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Managing Mass Fatalities during COVID ‐19: Lessons for Promoting Community Resilience during Global Pandemics
Author(s) -
Entress Rebecca M.,
Tyler Jenna,
Sadiq AbdulAkeem
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/puar.13232
Subject(s) - pandemic , community resilience , resilience (materials science) , covid-19 , psychological resilience , faith based organizations , political science , mass casualty incident , mass casualty , economic growth , mass migration , emergency management , crisis management , public relations , public administration , business , development economics , faith , psychology , suicide prevention , poison control , medicine , economics , resource (disambiguation) , environmental health , law , medical emergency , social psychology , immigration , philosophy , computer network , theology , pathology , computer science , thermodynamics , physics , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , virology , outbreak
In the United States and around the world , COVID‐19 represents a mass fatality incident , as there are more bodies than can be handled using existing resources . Although the management and disposition of bodies is distressing and heartrending , it is a task that local , state , and federal governments must plan for and respond to collaboratively with the private sector and faith‐based community . When mass fatalities are mismanaged , there are grave emotional and mental health consequences that can delay recovery and undermine community resilience . Using insights from one author's mass fatality management research during the 2010 Haiti earthquake , this Viewpoint essay explores how mass fatalities are being managed in response to COVID‐19 . Based on the researcher's findings a decade ago , it is apparent that many lessons have not been learned . The essay concludes by providing governments with practical lessons on how to manage mass fatalities to facilitate and promote community resilience .