SynthesisBMC public health2025
Enhancing the design, conduct and evaluation of public health emergency preparedness exercises: a rapid review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEmergency preparedness exercises are essential in building a resilient public health system that can support increasingly frequent and complex public health risks. This rapid review describes evidence-informed practices or principles that can enhance all-hazards emergency preparedness exercises, with a specific focus on the public health agency context.
methodsFour databases were systematically searched, including MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, and CINAHL (January 2013-June 2024) and complemented with a grey literature search. Studies were included if published in English, from a member country of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, relevant to the public health agency context, and reported outcomes that aligned with our primary research question. Included articles were assessed for quality based on study design. The analysis involved a descriptive summary and thematic analysis.
resultsThe review identified fifteen studies that reported insights on optimizing exercise design and delivery, with most studies reporting on tabletop exercise evaluation results. We identified ten sub-themes on how to strengthen exercises with a focus on how scenarios are developed, how participants are selected and organized during an exercise, thoughtful selection and training of exercise facilitators, selecting evaluation methods that closely align with the purpose of the exercise, and the importance of embedding activities that will encourage pathways to improvement.
conclusionsFindings from this review can be utilized in practice to enhance the design of emergency preparedness exercises. There are several gaps that should inform future work, including the need for additional studies focused on exercises conducted within the public health agency context, as well as more rigorous research to strengthen knowledge regarding evidence-informed practices in this area. There is a need for more guidance on triggers for conducting exercises, additional research on innovative technologies and approaches to enhance participant engagement, and guidance on incorporating evidence-based frameworks and indicators to improve exercise design and evaluation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.