DrPH Dissertation Defense Presentation: Hamad AlRashed

Please join us for Hamad AlRashed's dissertation defense, which examines the association between the World Health Organization’s State Party Self-Assessment Annual Reporting (SPAR) tool and mortality outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research investigates the preparedness paradox, where highly prepared nations experienced severe COVID-19 mortality outcomes, by conducting a population-weighted analysis of the updated e-SPAR framework. Additionally, the dissertation evaluates the individual performance of all 15 SPAR capacities, highlighting a vital epidemiological contrast between operational clinical capacities that actively mitigate mortality and plan-oriented administrative indicators. Ultimately, this work offers targeted policy recommendations to complement existing global health security metrics with dynamic, performance-based measures of real-world execution.