Cairns local COVID-19 rapid social needs assessment
Babacan, Hurriyet, McHugh, Jennifer, and Dale, Allan (2020) Cairns local COVID-19 rapid social needs assessment. External Commissioned Report. James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia.
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Abstract
On March 11 2020 the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. The pandemic is not just a health crisis, it also an unprecedented socio-economic crisis that has had large-scale global impacts across all segments of society, affecting large and diverse population cohorts. The full impact has not yet been felt and there is an expected lag effect of the virus with the social, economic and environmental spheres predicted to last much longer then the pandemic. Additionally, the impact of the pandemic has not been uniform, and many existing social inequalities have been exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic. Impacts operate across scales of regions, institutions and communities and have reverberation in a multitude of ways. The Cairns region is identified as a high impact area for the consequences of COVID-19. Being a rural-regional location and economically being largely reliant on the tourism industry, its unique socio-economic characteristics has rendered it as ‘highly vulnerable,’ with significant impacts on the social, economic and emotional health of the local population. Despite the regions vulnerability we have an opportunity to meet our challenges in new and innovative ways that build on the regions many strengths. Cairns Regional Council (CRC) has been proactive in developing and acknowledging local responses to COVID-19 and in building an evidence base to guide response and recovery strategies. CRC has partnered with James Cook University to undertake a Rapid Social Needs Assessment (RNA). The project has three primary aims; 1. To determine a rapid and preliminary understanding of the social impacts of COVID-19 experienced by the Cairns community; 2. Create and evidence-based response strategies to inform short term to medium -term recovery planning and investment priorities, accounting for lag effects and the potential for resurgence; and 3. The work will also inform long-term recovery information needs and planning.