CSTS | Department of Psychiatry | Uniformed Services University | 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799 | www.CSTSonline.org

Coronavirus Preparedness & Response:
Critical Elements for Business Planning
Preparing for and responding
the movement of people and goods,…pandemic planning must address theto infectious outbreaks, such as
which will threaten essential services
Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a sharedand operations within and acrossextreme health and mental health impact
responsibility involving government
our nation as well as around theassumptions and containment strategies(local, state, and federal) and theworld. The ability to implement
private sector. Human-to-humaneffective pandemic preparedness
projected for a severe pandemic.
transmission has been confirmed
plans, continuously monitor all
and the virus has spread to multiple
business activities, and effect rapid
countries on several continents.
adjustments based upon observed and anticipated impacts
Though many businesses have extensive contingency plans
will be the hallmark of the business that copes most effectively
in response to threats from diverse natural and manmade
during a pandemic.
disasters, pandemic planning must address the extreme health
The following points related to an organization’s humanand mental health impact assumptions and containment
continuity are often forgotten and must be incorporated into
strategies projected for a severe pandemic.
workplace pandemic planning to sustain employee health,A pandemic will likely reduce dramatically the number
mental health, and productivity.
of available workers in all sectors, and significantly disrupt

Planning and Preparedness
1. Distress behaviors and resilience, not just illness, arecritical targets for workplace planning and response
efforts. Heath risk emotions and behaviors to be mitigatedinclude worry, fear, insomnia, difficulty concentrating,avoiding certain situations at work, and increased use ofalcohol or tobacco. These do not constitute disease but
nonetheless disrupt and diminish social and occupationalfunctioning.
2. All workers/workforces are not the same. Small
businesses often do not have internal or employee healthassistance vendor resources for psychosocial support
that larger workplaces may have. Smaller companies
do not necessarily have access to professional security,
occupational health, or employee assistance programs.
3. Sustained support over the “trajectory” of a pandemic will
require considerable resources and a shifting of emphasis
over time. The effects of a pandemic outbreak are not thesame as a single-event disaster and requires planning for a
prolonged or extended impact.
4. Business-community integration and pooling of resourcesmust be explored. Businesses must identify who willcomprise their human response teams to conduct criticalincident needs assessment (CINAT) during a pandemic
and facilitate adaptive response.

Response1. Employee health protective behaviors such as movement
restriction or “home quarantine” must be encouraged toreduce disease spread, but these behaviors will impact
productivity.
2. Family care and support are critical to business/humancapital continuity. Employees who feel reassured about thewell-being of their family are more likely to come to work
and, when present, function productively.
3. Leadership endorsement of and participation inpreparedness, prevention, and grief management arenecessary for success. Grief will be a significant componentof the overall emotional cost of a pandemic. Acknowledging
grief within the workplace and making time for employees
to address this through various rituals and activities
strengthens organizations.
4. Knowledge of and delivery of Psychological First Aid(PFA), an evidence-informed intervention favored overdebriefing in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, must be
considered in workplace pandemic planning and response.
PFA involves enhancing feelings of safety, calming, social
connectedness, self- and organizational-efficacy, and hope/
optimism.
5. Continuation of worker productivity is not only importantto national infrastructure/security, but an important
contributor to the sustained mental health of ourpopulation.