Decision Support Frameworks in Public Health Emergencies: A Systematic Review of Dynamic Models in Complex Contexts

Abstract

Public health emergencies are extraordinary events of disease spread, with health, economic, and social consequences, which require coordinated actions by governments and society. This work aims to analyze scopes, application possibilities, challenges, and gaps of decision support frameworks in PHE management, using the components of the Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Framework (H-EDRM) and the Preparedness, Prevention, Response and Recovery Model (PPRR Model), providing guidelines for the development of new models. A systematic literature review was carried out using the Web of Science, Scopus, and Pubmed knowledge databases on studies published between 2016 and 2023, and thirty-six articles were selected. The outcomes show a concentration of frameworks on short-term emergency response operations, with a limited emphasis on the political and strategic components that drive actors and responsibilities. Management prioritizes monitoring, evaluation, and information management frameworks. However, the models need to overcome the challenges of multisectoral and interdisciplinary action, different levels of decisions and actors, data sharing, and development of common platforms of evidence for decisions fitted to the various emergencies.