public health Is under pressure. across Health care systems around the world, funding is declining, exhausted professionals are leaving the field, and US state legislature Pulling back the necessary legal authorities. Also, outbreaks of diseases like measles and dengue are on the rise, adding more urgency and responsibility to the work. In 2025, these pressures will trigger changes in epidemiology, prompting the region to adopt innovations to become more efficient and effective in controlling outbreaks.
Covid-19 pandemic The public health workforce was exceptionally challenged, leading to a historic pandemic response. The prolonged crisis exposed many shortcomings in a workforce under immense stress.
Unfortunately, the pandemic was neither the first nor will it be the last public health threat to overwhelm our defenses. Historically, major infectious disease threats occur on average every two years. Even now, Avian influenza A(H5N1) has been expanding its geographic footprint and host species over the years. According to some estimates, The world is now close to a flu epidemic Than any time in recent memory.
With these pressures, public health has no choice but to adapt. Although new technologies such as mRNA vaccine platforms and home testing are expanding our arsenal against the outbreak, we cannot rely solely on these biomedical countermeasures.
The most important untapped source of innovation lies in public health practice itself. The most promising development to emerge from these challenges is the adoption of high reliability principles as a new operational standard. These principles are derived from industries with zero tolerance for accidents and errors, such as space exploration and commercial aviation.
Public health, especially epidemiology, is beginning to move away from the prescribed approach to outbreak response toward the structured processes that characterize high-reliability industries. A commitment to continuous improvement, data and metric-based monitoring of performance, and implementation of standardized operating procedures are hallmarks of high reliability. These practices enable organizations to maintain security and effectiveness even during complex and high-risk environments.
Although we are in the early days of this transformation, the pressures of the past five years will accelerate the adoption of high reliability in the coming year. Some early successes are already evident. For example, CDC's program is responsible for responding foodborne illness outbreak has made significant progress. They have aggressively implemented whole genome sequencing to identify the sources of the outbreak and have developed a series of model best practices to support state and local officials in their investigations. This change has led to an increase in successful investigations, meaning the sources of outbreaks are now more likely to be definitively identified. In contrast, before these changes, the origins of many outbreaks remained unresolved.
Epidemiology is at a turning point. In view of diminishing resources, staff shortages and increasing disease outbreaks, there is a growing emphasis on innovation in this sector. Adopting high-reliability principles borrowed from industries where failure is not an option is emerging as a promising solution. Like testing for foodborne illnesses, this change is already yielding results. By adopting structured and continuous improvement processes and cutting-edge technologies, public health will increase its ability to identify and control disease outbreaks. This change promises a more efficient and effective approach to protecting public health in the face of emerging threats.