Event Description

An overview of a research proposal to identify the barriers and enablers to outbreak reporting and recommendations to improve the outbreak reporting process.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has again broached questions about the world’s collective ability to detect, report, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Key to any outbreak response is timely outbreak detection and notification. Although delayed detection is mostly attributable to deficits in surveillance capacity, the reasons for delayed reporting are likely expansive. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the various barriers to reporting from the local to the national level. While fear of damaging trade and travel restrictions has often been cited as the primary deterrent for reporting at the national level, it remains unclear what are the precise impediments and enablers to outbreak reporting at the local and subnational levels. This research project seeks to comprehensively identify these barriers and enablers by assessing the experiences of outbreak reporting officials at the local and subnational level. I will then integrate this information with existing research to explore how these various impediments and enablers interact at all levels to impact outbreak reporting given a number of putative outbreak scenarios. Based on these findings, I will develop a comprehensive model of the various barriers and enablers to outbreak reporting at all levels. Finally, I will use this research to develop recommendations for improving the timeliness of outbreak reporting in a country-specific setting.

Speaker Bio

Amish Talwar is a US-trained public health physician who came to ANU in 2022 to undertake research in global health security. His main interest is in identifying ways to facilitate outbreak reporting to increase the chances that an outbreak with pandemic potential can be contained at the source. Amish previously worked at US CDC after graduating from the Epidemic Intelligence Service, the American field epidemiology training program. He completed his medical studies at Columbia University and trained in public health medicine at the University of California, San Diego. In his free time, Amish enjoys writing, rock climbing, backpacking, and good coffee.