Community work experiences, innovations to respond to health emergencies

Abstract

Introduction: Recent public health emergencies have highlighted significant gaps in health systems regarding preparedness, coordinated response, and community resilience. The need to strengthen the community response by integrating technological innovations and evidence-based strategies has become a global priority for ensuring more equitable and resilient health systems. Objective: To identify lessons learned from recent public health emergencies that are transferable to other regional contexts and to define the role of Family Practice in planning and leading strategies for future public health emergencies. Methods: The Delphi method was used with 30 experts from 16 Ibero-American countries, organized into representative groups based on geographic diversity and professional experience. Two rounds of consensus building were conducted using structured electronic questionnaires with a 1- to 5-point Likert scale. The consensus threshold was set at 80% agreement (score ≥4). Results: Consensus was reached on 42 strategies distributed across three levels of action: macro (16 political-legislative strategies), meso (16 municipal/community strategies), and micro (10 strategies in health centers). The prioritized technological innovations include telemedicine, epidemiological surveillance systems, electronic prescribing, early warning systems, drones and robots, digitization of clinical data, artificial intelligence, and geospatial information systems. Conclusions: An effective response to public health emergencies requires aligning public policies with local needs, prioritizing community inclusion, ongoing training, and appropriate technologies. Family Practice plays a fundamental role in community leadership and intersectoral coordination.