Review of research studies on population specific epidemic disasters

Abstract

Purpose - This study aims to analyze the epidemic modeling applications and policy-making strategies for six different infectious diseases in a number of countries, thus comparing and contrasting research in underdeveloped, developing, and developed countries. Design/methodology/approach - A systematic review has been conducted by identifying relevant studies for six diseases from different sources and selecting 74 publications for inclusion. These selected publications are classified and analyzed based on infectious disease, control policies, theme and objective, methodology, origin of population data, publication year and results. Findings - Review results indicate that disaster preparedness and surveillance plans for epidemics are available mostly for developed countries. There is a need for further research in both developing and developed countries because of the ease of dispersion, which constitutes a universal threat. Analysis of the publications suggests that epidemic disasters are mostly studied by researchers in the field of medicine or biology with the aim of assessing the potential impact of an epidemic. The authors highlight the need for further research in operations research and disaster management fields and propose further research directions in the area of disaster management. Social implications - This review emphasizes the importance of epidemic disaster modeling for the preparedness stage of disaster management and policy making. Disease and population-specific intervention policies (e.g. vaccination) reported in this review should set an example and help policy makers during their decision making. Originality/value - Potential use of the epidemiological modeling on further planning and decision-making issues in the context of disaster management is studied for the first time.