Presentation_1_Policy implementation challenges and the ritualization of public health emergency plans: An investigation of urban communities in Jiangsu Province, China.pdf

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has been a global public health emergency, and countries worldwide have responded to it through a vast array of pre-planned, adaptively devised and ad-hoc measures. In China, public health emergency plans - the plans expected to drive the response to epidemics or pandemics - demonstrated a concerning tendency towards “ritualization.” “Ritualization” denotes the practice of public health emergency plans to be reliably developed so that a formal requirement is met, while being implemented selectively or not at all in the emergency response.MethodsThis study explored the phenomenon of ritualization by analyzing data from 1485 questionnaires, 60 in-depth interviews and 85 actual public health emergency plans. It used the Smith Policy-Implementation-Processing pattern as its conceptual framework.ResultsThe study found that the infeasibility of plans, their ineffective implementation by emergency management agencies, the obstructive behaviors of community residents, and the lack of an appropriate policy environment all contributed to the practice of ritualization.DiscussionAs China seeks to better respond to COVID-19 and accelerate the recovery of its health system, it is essential to ensure that its public health emergency plans are effectively developed and implemented.</p

Table_1_How to Measure the Safety Cognition Capability of Urban Residents? An Assessment Framework Based on Cognitive Progression Theory.pdf

The salience of social risks and the incidence of various crises in China have induced widespread concerns among urban residents. Encountering frequent risks places higher demands on the cognition of urban residents. The concept of safety cognition capability is defined within the context of urban residents' daily life, and measurement instruments are developed and tested to lay the foundation for grasping the current safety cognition capability of urban residents and conducting further research. In this study, the five-dimensional structure of urban residents' safety cognition capability (URSCC) was proposed by using the grounded theory method to sort out the interview transcript of interviews with 30 urban residents, and a 38-item URSCC scale was designed and used for surveys conducted in China. The results show that the scale can be used as a valid tool to measure the URSCC, and it can help city managers to better understand the safety needs of residents, as well as monitor the effectiveness of policy implementation.</p