COVID-19 data driven planning: The SouthEast Texas approach

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0642

Keywords:

risk and crisis communications and the public right to know, interoperable communications in Homeland Security Enterprise and healthcare systems, COVID-19 data collection, tracking, visualization, analysis, and information-sharing

Abstract

This coautoethnographic case study used the Open-Source Public Health Intelligence process to explore and share the South East Texas Regional Advisory Councils’ (SETRAC) experience in collecting, processing, disseminating/visualizing, and analyzing COVID-19 data during the pandemic in the largest national medical setting in the United States. Specifically, it details the production of Business Intelligence reports powered by PowerBI both with general publics and with Regional Healthcare Preparedness Program (HPP) Coalition Coordinators, County Judges and City Mayors, Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) executive leadership, the Offices of the Texas Governor, and the Federal Pandemic Task Force led by the US Vice President, in order to provide a foundation for situational awareness, inter-regional collaboration, allocation of scare resources, and local, regional, and state policy decisions. It highlights best practices in risk and crisis communications during the COVID-19 response, underscores cross-sector collaboration and standardization of data collection for effective planning and response, discusses pervasive data revealed during the analysis, and evaluates collaborative and feedback processes that have implications for the Health Care System and Homeland Security Enterprise information sharing.

Author Biographies

Adam Lee, MS

Regional Training and Exercise Coordinator, SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council, Houston, Texas

Lori Upton, RN, BSN, MS, CEM

Vice President, Disaster Preparedness and Response, SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council, Houston, Texas

Magdalena Anna Denham, EdD

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Security Studies, College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas

Jeremiah Williamson

Director of Information Technology, SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council, Houston, Texas

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Published

03/01/2022

How to Cite

Lee, MS, A., L. Upton, RN, BSN, MS, CEM, M. A. Denham, EdD, and J. Williamson. “COVID-19 Data Driven Planning: The SouthEast Texas Approach”. Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 20, no. 7, Mar. 2022, pp. 39-56, doi:10.5055/jem.0642.