_This project was runner-up for the "Other Exceptional Project" prize on our Pandemics (May 2024) course. The text below is an excerpt from the final project._

**Environments (PREPARE) Study:**  An implementation science proposal to improve pandemic preparedness by training village chiefs in outbreak response using refined disease modeling and pandemic simulations.

# **Key messages**

- Rural Africa is always at the end of the distribution list for novel vaccines and treatments, and the time lag between pandemic onset and vaccine or treatment access requires a **sustained non-pharmaceutical response** to slow transmission
- When the next pandemic hits, we could have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives in rural Africa by **leveraging the existing leadership roles of social structures**
- National governments don't have the direct relationship needed to influence and sustain a long period of transmission control measures at the community level
- **Traditional and religious community leaders have the relationships, influence and authority** needed: Their training and engagement in pandemic preparedness and response presents an opportunity to save countless lives
- Disease modeling is a complex field but its utility in pandemic response can be clearly explained in daily life metaphors. However, **disease models are not currently optimized for structural interventions** that rely on community compliance
- We can adapt disease models and pandemic simulators to incorporate interventions and compliance at community level, and **use a refined model and simulator as a tool to train community leaders** on pandemic response

This **low-cost, innovative approach to pandemic preparedness**, if brought to scale, could save tens of thousands of lives in the next pandemic

## Full project

_You can view the full project [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WpkQXTr35AFnisH07eWZ8yItNSDx7Tguq62aMzJkS-4/edit?usp=sharing)._


The Pandemic Resilience Education and Precise modeling for African Rural Environments (PREPARE) Study

Beth Tippett Barr • 2nd Place • October 2024