Non-pharmaceutical interventions in pandemic preparedness and response

Abstract

Longer title: Better evaluation of non-pharmaceutical interventions as a possible cause area within pandemic preparedness and response \textasciitilde3,500 words Many thanks to Aaron Gertler for commenting on a draft of this post.

Here I outline why I think a neglected and important aspect of pandemic preparedness and response is evaluation of the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). NPIs are also known as behavioural, environmental, social and systems interventions (BESSIs) or non-drug interventions (NDIs). They include interventions like mask wearing, hand-washing, social distancing, quarantining, school openings, and interventions that aim to change behaviour with regards to any of those things.