SynthesisThe Milbank quarterly2013
Health systems' "surge capacity": state of the art and priorities for future research.
Synthesis in The Milbank quarterly, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Challenges in healthcare facilities' response to past outbreaks: a systematic review of reviews.BMC health services research · 2026Pooled it
- Establishing the Domains of a Hospital Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool: A Systematic Review.Prehospital and disaster medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Dynamic demand forecasting and capacity assessment for emergency care system: a hybrid time series and machine learning approach with evidence from Beijing.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- A Strategy for Surge Management: Senior Residents on the Admitting Frontlines.Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives · 2026Article
- Healthcare system disruption across WHO-declared PHEICs: a 4S comparative case analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Local translation of national guidance on discontinuing COVID-19 isolation into hospital policies results in considerable differences.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Article
- The SHARE-HRS 4SPrehospital and disaster medicine · 2025Article
- Surge capacity and practice management challenges of Canadian family physicians during COVID-19: a qualitative study.Human resources for health · 2025Article
- A national study of in-hospital preparedness for Mass Casualty Incidents and disasters.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Article
- Applying the Surge Capacity Components for Capacity-Building Purposes in the Context of the EMT Initiative.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Adjustment of medical standards in disaster, crises and war: a scoping review of the literature.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- The effect of public hospital closure on the death of long-term inpatients in Korea.Epidemiology and health · 2024Article
- Enhancing a Willingness to Respond to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies Among Health Care Workers, Using mHealth Intervention: A Multidisciplinary Approach.Disaster medicine and public health preparedness · 2023Article
- A method for detailed determination of hospital surge capacity: a prerequisite for optimal preparedness for mass-casualty incidents.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2023Article
- Resilience in keeping the balance between demand and capacity in the COVID-19 pandemic, a case study at a Swedish middle-sized hospital.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Lessons learned from the COVID-19 response in Sri Lankan hospitals: an interview of frontline healthcare professionals.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Hospital Staffing during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sweden.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Hospital Surge Capacity Preparedness in Disasters and Emergencies: Protocol for a Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- European countries' responses in ensuring sufficient physical infrastructure and workforce capacity during the first COVID-19 wave.Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2022Article
- "Well, I Signed Up to Be a Soldier; I Have Been Trained and Equipped Well": Exploring Healthcare Workers' Experiences during COVID-19 Organizational Changes in Singapore, from the First Wave to the Path towards Endemicity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextOver the past decade, a number of high-impact natural hazard events, together with the increased recognition of pandemic risks, have intensified interest in health systems' ability to prepare for, and cope with, "surges" (sudden large-scale escalations) in treatment needs. In this article, we identify key concepts and components associated with this emerging research theme. We consider the requirements for a standardized conceptual framework for future research capable of informing policy to reduce the morbidity and mortality impacts of such incidents. Here our objective is to appraise the consistency and utility of existing conceptualizations of health systems' surge capacity and their components, with a view to standardizing concepts and measurements to enable future research to generate a cumulative knowledge base for policy and practice.
methodsA systematic review of the literature on concepts of health systems' surge capacity, with a narrative summary of key concepts relevant to public health.
findingsThe academic literature on surge capacity demonstrates considerable variation in its conceptualization, terms, definitions, and applications. This, together with an absence of detailed and comparable data, has hampered efforts to develop standardized conceptual models, measurements, and metrics. Some degree of consensus is evident for the components of surge capacity, but more work is needed to integrate them. The overwhelming concentration in the United States complicates the generalizability of existing approaches and findings.
conclusionsThe concept of surge capacity is a useful addition to the study of health systems' disaster and/or pandemic planning, mitigation, and response, and it has far-reaching policy implications. Even though research in this area has grown quickly, it has yet to fulfill its potential to generate knowledge to inform policy. Work is needed to generate robust conceptual and analytical frameworks, along with innovations in data collection and methodological approaches that enhance health systems' readiness for, and response to, unpredictable high-consequence surges in demand.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.