Dr. Raj Panjabi, founder of Last Mile Health, wrote *Safer: A Playbook* after his one-year-old daughter was diagnosed with heart failure. The book addresses the danger of normalcy bias, which causes people to ignore slow-moving emergencies until it is too late. Panjabi introduces practical tools like "if/then" thresholds to prompt early intervention during both personal and societal hardships. Additionally, the text tackles public health issues like measles outbreaks by replacing accusatory communication with questions that target practical barriers.
Key points
Normalcy bias frequently causes dangerous delays by leading people to assume conditions w…: Normalcy bias frequently causes dangerous delays by leading people to assume conditions will remain unchanged during a crisis.
Creating predetermined if/then thresholds helps individuals take decisive, timely action…: Creating predetermined if/then thresholds helps individuals take decisive, timely action when warning signs first appear.
Addressing practical barriers rather than assigning blame is a more effective strategy fo…: Addressing practical barriers rather than assigning blame is a more effective strategy for resolving public health noncompliance.
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TUESDAY VERSION
Dr. Raj Panjabi's new book has a simple title: Safer: A Playbook.
Yes, a playbook like the kind sports managers use to firm up a winning strategy. But playbooks aren't just for games.
"In the intensive care unit, we have a playbook when someone's heart stops beating," And when he was a White House health adviser during the COVID emergency, he says, "In the Situation Room, we had a playbook for pandemic preparedness."
Then there was his own family's situation — at age 1, his daughter was diagnosed with heart failure.
That experience inspired Panjabi to write a different kind of playbook. "I was frustrated that we didn't have a playbook for crises that appear in our own living room."
What he wrote is actually three books in one: The story of how he and his wife addressed their daughter's life-threatening condition; an exploration of public health issues that beset the globe – and straightforward advice for anyone with a living-room crisis. The book's chapter titles telegraph his philosophy: "Turn Denial Into Action." "Don't Go It Alone." "Get…
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