Getting back to basics during a public health emergency: a framework to prepare and respond to infectious disease public health emergencies.

This paper describes a simple framework developed by the World Health Organization, used to convey the concept of comprehensive and integrated public health response structures and to identify core public health capacity development needs. The framework highlights five core components of a response: surveillance, healthcare response, public health intervention, communication and command. This paper notes that to mount an effective public health response, each component requires sufficient capacity to meet demand, and effective relationships and mechanisms need to be established between components that support coordination, communication and collaboration. Copyright 2009 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.