After action review

An After Action Review (AAR) is a qualitative review of actions taken to respond to a public health event or following a project or a public health intervention as a means of identifying and documenting best practices demonstrated and challenges encountered during the response to the event or the implementation of the project. The AAR process involves a structured facilitated discussion or experience sharing among responders to critically and systematically review what was in place before the response and could have been used, what actually happened during the response, what went well, what went less well, why events occurred as they did, and how to improve. It is an important management tool for continuous performance improvement and learning.

More specifically, the objectives of an AAR are:

  • to review actions undertaken at each phase of managing a public health event, to identify what worked well, what worked less well and why;
  • to demonstrate the functionality of national capacities in preparing for, detecting and responding to a public health event;
  • to identify the corrective actions needed to institutionalize any lessons emerging from the management of public health events;
  • to address the challenges made evident through the AAR.

 

Key publications

Target product profiles for diagnostic tests for Taenia solium taeniasis in humans, and cysticercosis in humans and pigs
This document presents target product profiles (TPPs) for diagnostic tests for Taenia solium taeniasis in humans and cysticercosis in humans and pigs....
Prevalence of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence against adolescent girls aged 15–19 years: technical brief

Adolescence is a critical stage of life, yet for many girls it is marked by violence that can harm their health, education and future prospects. Drawing...

Public health advice on Bundibugyo virus disease for internally displaced people, refugees and migrants living in camps or camp-like settings

This public health advice addresses the need for tailored measures to help prevent and control the spread of Bundibugyo virus (BVD) among people living...

AAR online training

AAR training

This course has been designed to introduce the learners to the knowledge and skills needed for a successful management and facilitation of an After Action Review (AAR) using a working group format.

The learning objectives are the following:

  • Explain the context and the purpose of an AAR
  • Describe the general of the AAR process (by using the working group format)
  • Describe the general of the AAR process (by using the working group format).
  • Distinguish roles and responsibilities of facilitators in the AAR process and describe the techniques for participatory facilitation.
  • Indicate the resources available for conducting an AAR and know where to find them.
  • Expected audience: IHR NFPs, WHO staff, Health professionals and partners, any person interested in reviewing any emergency response.

 

AAR toolbox