Date of Publication: Jan 22, 2015

Author: Marie-Christine Therrien, Georges A. Tanguay and Iseut Beauregard-Guérin

Summary:

We analysed 26 studies of the use of public health resilience indicators (PHRIs) in an urban setting in western countries, provinces and states. We selected 279 PHRIs in these studies, of which 270 (97%) are used only once or twice. The analysis of the studies thus reveals a lack of consensus not only on the conceptual framework and the approach favoured, but also on the selection and optimal number of indicators. First, by performing different classifications and categorisations of PHRI we identify problems inherent in territorial practices that use PHRI. Second, we argue that the lack of consensus in several steps of the creation of PHRI stems notably from the ambiguity in the definitions of urban public health resilience, objectives for the use of such indicators, the selection method and the accessibility of data. Third, we propose a selection strategy for PHRI through which we demonstrate the need to adopt a parsimonious list of PHRI covering the urban resilience components and their constituent categories as broadly as possible while minimising the number of indicators retained. The result is a concise and less redundant list of indicators that are less sectoral and more integrative, which has the advantage of encompassing the integrated dimensions of urban resilience.

Link to Full Reading:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21693293.2014.988915