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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN
CONTAGION: POLICY GAPS AND IMPROVEMENTS
Introduction
Knowing that there are a lot of natural and technological catastrophes existing and
happening more frequently and intensively it is still extremely significant to have some ideas
how to provide successful emergency management in modern society. These events as public
health emergencies for example, are not entirely difficulty free and thus should be managed with
utilizing a great deal of stability and teamwork on the part of the participants. Some kinds of
emergencies can be classified as others, and some of them can have a specific kind of response.
Another useful movie related to the epidemic was also stated, though the director of this movie
was Steven Soderbergh and the year of its release was 2011. This was a perfect chance to learn
what may follow from a virus that starts off as slow but gradually spreads at a light speed. It can
also be used to measure the outcome of operational management crises, and the ineffectiveness
of some management crises approaches. The movie provides an obvious time line which
provides knowledge on the history of the disease as well as the plans and activities of the civil
and private entities of the society by the governmental and other agencies in handling the
specific case under discussion. Making a shift to the analysis of the movie from the academic
point of view and comparing it with the reality, the data which we currently have on the present
state of affairs, practical research, and policy studies, it is possible to identify, according to the
presentation of the movie on the various kinds of emergencies and the situation, how far from
real and what is possible the movie can be.
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The movie is a good example on how it is done regarding aspects of behavioral public
health such as emergency management system as well as communication system and
international relation. Li, Zhao, Gao, Ni, Liu (2024) say there is a need to understand that
institutions such as the CDC is seen struggling with the virus that they are fighting, so much that
they are seen pulling their hair out yet they are faced with numerous barriers that only compound
their work. Some of the challenges they include misleading information lack of equipment and
bureaucratic stagnation. These are not some hypothetical situations; realistic situations can occur
during the Public Health emergencies. It is also important for the government Li, Zhao, Gao, Ni,
Liu (2024) indicates for addressing fear in the epidemics. They have an appointed study on the
availability of a study that calls for mechanistic handling strategizing for an emergency where
fuzzy Petri nets for foreseeing as well as reducing the impact of fear emanating from the public
must be adopted. Recall that most of these traditional emergency management paradigms are
considered and discussed less, yet it is in a way central to most of them.
These works demonstrate how emotion exists ubiquitously and how social action and
concern constitutes the fulcrum capable for propelling the degree of disasters. Chu, Song, Zhao,
Chen, and Chiang (2024) study on how the response of the public has been as a result of
emotions being shared on social media after the terrible event happened. For this reason, they
focus on how these transmittable feelings can manifest themselves in the presence of others
making sure that no one is frozen by fear, and in case of necessitation of precautionary measures
nobody would be making a fuss about them. From the stance of the present problem which falls
under the general category of growing requirements for the proper communication means usage,
the movie describes how SNSs are employed for the creation of the virtues and vices, as well as
truth and falsehoods. Given the experiences of the Ebola and COVID-19 pandemics that
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occurred in Africa, Okuonzi (2023) provides useful insight on policy analysis on emergencies.
Based on information that can be derived from this work, policy responses remain distorted and
seemingly devoid of adequate framework. Now and then, the lessons that were learned from the
epidemics that were investigated occasionally get gaps in policy adoption and application.
This work also considers another aspect; namely, the coordination of the medical and the
collection and other low-fidelity emergency resources. Houser (2023) made a paper on public
health emergencies and included in the discussion the contribution of public health emergencies
for biodefense analyses while stressing on the timeliness of preparedness. In the film, Contagion,
the view turns to the unmitigated worst that can happen when supplying and distributing
resources and vaccines. These are very real difficulties that were revealed by the COVID-19
epidemic situation and will be further discussed in the next section. Pescaroli et al. (2023)
propose that to manage crises properly, risks should be managed systematically. All factors that
have been contributing to the advancement of planning thought are discussed and these include
climate change and the business continuity of the company. It eased up the argument that this
technique should part of a disaster management plan as well. With reference to the
aforementioned aspects of the methodology, the purpose of this article is to demonstrate the
methodology that was treated in the Contagion through the reference to real-life frameworks and
the materials that have been cited in the course of the article, as well as critical assessment of the
pertinent elements. Therefore, through pointing out these spaces and erecting recommendations,
propped up by actual data, this research will indicate what responds positively with the current
emergency practices, existing vices, and what is in store to build better emergency systems.
Overview of Emergency Management Strategies in “Contagion”
Plot analysis and virus progression.
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Contagion starts with the fast development of dangerous virus, MEV-1 that leads to
social disorder, which has impact on societies. Pescaroli et al. (2023) says this work describes the
stages of the development of the virus as well as the measures taken by the major organizations
such as CDC and WHO in an effort to deal with the virus. It is difficult for these agencies to
come up with the right measures to contain the virus such as quarantine, physical distance and
ban on international travel; this shows the reality on how different agencies across the globe have
been handling the virus. The government and health care organizations are shown to be under
much pressure from these strategies, the problem of scarcity of resources, long bureaucratic
processes and adverse social consequences arising from a series of measures and regulations. For
example, Pescaroli et al. (2023) noted when describing the threats, the interdependencies are
increasing and the systems that need to be developed in order to address such threats evolve and
become more complex, it is necessary to manage such threats. This point of view has a gap in the
story because the movie portrays the need for the centralized action and there is no idea of how
the extended crisis will influence the entire system. These strategies are described by Loang
(2024) based on their socioeconomic impacts of which the film is both descriptive and
informative even though these impacts are depicted in the film in passing. Therefore, the film
under consideration provides the first approach to analysis by presenting the depiction of the
pandemics response in a realistic feature film that can be used as the basis for the evaluation of
the approaches under analysis from the modern research viewpoint (Pescaroli et al., 2023).
Depiction of Key Stakeholders
Government agencies, the heath caring industry and the population are depicted as the
major players in the film Contagion. The CDC and Again WHO are the main actors represented
here using the main strategies of containment and continue to work to mitigate effects of this
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pandemic. Some of the challenges that these agencies encounter as they seek to undertake their
activities include; low resource endowment and the challenges of coordinating an international
intervention. As pointed out by Pescaroli et al. (2023), it is important to note that in a real world
it is possible to identify that constant and effective crisis management means strong and
adaptable systems to confront new and unpredictable risks. This is one area where the author
only gives an inkling of what it entails to deal with global coordination through this film,
Contagion. Facilities are shown to be overcrowded with patients as it is in real disasters, for
instance, the present Covid-19 pandemic. Interestingly, Almazyad et al. (2024) stresses on the
proactive preparedness and stresses on the notion that stockpiling resources beforehand is a way
to enhance the preparedness of the health systems for disasters. A depiction of such a health care
system shows that a health care system should not only be able to meet certain demands but
should also be able to plan and forecast for future demands for resources and strategies. The
movie portrays the public in a certain manner while at the same painting the public in a good and
bad light respectively. The current state of population is described as the state of panic and
misinformation, discussed in the work of Mao and others (2024) about the decision making
during an emergency and the effects of emotional contagion and irrationality. In so doing, the
film captures how public behavior can be useful in the prevention and management of crises as is
in accord with the theoretical literature on the psychological and social dimensions of disasters
(Almazyad et al., 2024; Mao et al., 2024).
Major Emergency Solutions Employed
Contagion offers methodological examples of multiple goals of emergency management
including trying to contain the infection, trying to develop a vaccine, and public relations. The
Contagion makes a clear distinction between containment and eradication, but makes references
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to the recent quarantined and lock-downs to show that though these measures can slow down the
virus they are not without their cost to the economy and society. There is no misunderstanding
that the causes for revolving these strategies are important in staving off the decline of the
disease, but at the same time they actually are unfavorable for the society as well as costly. These
consequences are described in Loang (2024) to close the emphasis that the sudden containment
measures can lead to the instability of entire communities and to the increasing in equality of the
economic environment. One of the aspects of social emergency policies mentioned in the film is
not developed as much as it could be, and this is a shame because it is a great way of showing the
paths that such policies have taken. The vaccine development and distribution is another worked
through narrative where we have scientists trying to come up with a solution. It introduces the
ethical questions that pertain to the distribution of vaccines and is inclined to define the concerns
of vaccine distribution. Based on the work of Pescaroli et al. (2023), equal structures in
emergency handling should be implemented in order to avoid worsening inequalities in society.
However, in the best mannerism, Rize’s struggle shot represents the crux of the ethical and
logistical concern that this movie presents but does not answer for those questions. Last but not
least, Contagion is a movie that remains at the level of the communication informing the public,
which is also enjoyable when the news is negative. For instance, Mao et al. (2024) have
established that since the mechanism of emotional contagion is not well regulated, it can
mobilize the masses, and result in riots. This is depicted in the movie where when creating
awareness, when done wrongly, is as bad as the virus and even worse, it makes containment
difficult. According to Almazyad et al. (2024), another feature that this film depicts in both good
and bad crisis communications is that the strategies have to be clear and correct. In the study
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conducted by Mao et al. (2024) it is evident that all these strategies give a clear understanding of
emergency management even with high level of sensitization and criticism.
Initial Assessment
The measures taken by the characters of the movie Contagion depict that the measures of
emergency management are partially useful and partially wrong. In this film, real life lessons on
how centers of decision should be set and how vaccines should be formulated effectively and
efficiently are depicted. It also has significant omissions that it was not prepared to fill before the
pandemic, as well as practical issues with the distribution of assets. These challenges agree with
the findings of Pescaroli et al. (2023) who noted that resilience and adaptability must be
integrated into planning for emergencies. There is one more aspect which was not shown in the
movie and according to Almazyad et al. (2024) it is the real aspect of the crisis simulation and
exercising which should be included in the any type of crisis management. The issue of
misinformation and its implications for the behavioral response is one of the most significant that
the real-life emergency managers face. Mao et al. (2024) also describe the role of emotions in
this process, and misperceptions as a major challenge for establishing trust and people’s
adherence to the guidelines established by the authorities. The movie in its storyline uniquely
captures this continuum but falls short in providing a way to address this, this is where we have a
major downfall in portrayal! despite the fact that the movie Contagion portrays a good and
realistic scenario of the outbreak of the pandemic disease it fails to present a framework within
which such incidences can be tackled. It is important to conduct an assessment of the current
methods used in the incorporation of the emergency management strategies. The film presents
the current state of the measures being implemented that give the reader a chance to assess their
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efficiency and inefficiency, and therefore to expand the discussion of policy gaps and possible
improvements (Mao et al., 2024).
Policy and Administrative Framework Analysis
Contagion can therefore be used to zoom in on policy frameworks and then assess the
readiness or otherwise of the management of emergency responses. The movie is mainly based
on the public health care institution especially the Centre of Diseases Control (CDC) as they
struggle to deal with a rising epidemic. Activities within this organization include coordination
of quarantine, vaccine development and provision of public health guidelines. However, as the
crisis deepens, gaps in the policy implementation appear, which are typical for the emergency
management and its strengths and weaknesses. According to Koonin (2023) Private Sector
Employers’ Participation is one of those critical elements of Public Health Preparedness that
attract little attention. Private companies have the responsibility of ensuring that they adopt
measures which may help in preventing the spread of the virus in the working places including
matters to do with working from home and checkups. This relationship can only add on totality
strength of a society that is facing the pandemic but unfortunately, Contagion fails to among
other aspects capture this. This feature also does not contain De Mel (2023)’s focus on adequate
documentation and communication between agencies of integrated emergency management
systems. Following the above, as Galea (2022) pointed out this is a very obvious omission, there
is the need to establish a better and stronger framework in order to get a better and more effective
complex communication between all the stakeholders and players including the public
institutions, private companies and NGO.
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There is also another policy domain that the film failed to capture adequately on; this is
on International cooperation. Even though the movie shows some level of relationship between
the CDC and WHO, the movie omits a lot about global health governance complexities. The
pandemics require some level of international cooperation, because no country can effectively
combat a disease that is quickly spreading across its borders. According to Galea (2022), the
Covid-19 type of epidemics is what is not preventable and therefore needs international
intervention, cooperation and sometimes common pool of resources, data sharing and
information dissemination. It is unfortunate that the movie does not portray the situation in this
way; it paints a simple picture of our interconnected health care system in the world. This is
supported by policy contagion as described by Hsiao, Yang, Zheng, and Chiu (2023) which
stated that good health strategies in one zone make it easier to improve on the practice in other
zones. This concept simply put is to argue that nations garner positive outcomes from ‘fast
following’ of successful practices of other nations. Contagion does not do this and that is one
aspect that the movie could have shifted the baton between nation on how nations learn from
other nations mistakes and come up with better measures to tackle the epidemics. One drawback
of fixing the film’s global health policy perspective is that it is limited within the policy relations
and does not explain important partnerships that are needed to address global health issues
(Galea, 2022).
Contagion is a rather full-featured picture of the resource management and logistical
coordination, but it does not show the systemic problems that have demonstrated the worst
effects of the crisis. The intervention shows efforts to give vaccines and medical supplies but
does not reveal methods and approaches that improve such types of procedures. According to
Jacquillat, Li, Ramé, and Wang (2024), prescriptive analytics can be applied, and the Branch-
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and-Price algorithms so that the allocation of resources can be made very easily during the
critical operations. Such elaborate approaches would ensure that effectiveness and time of
actions are improved since supplies would be delivered to the intended recipients. Nevertheless,
as one of the most important data-driven strategies of the modern crisis management, Contagion
misses one of the most important aspects. In the forthcoming work, Tian et al. (2024) consider
how governance strategies will attempt to prevent the spillover effects of crises. To them, their
work provides good policies for example the need to remove those dealing with the first order
impact of the disaster and the second or third order impacts. The economic insecurity,
sociopolitical crises, and sustained epidemics suggest that there has to be approaches of
management that can change as trends evolve. The lack of these multiple level interventions in
the film also highlights the major lack of a comprehensive and backup oriented approach to
emergency management, going beyond the immediate effect on the community (Jacquillat et al.,
2024).
The fourth area which is discussed only to some extent by Contagion is the social
consequence of policy measures. Although there is a certain degree of credibility in the portrayal
of how the epidemic may affect the mental health of people, there is no clear understanding of
how policy can affect attitudes and behavior among the population. Best and Ivers (2022)
employ the concept of long term contamination that seeks to rewrite positivity and community
resilience as infection and thus able to spread healing among the people. This show that
protecting the public also demands that there should be policies that support unity of fate with
the affected persons. Zheng and Zhang (2024) contribute to the crisis management literature by
examining how societal structures, such as community generated online activities, are morale-
boosting, and engagement-enhancing. These measures are likely to increase social capital
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therefore community cohesiveness which is very critical in long-standing conflicts. In general,
Contagion is concerned with the physical aspects of the barriers to transmission of the disease
and vaccine distribution but it fails to capture the psychological connotations of crisis. These
factors would have been useful in the shooting of the film given that according to new studies, it
is crucial to get the support of the community and the affective aspect of a person during a crisis
(Best & Ivers, 2022; Tian et al., 2024).
There is no way the movie depicted gender factor regarding emergency polices as a
concern or problem with their operations. As pointed out by Kyotos, et al., (2022), Gendered
barriers are a significant factor in the manner in which different stakeholders experience or
participate in crises. For instance, women who are primarily responsible for care giving will be
worst hit by situations such as a public health crisis. These responsibilities make them put
themselves at risk of diseases and are deprived of better salary paying jobs in the course of a
virus. As with many films in this category Contagion does not dwell much on the gender aspect
of the tragedy and other issues that affect women and the vulnerable. Thus, it would have been
useful to consider some policy factors with gender sensitivity to understand the social rationality
of the pandemic. Most notably, Galea (2022) stresses that equality policies should be adopted
during the emergency because the most affected societies are the vulnerable ones during the
disease outbreak. These inequalities help to address the inequities that characterize current and
potential public health measures, thus making them more equitable and efficient. This means that
the film lacks the various elements that are universal in the society especially in relation to
disaster management and response, this is crucial in the formulation of policies that reopen
factors that are aimed at reducing people’s inequality (Koonin, 2023).
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Identification of Policy Gaps and Areas for Improvement
From the movie Contagion, analyzing the approach to pandemic there are key mistakes
that were seen before the pandemic. The characters successfully deign the public health
organizations as passive ones that do not act appropriately and do not try to focus on the
treatment once the death toll starts rising. It raised some questions including the fact that the
works and the video show the difference of the two; early identification systems, strategic
stockpiles, and whole of government networks are all needed for a positive response.
Preparedness has been defined by Galea (2022) as the establishment of definite measures that
should be followed when disaster strikes so that an adequate response can be made. The time
taken before a response in a film ‘amplifies the crisis’ as can be observed in film scenarios; some
of the real life realizations of an organization’s response to crises include the delayed response to
the COVID 19 pandemic. The approach of the private sector to come in with flexible measures
in the workplace and even to support lodges has not been well depicted especially in the movie.
Another approach that seems to be given less attention by the public health policy is the business
engagement and the reason being that businessmen and women can definitely play a big role in
strengthening the society during the times of disaster as pointed out by Koonin (2023). It also
would have been useful for the narrative to consider an even more encompassing encapsulated/
forward looking planning model.
This is true as depicted in the movie Contagion; another major challenge is the
management of the resources. One of the biggest issues can be observed in the management of
vaccines and other essential products. However, it fails to explain why such factors are
ineffective and if it is right to use technological means to address the problem. In the work by
Jacquillat, Li, Ramé, and Wang (2024) the authors focus on prescriptive analytics and the
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application of the same when calling on resources especially in risky and pressure situations.
These opportunities can be captured by Branch-and-Price algorithms and the selection made
based on the ever changing needs. But as the response interventions show, without data those
interventions cannot be efficient and effective to meet the needs of the affected population.
While governance strategies that has been put in place to address the various outcomes of the
disaster has been highlighted by Tian et al. (2024), it is important that policies that can address
the social economic vulnerability that comes with disasters be put in place. In Contagion, which
is almost wholly focused on the medical aspects of the problem, it is difficult to show that
resource management should encompass much more than dealing with all the symptoms. These
missing elements point out the fact that there is the need for the use of multi-audial strategies in
the tackling of global health risks.
This film shows that lack of information that might be considered as credible is
something large for officials. It becomes difficult to maintain law and order in a society which
integrates the rapid spread of rumors, something that has been realized through practice during
health crises. Best and Ivers (2022) have identified clear and predictable communication
processes as one of the ways of strengthening community organization and encouraging better
conduct. In as much as the “fake news” is a cause of much commotion, the response to it seems
very chaotic, and there are gaps that only worsen the situation. Participatory crisis
communication entails people on the right information dissemination process as highlighted by
Zheng and Zhang in 2024. Apart from enhancing the level of public confidence, the present
approach also empowers the common man to be part of the combat against the crisis, and does so
fashionably with a fight which is informed. If general communication plans are not well
implemented, the public is likely to misconstrue messages or simply ignore them, and this makes
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the work of containing viral spread even more difficult. An engagement model that was in place
before the outbreak and contains features of evidenced-based interventions to fight fake news
should greatly improve the effectiveness of pandemic leadership.
The movie also shows that a formal ethical lens has to be used in the distribution of the
vaccine as seen below. It also highlighted primarily the choices regarding who is to be
vaccinated first and the ethical issues arising from it, but the narrative does not provide detailed
coverage of the procedures for the rational distribution of entities. The researches that Pescaroli
et al. (2023) conducted the role of measures that address social inequalities and protect
vulnerable groups. The film depicts this conflict, but it does not explain what measures may have
to be taken to ensure fairly equal opportunities during a crisis. There is one more aspect of the
movie which can be compared to the social theme of the film, and that is the relations of power
between men and women, and it is also completely absent in Contagion. According to sexual
analysis women and especially the caregivers are the most affected during any health problem.
Kyotos et al. (2022) have pointed out such gendered differences, to their notice, such policies do
not capture the gender barriers that women face. The movie being set in the society; it did not
capture how these crises will affect everyone in the society in different manners. Actually, if
equity and inclusion, such approaches within the gender and the social stratification frameworks
are recognized and embraced, the responses to the pandemics can be greatly enhanced to be more
comprehensive and just.
Equity and Inclusion in Pandemic Responses
What has not been clearly illustrated in the movie are ways in which use of technology
society that prevails in today’s world may be of help in handling emergences. However, many of
them are focused on the main approaches to fight the virus, like quarantine or vaccinations, but
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they don’t explain how data and, particularly, artificial intelligence can be used to boost the
result. In their article on policy contagion presented in 2023, Hsiao, Yang, Zheng, and Chiu have
provided a broader set of focus areas for understanding the phenomenon with a focus on health
and illnesses only. They have noted that the experiences from the technology transfer processes
maybe useful in the running of the pandemic response that is currently being implemented. It
may also support the identification of further contact persons as well as to analyze data sets with
the objective of making fast decisions fast at which locations it would be most advisable to
allocate resources. In addition, there are views which say that digital media management is
suitable for the crisis communication, which Zheng and Zhang identified in 2024.The utilization
of this concept within the context of community participation not only increases the ways in
which information is shared, but also ensures that the community looks for solutions to certain
issues. Their integration into the area of emergency management will therefore lead to the
creation of new and improved techniques which the sector direly lacks. If only the author had
tried to envision a little bright for what these tools could turn into, they could have improved it.
The one major aspect that has not been addressed in the policy scenario as well as the
film is the mental health support; an important part of the emergency response category.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to point out that Contagion does not present the peculiarities of how
the challenges that it depicts can be addressed or, at least, minimized. In the view of Galea
(2022), population health promotion should include planned and intentionally implemented
psychologically informed different care and support interventions and other community
solutions. People are affected psychologically by the continual crisis situations and they develop
effects like anxiety, depression, trauma and such like require attention. According to Best and
Ivers (2022), recovery contagion is the way in which positive psychological interventions
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influence the health of a nation. This idea suggest that it is high time that the policies which are
being formulated and thus executed should not only involve the physical aspect of a person but
also the emotional and social aspect of the person. Giving it a major focus on the physical aspect
and not the mental health aspect of the crisis is incomplete, this is a real life aspect that has been
left out. Such needs require that mental health care structures be integrated into public health
management, because health is not different from treatment and rehabilitation.
For these identified policy gaps above, their improvements would greatly enhance real
life pandemic preparedness and response. Several of the challenges depicted in Contagion –
problems of broken communication, lack of preparations, and negligence towards the vulnerable
– are clearly recognizable from many actual outbreak scenarios. That is why Koonin (2023),
Jacquillat et al. (2024) and other authors emphasize the importance of using proper, reasonable,
and evidence-based systems during the health crises. From these recommendations the
policymakers can get the models which will not only be effective but also will include society in
general for efficiency, and which may be useful in applying the lessons in order to prepare for
future pandemic.
Recommendations for Improved Emergency Management Strategies
Improve the Health System
Health care systems therefore forms the basis of the susceptibility of populations to the
kinds of risks portrayed in the movie Contagion. It demonstrates how hospitals have been
overburdened, and resources limited, which is why better health care systems are cries for help.
An important improvement should be directed on ensuring that sufficient resource is accorded to
early warning systems and surveillance mechanism in order to facilitate early identification and
management of outbreaks of infectious diseases. As Galea (2022) explains, one must participate
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in predictive analytics and connect data that can help in determine the next health risks in the
blink of an eye. These systems will allow to act quickly and provide the necessary measures in
order to prevent diseases from spreading. Also, there is a need to allocate some amount of money
for the strategic reserves of personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and other main
medical materials. That way the health systems will not become a mess and there will be no
shortages as portrayed in the movie Contagion. As pointed out by Koonin (2023), the best way is
to have all the health facilities, including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other private health
facilities to be coordinated because the system is beneficial in the event of an emergency.
Moreover, establishing mobile health care facilities and regional treatment centers may also
enhance the system’s capacity without compromising the rural and difficult to reach population
in the time of outbreak. All these infrastructural drawbacks can be met by a strategic program
which has to tackle both the citizens in the towns and the ones in the villages.
Optimizers of Resource.
Another area of the most significant need for change is the most effective use of
resources. The movie Contagion shows that distribution of vaccines and medical care is
shambolic and the issue of the moral issue of who gets what first when it comes to the essential
needs for life is also seen. It is a process that can be well improved in the present world by the
application of prescriptive analytics and Artificial intelligence. According to Jacquillat et al.
(2024), Branch-and-Price algorithms have been used in the management of resources which can
be adjusted within the real time. By using such data analytic models, the emergency management
teams can, therefore, be assured that the scarce resources are well directed to the right areas. In
the same way, Tian et al. (2024) also note that the following governance strategies may be
employed to reduce the likelihood of social and economic impacts of a health crisis. The
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application of adaptive resource management frameworks can assist in reducing injustices,
stabilizing the vulnerable groups, and accelerating recovery from the effects of injustices. The
other recommendation is on the establishment of regional and international cooperation in the
sharing of resources. The stock-piling in the public domain and inter-country agreements can go
a long way in increasing the rate of movement of these resources and in most cases, international
cooperation is the between the success and failure of measures to control the pandemic. This will
enhance the efficiency of resource use, it is possible to train the logistics teams in the crisis and
to conduct trainings.
Enhance Crisis Communication
Therefore, the public relations have to be improved in the process of dealing with fake
news and emotional contagion during the crises. In the film Contagion the disorder that is
portrayed is caused by incomplete and contradictory information. Best and Ivers (2022) have
pointed out that communication plans need to be informed by evidence and clear in order to
engage the public. One could be more proactive and set up a central communication team that
will be responsible for the messages to be communicated through the media. This task force
would ensure that the information was correct and relevant as well as culturally acceptable.
According to Zheng and Zhang (2024), there is the possibility of utilizing participatory
communication methods in which community stakeholders forward the information. In this case,
the authorities can get to a large number of people through tapping on opinion makers within the
communities, and also deal with the issues of rumors and falsehood. It is also important to use
the behavioral science findings to come up with the right message to use. The messages which
are associated with the concept that people are one big family with specific goals will be more
likely to encourage people to adhere to the measures that have been put in place to prevent the
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spread of the virus. The communication strategy should be adaptive, which should be in different
languages and formats to reach out to different people. It is recommended that authorities should
create official social network sites, which should be regularly updated with relevant information,
and should be more responsive to users.
Promote Community Resilience
In order to prevent the issue of the next pandemic, the population’s preparedness should
be increased. The movie shows how the disaster and chaos create and enhance the impact of the
disaster, the need for improving the organization of the society (Kyotos et al., 2022). In their
article Best and Ivers (2022) explain the concept of recovery contagion, which is when positive
behaviors and peer support can be seen in a population. A way to this is to form communities of
volunteers with the knowledge on disaster response. Such networks may be useful for the
support of the vulnerable population, for example, they can help deliver food and medicine to
those, who are isolated in quarantine. Kyotos et al. (2022) have posited that women are involved
in community caregiving and that increasing their knowledge and providing them with necessary
equipment can increase community care capacity. Also, they can get a lot of cues from
educational programs that relate to disasters and which are learnt in schools and other
organizations. These programs should include providing information about first aid, mental
health, and how people can maintain relationships while in quarantine. There should also be
structures where people can report cases, equally there should be ways of sharing ideas,
contributing and even asking questions. It means that this way not only contributes to building
trust with employees but also eliminates such a problem as decisions made by the top
management ignoring the opinions of subordinates.
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Focus on Equitable Access
Healthcare and resources should be distributed equally in any form of handling the
pandemic. The film raises issues to questions of morality on vaccine distribution, equity. As
pointed out by Pescaroli et al. (2023) there is a need for such policies that will ensure that the
most vulnerable are not unduly affected. However, the policies should consider such groups as
the frontline workers, the seniors, and those with underlying diseases but also consider the social
factors. In order to address these inequalities, all the tiers of government, health care
organizations and other civil societies must come in to play. Mobile clinics and outreach
programs can help to ensure that those who are difficult to reach are receiving their vaccines, but
are also receiving their check-ups and education. In linking to Galea’s (2022) concept of
equitable access, it also means that the digital divide has to be addressed. Others of the
intervention messages and materials are delivered through the social media which means that the
population that cannot access the social media are not reached. Some ways of providing free or
very cheap access to the internet in under connected areas can contribute to reducing this gap and
make sure that everybody receives information and assistance that may save a life. Also, the
crisis response teams should be given cultural competency trainings to identify and address
multipartite cultural needs. This training can go a long way in helping remove some of the
barriers that prevent / limit the effective implementation of policies and procedures to be equally
effective.
Embrace Technology Change
The technology under consideration is studied with the emphasis on its potential for the
case of application in emergency situations connected with pandemics. The very idea to use what
is almost a cliché, the quarantine, as a plot means that there are better options available. Hsiao et
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al. (2023) concentrate on the application of AI and data analytics in the area of predictive
analytics and contact tracing. These technologies can handle vast amount of data and can identify
the outbreak of epidemic and its further trajectory. The other advantages of the use of digital
tools include; Resource utilization is well accounted for since resources are well managed. This
is because Zheng and Zhang (2024) also explained how the digital platforms can foster
collaboration and community involvement. Others that allow people to post symptoms, seek for
telehealth or request for information can be useful in the response and include the public. This is
why privacy issues should be tackled through creating proper data policies and using data which
cannot pose threat to the people and their trust in these technologies. This is the case because
governments should also spend money in a way that health information cannot be easily hacked.
The technological improvement can assist the emergency management systems to be flexible and
to adapt to the situation of a pandemic.
Support Mental Health
Mental health should not be a neglected aspect at the time of developing an emergency
management and contingency planning. Some of the psychological impact of pandemics as
depicted in the movie Contagion may be as deadly as the impact on people’s physical health.
Galea (2022) has a point to make that people should be given a way of handling anxiety, grief,
and trauma among other things. Some of the services which community based mental health
programs offer include; counseling, support group and stress management. All these services
should be available to anybody at any time and from any place with the help of different
communication technologies. Best and Ivers (2022) claim that the interventions that are based on
positive psychology can trigger a positive feedback mechanism that make all the members of the
community more resilient and happier. It should also provide for mental health of first
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responders and health caregivers such as the police, fire fighters and nurses who are most likely
to experience stress and fatigue. Offering peer support and counseling services to these front line
workers will enable them to get and build their mental health while at work. Mental health
should be encouraged in schools and other organizations, via information that will enable people
to recognize those in need of help and where to seek for it. The governments can help tech
companies in developing such apps that can help people to get a way to solve their issues and get
support over the internet. In this way, the coronavirus responses are going to help with people’s
physical health but also with their mental health.
Engage Diverse Stakeholders
For proper functioning of the pandemic, it is very important for all the stakeholders to
assemble and participate. The roles of other actors who include the corporate world and
academic institutions are not considered. According to Koonin (2023), the private partnership
may support the effective resource management and the proper maintenance of workplace safety.
The responsibilities implemented are transportation and supply chain services, and these have
demonstrated personnel consideration during this period. Educational establishments may
contribute to the ongoing production of idea; nonprofit organizations can contribute to the
implementation of those ideas in society. All parties should cooperate, which makes it necessary
to have a contractual agreement even before a crisis happens. According to De Mel (2023),
'cooperation requires expectations to be defined, spoken and, to a certain extent, written and the
other benefit is that it enhances an incentive to innovate new treatment and new vaccinations by
funding them. The level of coordination is required much higher when the diseases spread
across the borders. In order to achieve the goal to bring equity to everyone, governing bodies
have to ensure that information is distributed well, actions like travel bans and vaccine creation
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and distribution of information is coordinated well. In this case, it would be favorable to set up
the global health council that calls in participation from many sectors. The roles of all
stakeholders are integrated all-inclusive that made the emergency management system strong
and well developed.
Adopt Gender Sensitive Measures
The best practices to be taken is that women and other vulnerable group’s needs should
be put into consideration in matters concerning health. Kyotos et al. (2022) have noted that
women, especially those in the care giving roles, have been most impacted by the pandemics and
are expected to undertake more work that exposes them to the virus. These problems should be
alleviated by policies through providing monetary assistance, child care, and other health
enhancing services (Galea, 2022). Women can also be empowered by offering them leadership
positions in the crisis response teams because a team of combined gender makes better decisions.
The community outreach programs should have focused more on women to ensure that they get
what they need such as health checkup and protection. It also shows that gender-sensitive
training of HCW affects the decrease of prejudice and gender-related inequalities in the
treatment. As stated in Galea (2022) gender equity should be integrated in emergency planning
because the integration of policies leads to better and fair results. Not only it benefits the worst
affected but also contributes to a better handling of public health challenges. Galea (2022) posits
that these recommendations are intended to build the capacity of the emergency management
systems to prepare, respond and recover from disasters, and in the process become better,
equitable and efficient. The priorities of the strategy include enhancing health systems,
enhancing the management of resources, enhancing the flow of information and cancer related
issues, mental health and gender. The concepts discussed by Koonin (2023), Galea (2022) and
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Jacquillat et al. (2024) may assist in the formulation of a new approach to the control of the
future pandemics.
Conclusion and Reflection
Contagion and the analysis of the presented emergency management practices at the same
time open up an opportunity to define the best and the worst scenario and recognize what the
actual difficulties of the actual systems meant for fighting the pandemic risks are. In portraying
the disease that can be spread all over the globe within a very short period, the film outlines one
of the best strategies that can be used in combating a virus; public failure to respond to the
menace, need to establish better and more efficient measures in combating the virus.
Nonetheless, there are several aspects that are incredibly vital in the fight against health crises
that the movie fails to capture as much as it does to raise awareness of the CDC kind of
institutions, the government’s role in funding research on vaccines, and so on in Contagion. This
work has also highlighted some of the shortcomings that were also depicted in the movie
including; lack of preparedness before the outbreak, poor resource management, and negligible
focus on the community, accessibility, technology, and psychological health. It demonstrated
SOME characteristics of the EM such as there are different types of risk situations and the
concept requires a better integration than the containment approach. From this assignment, it is
clear that adaptation to new technologies in masks, and uses for the management of the pandemic
include artificial intelligence and analytics. Jacquillat et al. (2024) and Hsiao et al. (2023) are
among the scholars who noted that integration of these technologies enable organizations to
manage resources in a better way so as to arrive at right decisions. This means that with these
innovations, emergency management systems allow for highly effective, highly agile, threat-
appropriate processes.
25
The other general imperative lesson that one can infer from this work is communication
during the calamity handling process. This question is also discussed in Contagion showing how
the misinformation in the field is used to inform the audience about the dangers of the
uncoordinated, barely comprehensible message. The communication as discussed here is not
only the process of sending information to the desired groups but also the process of creating
trust and cooperation with the communities. Best and Ivers (2022) noted that more effort is
required to develop strategies for widespread dissemination of clear information that people will
engage with to prevent the spread of negative emotions. Zheng and Zhang (2024) also concludes
on the use of the participatory communication strategies for enhancing the community voice and
response. This reflection supports the idea that communication has to be contextually sensitive,
culturally sensitive and evidence based.
The issue of health care inequality and resources’ inequality is raised again during the
discussions and in the movie. The problem of ethical distribution of the vaccine as depicted in
the movie; Contagion; is real and is caused by political conflict that has been compounded by
economic disparity. Pescaroli et al. (2023) and Kyotos et al. (2022) also find that there is a need
to develop a framework that will enhance equity for the customers especially the vulnerable
ones. To address these gaps, there is need to establish a multi-stakeholder team which includes
the government, clinicians, NGOs and other private actors. By instituting an EMS for equal
opportunity means that in the occurrence of a disaster no particular group of people should suffer
as compared to the other. The problem of community resilience and support of the population’s
psychological state also became one of the indicators that would affect the effective results of the
pandemic. Some of the psychological outcomes of pandemics are depicted on how society is
portrayed in this societal decay and chaos differential outcomes. Galea (2022) and Best and Ivers
26
(2022) have provided evidence that increased in mental health care facilities and community
mobilization are beneficial in changing communities and enhancing togetherness and shared fate.
Thus this reflection has reinforced the understanding that crisis intervention has to be total and
affect the physical, mental and social aspect of the victims.
Gender-mainstreaming cannot be looked ignored because the research study by Kyotos et
al., (2022), suggest that women and vulnerable groups need support for challenges they
experience during health crises and therefore needs to be represented in policy making processes
to make informed decision. This is so because, the above groups can be involved in formulation
of Policies on such projects and /or ensuring that the above groups are empowered through such
Policies is most likely going to improve on the positive developments of such projects. It has
therefore been seen from this study that a gender perspective should be considered at all stages of
disaster management. Based on this assignment, the SWOT analysis of the pandemic response
strategies has been provided to the extent that is relevant. The analysis of the events from
Contagion and works discussed throughout the course allows to establish that the future
management of emergencies cannot be limited to the reaction and involve only certain segments
of the population and the use of old technologies. The recommendations given in this essay can
go a long way in planning societies that will be better placed to deal with such odds of global
health crises. On the basis of the given assignment, not only the crisis management aspect of
business operations has been explained in detail, but also the need for developing this research
area has been emphasized. The things remembered here are an appeal to all such parties to come
together, to contribute all that each has to create a safer world for all.
27
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