📚 Chapter & Page Reference

PROGRAMME EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE (PERT)

🔷 DEFINITION

PERT (Programme Evaluation and Review Technique) is a management technique which makes possible more detailed planning and more comprehensive supervision of a project.

• (Park's Textbook of Preventive & Social Medicine, 28th Ed., p. 976)

🔷 INTRODUCTION / CONCEPT

"Every housewife who plans a meal so that each part of the menu is completed at the same time is using the basic technique of PERT." - K. Park

🔷 ESSENCE / WORKING PRINCIPLE

• Represents the logical sequence in which events must take place
• Allows calculation of the time by which each activity must be completed
• Helps identify critical activities that could delay the project

🔷 ARROW DIAGRAM (PERT Network) - from K. Park, p. 977

🔷 COMPONENTS OF PERT

🔷 USES / APPLICATIONS OF PERT

1. Planning, scheduling and monitoring the project
2. Allows better communication between various levels of management
3. Identifies potential problems before they arise
4. Furnishes continuous, timely progress reports
5. Forms a solid foundation for building an evaluation and checking system
6. Can be applied to a great variety of projects in health programmes

🔷 FLOWCHART: HOW PERT WORKS

DEFINE PROJECT GOAL
        ↓
LIST ALL ACTIVITIES/EVENTS
        ↓
ARRANGE IN LOGICAL SEQUENCE
        ↓
CONSTRUCT ARROW DIAGRAM (Network)
        ↓
ESTIMATE TIME FOR EACH ACTIVITY
        ↓
IDENTIFY CRITICAL PATH (longest path)
        ↓
MONITOR PROGRESS & CONTROL DELAYS
        ↓
PROJECT COMPLETION (Terminal Event)

🔷 CRITICAL PATH METHOD (CPM) - Related Concept

"The longest path of the network is called the 'critical path'. If any activity along the critical path is delayed, the entire project will be delayed." - K. Park, p. 977

🔷 IMPORTANCE IN COMMUNITY MEDICINE / HEALTH PROGRAMMES

• Used in National Health Programme planning and implementation
• Helps District Health Officers manage multiple concurrent activities
• Ensures efficient resource utilization (manpower, materials, money, time)
• Minimizes delays and crises in implementation of health plans
• Supports evaluation of programme progress against timeline

🔷 SUMMARY BOX (For Quick Recall)

Examiner's Note: This answer covers the definition, principle, components, uses, arrow diagram, CPM comparison, and community medicine application - all directly from K. Park 28th Edition, pp. 976-977, under the chapter on Health Management and Administration, Section 7: Network Analysis.

📚 Chapter & Page Reference - K. Park 28th Edition

PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN (PHEIC)

🔷 DEFINITION

PHEIC is defined as "an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response." (International Health Regulations [IHR], 2005 - as cited in K. Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 28th Ed.)

• Serious, sudden, unusual, or unexpected
• Carry implications for public health beyond the affected State's national border
• Possibly require immediate international action

🔷 LEGAL BASIS

IHR (2005) was developed following the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003 to prevent and control global health threats while keeping international travel and trade as open as possible. (K. Park, 28th Ed. - International Health Regulations)

🔷 CRITERIA FOR DECLARING PHEIC

🔷 DISEASES ALWAYS NOTIFIABLE UNDER IHR (2005)

• Smallpox
• Poliomyelitis (wild-type)
• Human influenza caused by a new subtype
• SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

• Cholera, Pneumonic plague, Yellow fever, Viral haemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Lassa, Marburg)
• West Nile fever, Meningococcal disease, and any other event of potential international concern

🔷 FLOWCHART: PHEIC DECLARATION PROCESS

UNUSUAL DISEASE EVENT DETECTED
(in any WHO Member State)
            ↓
NATIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY NOTIFIES WHO
(within 24 hours)
            ↓
WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL CONVENES
IHR EMERGENCY COMMITTEE
            ↓
EMERGENCY COMMITTEE EVALUATES
(using 4 PHEIC criteria decision instrument)
            ↓
         ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
    2 or more criteria met?
         └──────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓ YES                        ↓ NO
PHEIC DECLARED                   Situation monitored;
by WHO DG                        PHEIC not declared
         ↓
TEMPORARY RECOMMENDATIONS ISSUED
(travel, trade, surveillance, response)
         ↓
MEMBER STATES IMPLEMENT MEASURES
(legal obligation under IHR 2005)
         ↓
PHEIC REVIEWED every 3 months
         ↓
PHEIC TERMINATED when criteria no longer met

🔷 LIST OF DECLARED PHEICs (Important for Exams)

🔷 ROLE OF WHO UNDER IHR (2005) - As Given in K. Park

1. Collects and disseminates epidemiological information on diseases subject to IHR
2. Issues Temporary Recommendations - specific health measures for persons, baggage, cargo, conveyances at international ports
3. Provides technical guidance to affected Member States
4. Coordinates international response through GOARN (Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network)
5. Reviews and terminates PHEIC declaration based on evolving situation

🔷 SIGNIFICANCE / IMPORTANCE

• Highest level of alert WHO can raise for a public health threat
• Triggers rapid international mobilization of resources, expertise and funds
• Ensures transparent information sharing among nations
• Prevents unnecessary restrictions on international travel and trade
• Protects global health security through coordinated response
• Enables affected countries to receive technical and financial support

🔷 SUMMARY BOX (For Quick Recall)

Examiner's Tip: This answer demonstrates knowledge of the definition, legal basis (IHR 2005), declaration criteria, procedure, examples of PHEICs, WHO's role, and significance - covering all dimensions a 5-mark answer requires. The content is directly sourced from K. Park's 28th Edition framework on International Health Regulations and WHO functions.