IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i3p295-d1350330.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Survey of the Use of Modeling, Simulation, Visualization, and Mapping in Public Health Emergency Operations Centers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Ali Asgary

    (Disaster & Emergency Management, School of Administrative Studies & York Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response, and Governance Institute & ADERSIM, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada)

  • Mahbod Aarabi

    (Disaster & Emergency Management, School of Administrative Studies & York Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response, and Governance Institute & ADERSIM, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada)

  • Shelly Dixit

    (Disaster & Emergency Management, School of Administrative Studies & York Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response, and Governance Institute & ADERSIM, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada)

  • He Wen

    (Faculty of Engineering—Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E2, Canada)

  • Mariah Ahmed

    (Disaster & Emergency Management, School of Administrative Studies & York Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response, and Governance Institute & ADERSIM, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada)

  • Jianhong Wu

    (York Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response, and Governance Institute & Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed life and work patterns and reshaped the healthcare industry and public health strategies. It posed considerable challenges to public health emergency operations centers (PHEOCs). In this period, digital technologies such as modeling, simulation, visualization, and mapping (MSVM) emerged as vital tools in these centers. Despite their perceived importance, the potential and adaptation of digital tools in PHEOCs remain underexplored. This study investigated the application of MSVM in the PHEOCs during the pandemic in Canada using a questionnaire survey. The results show that digital tools, particularly visualization and mapping, are frequently used in PHEOCs. However, critical gaps, including data management issues, technical and capacity issues, and limitations in the policy-making sphere, still hinder the effective use of these tools. Key areas identified in this study for future investigation include collaboration, interoperability, and various supports for information sharing and capacity building.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali Asgary & Mahbod Aarabi & Shelly Dixit & He Wen & Mariah Ahmed & Jianhong Wu, 2024. "A Survey of the Use of Modeling, Simulation, Visualization, and Mapping in Public Health Emergency Operations Centers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:3:p:295-:d:1350330
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/3/295/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/3/295/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:3:p:295-:d:1350330. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.