Partisanship, policy options, and risk: Perceived influence of political partisanship on health emergency preparedness

The 21st century has seen the emergence of two novel coronaviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19 (coronavirus infectious disease of 2019). In the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Republicans and Democrats were united in their concerns regarding SARS and the potential threat of biological weapons. That united front was not to be seen during the 2016 debate over supplemental funding for Zika. The primary focus of this study is whether the perception of partisanship in the public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) area affects attitudes about policy options regarding PHEP. To investigate these issues, a Qualtrics online survey of members of hospital preparedness coalitions was conducted. The survey questions covered issues such as the level of governmental priority placed on fighting infectious disease, respondents' level of confidence that the essential functions of government are being managed, the role of partisanship in PHEP decision making, and support for proposals to reform the government's infectious disease response. A statistically significant association was found between respondents' reporting that partisanship in PHEP presents a risk of injury or death and support for all the proposed reforms, indicating a desire to decentralize PHEP activities and a need to reinvigorate PHEP bipartisanship.