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Interorganizational Coordination and Collaboration During the 2015 MERS-CoV Response in South Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2020

Yushim Kim ,
Seong Soo Oh Open the ORCID record for Seong Soo Oh [Opens in a new window] ,
Minyoung Ku  and
Jihyun Byeon
Yushim Kim
Affiliation:
School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona
Seong Soo Oh*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Administration, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Minyoung Ku
Affiliation:
Department of Public Management, John Jay College, CUNY, New York, New York
Jihyun Byeon
Affiliation:
Department of Public Administration, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Seong Soo Oh, Department of Public Administration, Hanyang University, 222 Wangshimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul04763, Korea (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objectives:

This study examined the way organizations were involved in the response to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV, MERS) outbreak that occurred in Korea in 2015.

Data and Methods:

We collected organizational network data through a content analysis of online news articles and the government’s white paper. Social network analysis was used to analyze the key organizations and their connections in crucial response tasks.

Results:

Three national health authorities (Central MERS Management Headquarters [CMMH], Korea Centers for Disease Control [KCDC], Ministry of Health and Welfare [MOHW]) led the response. CMMH, which did not appear in the government’s response plans, played a significant role in all 3 networks. KCDC also was involved in all 3 networks, but was most prominent in the laboratory testing network. MOHW appeared only in the patient management network. Each health authority coordinated and collaborated with distinctive types of organizations in the networks, but unclear lines of responsibilities also were found.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrated that the roles and responsibilities of health authorities at the national level were fragmented and lacked clarity. Public health emergency preparedness must consider carefully the way to establish collaborative response systems.

Keywords

interorganizational coordination and collaborationMERS-CoVpublic health emergency responsesocial network analysis
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , August 2021 , pp. 409 - 415
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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