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Open research questions in Disaster Response and Management

183 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,681 Disaster Response and Management papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • There is a need for integrated, multisectoral disaster preparedness that includes both chronic and infectious disease care. Current health systems are not adequately prepared to respond to climate-related disasters. There is a lack of context-specific, evidence-informed resilience strategies to mitigate the health impacts of climate change.

    Cross-sectoral perspectives on strategies to address climate adaptation and health in cyclone-prone Sofala province, Mozambique · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to develop a standardized methodology for MCDA in health emergency management, - Research should focus on applying MCDA to various types of health emergencies, not just infectious hazards

    Use of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to support decision-making during health emergencies: a scoping review · 2025 · DOI

  • One challenge is the lack of reliable online disaster planning resources targeting the CSHCN or CMC community. Another challenge is the need for two-way communication channels, including social media, to connect with families during disasters. A third challenge is the importance of addressing mental health issues as well as physical functioning during disasters.

    Communication in disasters to support families with children with medical complexity and special healthcare needs: a rapid scoping review · 2024 · DOI

  • There is limited research on communication during disasters, particularly in the context of children with medical complexity. Previous research has focused on disaster planning and emergency preparedness, rather than communication during crises and recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for effective communication during disasters.

    Communication in disasters to support families with children with medical complexity and special healthcare needs: a rapid scoping review · 2024 · DOI

  • Logistical challenges in implementing humanitarian health training programs. Technical challenges in developing and evaluating training programs. Lack of recognized standards for curriculum or competencies limits the development and evaluation of humanitarian health trainings.

    Humanitarian health education and training state-of-the-art: a scoping review · 2024 · DOI

  • the review only included English-language peer-reviewed articles, - the lack of recognized standards for curriculum or competencies limits the development and evaluation of humanitarian health trainings, - the study did not assess the quality of the included articles

    Humanitarian health education and training state-of-the-art: a scoping review · 2024 · DOI

  • 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.

    Enhancing the design, conduct and evaluation of public health emergency preparedness exercises: a rapid review · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the literature concerning DM training monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is scarce.

    Monitoring and evaluation in disaster management courses: a scoping review · 2025 · DOI

  • BACKGROUND: Scarce evidence is available on the epidemiology of microbiologically proven clinical infections in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after a great earthquake.

    Infections among adults hospitalized in intensive care after the 2023 earthquake in the southeastern part of Türkiye: a multi-center observational study · 2025 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of pharmaceutical needs in disaster situations. The study highlights the need for more effective medicine lists.

    Pharmaceutical needs at temporary dispensing sites in Suzu City during the subacute phase after the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake: a cross-sectional study of disaster prescription trends · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies on interagency collaboration, - Investigation of the impact of communication failure on emergency response, - Development of strategies for improved leadership functions

    Collaboration among emergency first responders at major incidents – an explorative focus group study · 2026 · DOI

  • This study was guided by Lincoln and Guba’s [37] framework for trustworthiness, encompassing credibility, dependabil- ity, confirmability and transferability. Given the complexity of collaboration among emergency first responders during major incidents, methodological rigour was essential. To ensure credibility, focus group interviews were selected in preference to individual interviews in order to capture shared experiences, challenge assumptions and explore interprofessional dynamics in situ. This for- mat, inspired by Krueger’s [31] content analysis approach, encouraged interaction and reflection among participants from the ambulance service, fire brigade and police. Mod- erators with contextual familiarity but no hierarchical ties facilitated open dialogue, thereby reducing the risk of social desirability bias. Analytical credibility was further strength- ened through peer debriefing and reflexive team discus- sions throughout the research process. Dependability was addressed by maintaining a clear audit trail of decisions made during the data collection and analysis. A consist- ent, iterative coding strategy guided by Krueger’s model was applied across all transcripts, with regular reassess- ment of categories to ensure coherence with the empirical material. To support confirmability, interpretations were grounded in the participants’ own words and the research- ers’ preunderstandings were consciously bridled. Findings were substantiated with illustrative quotations and diver- gent views were reported to reflect the breadth of perspec- tives. Transferability, while inherently limited by context, was enhanced through rich descriptions of the study set- ting and participant composition. Purposeful sampling ensured diversity of roles and experiences, allowing insights that may be relevant to other multi-agency emergency set- tings. A possible limitation is that we only considered bio- logical sex, without accounting for individuals who identify as non-binary or those who preferred not to disclose their gender [54]. Although participant numbers and represen- tation varied across focus groups, potentially influencing group dynamics, the findings remained consistent between groups and the inclusion of all services in each group may have further strengthened transferability.

    Collaboration among emergency first responders at major incidents – an explorative focus group study · 2026 · DOI

  • One challenge is the lack of research on the effectiveness of interprofessional mass casualty simulation in improving nursing disaster preparedness. Another challenge is the limited availability of resources for disaster nursing training. The study also highlights the challenge of promoting interprofessional collaboration in disaster response.

    Improving Nursing Disaster Preparedness Through Interprofessional Mass Casualty Simulation · 2026 · DOI

  • The study had a small sample size of 127 students. The study was limited to undergraduate nursing students and may not be generalizable to other populations. External factors and confounding variables such as previous disaster exposure may have influenced the results.

    Improving Nursing Disaster Preparedness Through Interprofessional Mass Casualty Simulation · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for effective disaster risk management in primary health care. The importance of multisectoral collaboration and planning in strengthening community resilience.

    Emergency preparedness and disaster management for primary health care in Africa from the perspective of climate hazards and extreme weather events · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies several challenges, including the isolation of male survivors, community divisions, and the need for strategic transitions toward community self-sufficiency. The study also highlights the challenge of promoting health awareness and fostering community engagement in the aftermath of a disaster.

    The Great East Japan Earthquake reconstruction process in Rikuzentakata City: the trajectory of support activities and local self-sufficiency · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the existing literature on disaster recovery, highlighting the need for targeted psychosocial interventions and strategic transitions toward community self-sufficiency.

    The Great East Japan Earthquake reconstruction process in Rikuzentakata City: the trajectory of support activities and local self-sufficiency · 2026 · DOI

  • Managers had to make rapid decisions with limited information and without sufficient time for thorough consideration. Effective communication was recognized as a critical regulatory strategy, but proved to be challenging in practice. Managers had to balance the need for transparency in decision-making with the need for swift action.

    Crisis leadership and strategic decisions in Swedish maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A deductive analysis from the COPE staff project · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap in research on the working conditions and practical strategies employed by managers during a crisis. The study focuses on maternity care units, which have not previously been explored in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Crisis leadership and strategic decisions in Swedish maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A deductive analysis from the COPE staff project · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to assess emergency staff perceptions of the effectiveness of mass casualty management plans in Lebanese hospitals. There is a lack of understanding of the perceived associations between key plan components and perceived management effectiveness.

    Emergency Staff Perceptions of Mass Casualty Management Effectiveness in Lebanese Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOI

  • considered: - The study utilized a non-probability convenience sampling approach with a relatively small sample size (N=71), which may limit the generalizability of the findings to all hospitals in Lebanon. Furthermore, by targeting nursing leadership and supervisors as key informants, the study captures high-level perspectives on departmental oversight but may introduce selection bias. Consequently, the findings primarily reflect the insights of nursing management and may not fully capture the frontline experiences of bedside emergency staff. - The reliance on self-reported data may introduce participant perception bias. Additionally, the possibility © 2026 the author(s). 7 PaNorama of emergeNcy mediciNe 2026. 4(1):10 doi: 10.26738/Poem.V4i1.10 of common method bias exists, as both predictor and outcome variables were collected from the same respondents simultaneously. This suggests that some observed associations may partly reflect general response tendencies rather than distinct underlying constructs. - The cross-sectional design restricts the ability to evaluate the long-term evolution of hospital practices over time. More over, the focus on specific institutional contexts means the results may not be directly comparable to facilities with different infrastructures or policies. involved - While the study distinguished between leadership and staff in MCM, detailed professional sub-categories were not systematically captured. Incorporating objective metrics, such as response times or mortality rates, in future research would provide a more granular assessment of MCM effectiveness. ethiCAl ConsiderAtions Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee-Holy Family University, approval number [004/2026]. Administrative authorization was also obtained from the participating hospitals.

    Emergency Staff Perceptions of Mass Casualty Management Effectiveness in Lebanese Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap in reports of coordinated pediatric MCI responses from India. Prior work has described disaster preparedness principles, but there is a need for more research on pediatric MCI response.

    Hospital Disaster Preparedness and Response to a Pediatric Mass Casualty Incident in Central India: A Retrospective Quality Improvement Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • The high same-day discharge rate and absence of in-hospital mortality among patients arriving alive suggest that institutional preparedness and surge strategies may support MCI response, although causal attribution is limited by the descriptive design and lack of severity-adjusted comparison.

    Hospital Disaster Preparedness and Response to a Pediatric Mass Casualty Incident in Central India: A Retrospective Quality Improvement Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies challenges in spatial readiness, integrated communication, and support infrastructure. The study highlights the need for recurrent training and simulation. The study identifies challenges in the operational and managerial aspects of FAC management.

    Integrating Spatial Planning, Crisis Communication, and Support Facilities Into Family Assistance Centre Governance for Aviation Disaster Preparedness · 2026 · DOI

  • The study is limited to a single-case study of Airline X. The study does not provide a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of the proposed spatial model.

    Integrating Spatial Planning, Crisis Communication, and Support Facilities Into Family Assistance Centre Governance for Aviation Disaster Preparedness · 2026 · DOI

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183 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 1,681 Disaster Response and Management papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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