Using systems modeling to enhance public health preparedness INTRODUCTION

As global public health threats increase in number and worldwide impact, we must explore novel and more advanced approaches to address the complex challenges associated with public health preparedness. Public health outbreaks do not adhere to municipal, state, or national boundaries, which makes the role of systems modeling all the more critical for developing effective and efficient public health preparedness strategies. In response to the need for global and multifaceted preparedness and response efforts, this special issue highlights novel systems modeling approaches that can be applied to public health preparedness. Through these illustrative papers, one goal of this special issue is to serve as a medium for communicating systems methods to public health practice and to increase practitioners' awareness of the role that systems methods can play in addressing complex planning and implementation issues associated with public health preparedness.