Emergency Health Management at a South African University

Response to the public health-related emergencies is analysed here for a rural university in South Africa. The structure of the designated emergency plan covers all the phases of the disaster management cycle. The plan contains elements of the vulnerability model and the technocratic model of emergency management. The response structures are vertically and horizontally integrated, while the planning contains elements of scenario-based and functional planning. The available number of medical professionals at the Rhodes University, along with the medical insurance rates, makes the staff and students potentially more medically vulnerable than the South African population. The main improvements of the emergency management are required in the tornado response and the information dissemination during health emergencies. The latter should involve the increased use of social media and e-mails, following the Taylor model of communication. Infrastructure must be improved in the telecommunication sector in the face of unpredictable electricity outages.

• R. Tandlich
• S. Hoossein
• K. A. Tagwira
• M. M. Marais
• T. A. Ludwig
• R. P. Chidziva
• M. N. Munodawafa
• W. M. Wrench

• Public health
• Rural university
• Taylor model of communication.

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