HSCI 6200 FINAL PROJECT

HSCI 6200 Final Project – Case Study: Zika Outbreak in Miami

Jeffrey Truong

Department of Health Science and Human Ecology,

California State University, San Bernardino

HSCI 6200: Leadership 1

Dr. Salome Mshigeni

December 12, 2020

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1) In what ways did the preparations for and response to Miami’s Zika outbreak

demonstrate ineffective public health leadership?

 The lackluster preparations prior to and during Miami’s Zika outbreak was definitely due to

ineffective public health leadership. This was very evident in their lack of action when

there were outbreaks occurring across Brazil and other Latin American/Caribbean nations.

Despite warnings from public health leaders and infectious disease experts, no real

preparations were made which resulted in preventable outbreaks. Even after outbreaks in

Miami started occurring, equity and equality of action varied and were less effective due to

lack of transparency in locations that were affected and dissent between officials on who to

blame. These actions also reflected a violation of the “Health Code of Ethics,” where

leaders of public health leaders are supposed to “act truthfully and speak in good faith in an

objective manner based on knowledge of facts and competence of subject matter,”

(Mshigeni, 2020). If the public health leaders had taken seriously what the public health

leaders and infectious disease experts had to say, more preparations and guidelines could

have been issued for residents of Miami to be better prepared. Even if preparations were

lackluster, strong leadership during the outbreaks could have helped reduce the number of

cases of infection. Instead, the squabbling between authorities on who to blame lead to low

amounts of mosquito traps and more than 100 local infections by fall 2016.
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2) After taking this leadership course, what unethical practice are you able to identify from

this paragraph that was conducted by leaders from agencies involved in the Zika outbreak?

 The unethical practice I could identify from this case study were that there was obstruction

of information and transparency of the situation related to Zika. According to this case

study, the Miami-Dade County and Miami beach mayors were accusing state health

officials of requiring them to keep secrets related to the zika outbreaks. There is evidently

an incentive for officials to keep secret outbreaks related to Zika virus due to the amount of

tourism that Miami depends on for income. These acts constitute a violation of moral

authority, which assumes that these leaders will be “trustworthy” and that they will make

“decisions that are right and good,” (Mshigeni, 2020). The obstruction of transparent

information to the public only ended up costing the counties more money in the end with

the full economic impact not being felt for years to come. This is due to the mistrust being

sowed into society by the unethical actions of the leaders. Followers will only be guided by

a leader who is ethical and has a strong moral compass.

3) How could the government and public health leaders have responded more effectively in

such circumstances? Provide your insight based on class lectures.

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 The government and public health leaders could have responded more effectively in such

circumstances by taking the recommendations and warnings from experts seriously. In

addition, leaders could have been more transparent about data and statistics related to the

Zika virus so that the public could have been better prepared. Effective leadership would

have dictated a coordinated response due to the “ability to motivate and influence” the

followers and general public to take better precautions (Mshigeni, 2020). According to an

article that evaluated the parallels between the Zika and COVID pandemics, Florida’s

response could have been improved if there was “faster test results, better vaccine

development, increased testing requirements, and increased public knowledge of sexual

transmission,” (Marshall et al., 2020). These are valuable points that have helped structure

the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between both pandemics, it is increasingly

evident that a coordinated response brought forth by effective leadership is a vital

component in controlling incidence and prevalence.

4) Would the coaching of local public health officials by the Florida Department of

Agriculture have been beneficial in controlling the Zika outbreak?

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 Yes, I would agree that coaching of local public health officials by the Florida Department

of Agriculture would have been beneficial in controlling the Zika Outbreak. Effective

coaching would have helped stimulated “dialogue” where open discussion of a “strategy”

and “development of a plan” could have been useful (Mshigeni, 2020). The dialogue

generated would have been a good channel of communication to prevent squabbling and

throwing of blame to others. There actually would not have been any blame generated

because both organizations and all associated leaders would be united in their mission to

help control the Zika outbreak. The fact that there was squabbling is indicative of lack of

communication between both parties. The components of effective coaching involve

“fostering a positive work environment, overcoming performance problems, and increasing

productivity,” (Mshigeni, 2020). I believe that aside from increasing communication,

effective coaching could have eliminated dissent by fostering a positive work environment

and increased productivity. This productivity would have translated into a better

coordinated response, less cases of Zika virus, and subsequently less economic impact.

5) Refer to chapter 13, class power point, slide no 3; the image of mentoring - what 3

elements from the image would have been beneficial to combating the spread of Zika in

Florida?

 Based on slide number 3 of chapter 13, the three elements I believe would have been

beneficial to combating the spread of Zika in Florida include “training, coaching, and
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support,” (Mshigeni, 2020). Better training would have prepared health care and public

health professionals to be able to recognize Zika virus symptoms and improve prevention

along with early diagnosis. Lack of training only leads to lack of preparedness which leads

to more cases of the virus. Coaching would have created a running dialogue in the planning

stages of how to properly coordinate a response to the pandemic between leaders and

followers. The lack of coaching is what lead to dissent, obstruction of information, and

accusations between leaders. In the midst of a pandemic, effective leadership is key to an

effective response. Effective coaching leads into the importance of support during a

pandemic. Due to the nature of a pandemic, contributions and support from all

organizations are vital in an effective response effort. These organizations will only be

effective if they are supported by the leaders in which guide them. The effects related to

lack of support is the same as lack of communication and training, which all result in a poor

collaborative and coordinated effort. Poor collaboration and lack of a coordinated effort

only results in more infections and higher economic impact.

References

Marshall, J., Scott, B., Delva, J., Ade, C., Hernandez, S., Patel, J., Moreno-Cheek, M., Rojas, D.,

Tanner, J.-P., & Kirby, R. S. (2020). An Evaluation of Florida’s Zika Response Using the WHO

Health Systems Framework: Can We Apply These Lessons to COVID-19? Maternal and Child

Health Journal, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-02969-5

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Mshigeni, S. (2020). Professionalism for the Effective Public Health Leader Chapter 2

[PowerPoint slides]. California State University San Bernardino. Zoom Lecture

Mshigeni, S. (2020). Traits, Skills, and Styles of Leadership: Chapter 3

[PowerPoint slides]. California State University San Bernardino. Zoom Lecture

Mshigeni, S. (2020). The Ethical Basis of Public Health Leadership: Chapter 8

[PowerPoint slides]. California State University San Bernardino. Zoom Lecture

Mshigeni, S. (2020). Mentoring and coaching Leaders in Public Health: Chapter 13

[PowerPoint slides]. California State University San Bernardino. Zoom Lecture