Cornell MPH Assistant Professor, Dr. Charley Willison recently published a new paper in World Medical & Health Policy examining the drivers of governmental response to public health emergencies.

COVID-19 is not the first, and will not be the last public health emergency that we face. Governmental response to public health emergencies influences many factors, including policy decision-making, planning, health and social outcomes, and advocacy. The authors examine the political response to the 2017 hurricane season in Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida.

“As the risk of public health disasters increase due to global warming, we must be cognizant of the political processes that can constrain effective disaster responses,” says Willison. “Addressing these political barriers by democratizing disaster response policymaking is crucial for public health now and in the future.”

The results of the study suggest that legislators may be more inclined to participate in debates if they perceive disaster risk to their districts, but that deaths in the aggregate may not be enough to mobilize participation in deliberations.

Willison also notes that “Some states have more advocacy for federal disaster aid than others, and this may exacerbate disparities in disaster aid relief and subsequent outcomes.”

Additionally, the authors find that institutional barriers may further exacerbate participatory inequality in disaster aid deliberations, which may include no voting membership for U.S. territories. These constraints and the strong relationship between disaster risk and legislative participation in aid debates versus mortality may reduce accountability for federal disaster response failures.

Written by Katie Lesser