How Public Health Organizational Structure Affected the Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to examine how public health organizational structures affected decision-making and provides recommendations to strengthen future public health crisis preparedness.Methods: The Institutions-Politics-Organizations-Governance (IPOG) framework and an organizational lens was applied to the analysis of COVID-19 governance within British Columbia (BC). Organizational charts detailing the structure of public health systems were compiled using available data and supplemented with data collected through key informant interviews.Results: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, BC initiated several changes in its public health organization. BC’s COVID-19 response attempted to utilize a centralized command structure within a decentralized health system. Four key themes were identified pertaining to the 1) locus of decision-making and action; 2) role of emergency structures; 3) challenges in organizational structure; and 4) balance between authority and participation in decision-making.Conclusion: The organizational adaptations enabled a substantively effective response. However, our findings also illustrate deficiencies in organizational structure in the current public health system. Two recommendations for consideration are: 1) a more formal vertical organizational structure; and 2) developing new mechanisms to link health and general emergency response structures.