A Topic Modeling Analysis of the Crisis Response Stage during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The core of disaster management is the ability to respond spontaneously and rapidly to unexpected situations and also to apply planned and adaptable responses that follow manuals and guidelines. This study aimed to observe the changes in information during the COVID-19 pandemic period by collecting and analyzing information announced on a hospital intranet by an infection control team. This study performed text mining of large amounts of data to investigate notices about in-hospital strategies towards COVID-19 to identify changes in the coping strategies during the pandemic. Notices announced within the infection control rooms of 12 university hospitals in South Korea from 1 January to 31 August 2020 were searched. Four representative topics were identified based on the stepwise keywords shown in the topic modeling analysis: (1) “Understanding the new infectious disease”, (2) “Preparation of a patient care and management system”, (3) “Prevention of spread and securing employee safety” and (4) “Improvement of the management system according to the revision of guidelines”. Countries where an infectious disease emerges should provide accurate information on the disease and guidelines to determine how to respond. Medical institutions must revise and complement them while considering their specific circumstances. To efficiently respond to an infectious disease crisis, governments and medical institutions must cooperate closely, and implementing a systematic response is crucial.