12 Strengthening public health response to COVID-19 through policy learning and policy transfer

IntroductionGovernments, worldwide, have responded differently to COVID-19 and achieved different levels of success.1 2 Cross-country learning and lessons-drawing from best-practices is needed to improve country response. Our research questions are: what interventions should each country use? Should the same practices be replicated across countries, or be adapted to each country context?MethodsA qualitative research study used document review to provide lessons to support countries’ response during and post COVID-19 and any future crises. Online databases, and the webpage of different governmental, NGOs and international organisations were searched for relevant articles that looked at different country responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the initial stages of the pandemic in (May-June 2021). 11 articles were included in the final review. Qualitative data analysis was done guided by the Dolowitz and Marsh policy transfer framework to analyse policy processes and assess lessons from different health systems.3 ResultsDuring COVID-19, governments needed to make quick non-informed decisions.1 Italy, Spain, Brazil and Iran were reluctant in imposing precautionary measures fearing of the economic impact resulting high virus transmission, that obliged them to follow the international approaches after experiencing high mortality and morbidity rates.2 4 The DRC was just recovering from the Ebola outbreak when COVID-19 hit it. People were still aware of the infection and prevention control measures; the government only reinforced these interventions and adapted to the new virus. In South Korea, the government used lessons learnt from MERS outbreak in hospitals’ preparedness regarding capacity and mobilization.5 DiscussionEffective public health response is dependent on how rapidly and strictly the preventive measures and restrictive strategies can be applied. Adapting international measures to country context is important to ensure effective response. Learning from previous outbreaks can help countries’ preparedness soon after the announcement of the pandemic.ReferenceBaniamin HM, Rahman M, Hasan MT. The COVID-19 pandemic: why are some countries coping more successfully than others? Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration 2020;42(3):153–169. doi:10.1080/23276665.2020.1784769Chen Z, Cao C, Yang G. Coordinated multi-sectoral efforts needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from China and the United States. Global Health Research and Policy 2020;5(22):22