Preface

As of October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports close to five million COVID-19-related deaths across the globe. Increasing death rates from other public health threats (e.g., opioid epidemic) also negatively impacted every aspect of human life, especially among vulnerable populations and low-resource regions. As most social, educational, and healthcare systems were not prepared to respond to these public health crises, a diverse group of dedicated and exemplary scientists present in this volume the latest knowledge on ways to respond to COVID-19 and other public health threats and with these efforts improve global health and wellbeing.

This volume provides unique, comprehensive, and science-based approaches to prevent and manage public health threats. Thirteen chapters describe prevention and intervention practices to respond to macro-structural, human process, and micro issues affected by public health threats. For instance, the authors describe how communities may reduce public health risk and generate evidence to inform policy-making and coordination efforts across public and private sectors. Other preventative structural approaches discussed include shelter management approaches to protect individuals before, during, and after a public health crisis, and waste management technologies to prevent the spread of infections.

The book's chapters discuss the human processes necessary to coordinate efforts. For instance, authors describe types of leadership behaviors that best prepare decision-makers to lead amid crisis, and ways in which innovative technologies may help us identify, analyze, and respond to public health threats using public and academic data and computing capacities. Special attention is paid to the role of Artificial Intelligence to anticipate and address the consequences of future public health threats. The book has a special focus on the impact of COVID-19 and other public health crises on vulnerable populations and low-resource regions around the globe.

Public health crises disrupt supply chains and limit efforts to develop pharmacological and other treatment innovations to overcome health threats. In this volume, the authors offer best practices to develop supply chain strategies for emergencies, an issue that has impacted world economies and food supply chains. They also examine the stage of development of the latest medications to treat COVID-19, a shining light in the fight against this pandemic.

This book also addresses public health crises like the opioid overdose epidemic. Authors describe interdisciplinary team approaches to respond to national emergencies and offer recommendations and practices regarding infection prevention and control measures on a wide scale. Overall, this book provides a comprehensive view of science-based approaches to respond to COVID-19 and other public health threats with emphasis on the most vulnerable. The group of committed scientists, whose work is presented in this volume, sought to inform the public and policymakers about evidence-based practices that may improve the safety and health of all and secure a future for our mother earth.

> **Erick Guerrero, Ph.D.** Director, I-Lead Institute, REHD Corp, Innovation to Impact Fellow, Yale University, USA
