SynthesisBMC health services research2026
Challenges in healthcare facilities' response to past outbreaks: a systematic review of reviews.
Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2026. 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
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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.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionThe frequency of infectious diseases outbreaks is increasing, but these challenges are not always thoroughly investigated. To date, no systematic reviews of reviews have comprehensively mapped the challenges and gaps faced during past epidemics and pandemics in Europe at healthcare facility level. This systematic review of reviews aims at filling this gap and at contributing to documenting the challenges and informing policy recommendations.
methodsThis review was conducted within the Horizon Europe project PREPSHIELD. The search was conducted in October 2024 on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Reviews published in English between the years 2009–2024, reporting data on COVID-19, H1N1, influenza or seasonal flu, measles, or Mpox, and documenting gaps or challenges in the response to these outbreaks at healthcare facility level were included.
resultsA total of 21 reviews were included: they were systematic, scoping, narrative, rapid, or integrative. The studies included in the reviews were mostly conducted in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France. The studies included different levels of healthcare facilities, namely hospitals, primary healthcare, and prehospital settings. Findings were classified according to the 4S surge capacity framework and were related to staff (n = 18), stuff (n = 14), space (n = 7), and system (n = 18). The most reported challenges in the included reviews were increased workload, mental health, and task shifting or redeployment, resource shortages, intensive care unit/emergency department space limitations and repurposing, and telemedicine challenges.
conclusionKey issues described highlight the need for training, peer-to-peer support mechanisms, and improved inter-institutional collaboration. Technology was described as both an opportunity and a challenge in pandemic response if not adequately supported by health staff training. A whole-of-society strategy, combining all-hazards and hazard-specific approaches, and moving beyond crisis mode, can strengthen future outbreak preparedness and response.
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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 Socratic graph.