Pandemic publishing: A bibliometric review of COVID‐19 research in the crisis and disaster literature

Abstract

Iconic events have traditionally instigated progression in the fields of crisis and disaster science. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressing question is how this global health emergency impacted the research agendas of our field. We reviewed contributions in ten important crisis and disaster journals in the two and a half years following the COVID-19 outbreak from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2022. Specifically, we conducted a bibliometric review using thematic mapping analysis to distill the major themes covered by the emerging COVID-19 literature within crisis and disaster science (N = 239 articles). Our results indicate that several well-known topics are applied to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as risk, crisis communication, governance, resilience and vulnerability. The pandemic also gave rise to new topics, such as citizen behavior, state power, and the business and mental health impact of crisis measures. Several studies are already looking ahead by identifying lessons for preparedness and mitigation of future pandemics. By taking stock of the surge of COVID-19 studies while this academic literature is still taking shape, this review sets the stage for future contributions to the crisis and disaster literatures. It provides valuable lessons for what topics are studied and what themes need more attention. The COVID-19 pandemic is destined to become an iconic event for our literature that not only strengthens and deepens existing debates, but

Assist or accuse? Identifying trends in crisis communication through a bibliometric literature review

“…In the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic, we expect to see increased research on instructive communication aimed at influencing behavior and promoting compliance with necessary measures. In our editorial review on “Pandemic publishing” (Kuipers et al, 2022), we saw that “crisis communication” as a theme gained a strong internal coherence or high density (studies share many keywords within the theme). The main subthemes were a new focus on the vulnerability and resilience of specific minorities and communities, the influence of crisis communication on citizen behavior, and the relation between crisis communication and business or economic performance.…”

Research Trends in Resilience and Vulnerability Studies

“…COVID-19 forced individuals and communities to make difficult choices, often cutting people off from each other [11]; in many cases, this was devastating to community bonds, and weakened human relationships and the ability of people to work together to solve problems. A literature review on COVID-19 in disaster/crisis literature suggested that resilience studies "discuss the necessity of developing dynamic capabilities in logistics and production capacity, recalibrating and reconfiguring operations, as well as the importance of emotions as an intrinsic element of resilience during pandemic governance" [38]. Vasilescu, Apostu, Militaru, and Hysa [39] noted that the COVID-19 response in certain respects showed low resilience, with opportunities available to improve responses for future events.…”

“…Vasilescu, Apostu, Militaru, and Hysa [39] noted that the COVID-19 response in certain respects showed low resilience, with opportunities available to improve responses for future events. Mental health, clarity of communication, and social responsibility are subtopics associated with community resilience [38].…”

A renewed awareness: Reinvigorating preparedness research for crisis and disaster management

“…They had overlooked the extent of transboundary crisis management capacities that were required to secure long-term response efforts. Interestingly, when writing our review of pandemic publishing (Kuipers et al, 2022), we noted a similar absence for more generic preparedness in research on epidemics and pandemics, as public health scholars were inclined to focus more on the particularities of specific diseases.…”