness and response since the 2001 attacks. The article was included in a special 9/11 10-year anniversary issue of Lancet in September 2011. [Khan AS. Public health preparedness and response in the USA since 9/11: a national health security imperative. Lancet 2011; 378: 953–56]
Remembering 9/11 and Anthrax: Public Health’s Vital Role in National Defense (2011). This report by Trust for America's Health (a nonprofit, non-partisan organization) includes more than 30 accounts by public health officials who were on the ground in response to 9/11 and anthrax, including many colleagues at CDC.
Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism (2010). This annual report by Trust for America's Health (a nonprofit, non-partisan organization) ranks states' abilities to respond to a public health emergency according to 10 preparedness indicators, four of which are based on data from PHPR's 2010 state by state report.
Medical Countermeasure Dispensing: Emergency Use Authorization and the Postal Model (2010). A summary of a November 2009 IOM workshop on current threats, progress made in the public health system regarding the distribution and dispensing of countermeasures, and remaining vulnerabilities.
The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) (2010). Summary of an April 2010 IOM workshop that addressed challenges facing PHEMCE.
Research Priorities in Emergency Preparedness and Response for Public Health Systems: A Letter Report (2008)