Health systems resilience in managing the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from regional preparedness plans in Sweden

Research problem and specific questions: Sweden’s emergency preparedness has met several acute challenges in the past years, now in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has shocked the society, including the Swedish health system.

There remains little empirical evidence on how health systems can remain resilient when exposed to shocks, but tested and trained emergency preparedness plans appear to be crucial elements.

To be prepared for future shocks it is essential to systematically compile, assess and analyze to what extent emergency preparedness plans were adequate and have been implemented during the pandemic.

The purpose of this project is therefore to assess the implementation and effectiveness of regional emergency preparedness plans in Sweden during COVID-19, so that Sweden will learn from the pandemic to build resilience of the Swedish health system for future shocks.Data and methods: The project is based on four individual studies that all apply different, well established research methods to study the Swedish emergency preparedness during the pandemic.

Qualitative methods (interviews, Delphi panel) and systems thinking methods (Group Model Building) will be used to capture experiences from key stakeholders of the regional emergency preparedness plans and management of the pandemic.

In addition, quantitative methods will be used to assess potential differences between the regional preparedness plans and how they may have affected provision of health care.Plan for project realization: The main applicant will lead the project together with one of the co-applicants.

A doctoral student will be recruited for the project to further develop the research plan and perform most of the project work. Due to the nature of the proposed project, the budget costs in this application are mainly salary costs.

The research group recently received funding from Karolinska Institutet, a doctoral training grant, in October 2021 for this project.Relevance: To develop emergency preparedness within the Swedish health system is key to be able to meet future health shocks, mitigate their effects and for recovery after the emergency has passed.

This project aims to generate new knowledge on emergency preparedness from lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and thereby support decision makers to develop more resilient health systems for the future.