Learning from COVID-19: A Systematic Review of the IHR-SPAR Framework’s Role in the Pandemic Response

Ida Santalucia, Michele Sorrentino (), Claudio Fiorilla, Sabrina Tranquilli, Giordana Strazza, Paolo Montuori, Raffaele Palladino, Maria Fiore, Margherita Ferrante and Maria Triassi
Additional contact information
Ida Santalucia: Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Michele Sorrentino: Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Claudio Fiorilla: Department of Public Health, University “Federico II” of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy
Sabrina Tranquilli: Department of Economics, Law, Cybersecurity, and Sports Sciences, Parthenope University, 80133 Naples, Italy
Giordana Strazza: Department of Political Science and Communication, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Paolo Montuori: Department of Public Health, University “Federico II” of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy
Raffaele Palladino: Department of Public Health, University “Federico II” of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy
Maria Fiore: Department of Medical Sciences, Surgical and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
Margherita Ferrante: Department of Medical Sciences, Surgical and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
Maria Triassi: Department of Public Health, University “Federico II” of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: The International Health Regulations (IHR) provide a global framework for health security, requiring annual reporting on 35 indicators across 15 core capacities via the State Parties Annual Reporting (SPAR) tool. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in the IHR framework and monitoring systems, prompting calls for reform. This systematic review analyzed the correlations between IHR-SPAR scores and pandemic outcomes across nine studies (2020–2024), selected using the PRISMA guidelines. The study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s tool for cross-sectional studies. Of 1019 screened studies, nine met the inclusion criteria. Higher SPAR scores generally correlated with lower COVID-19 incidence and mortality, although some high-scoring countries experienced severe outbreaks. Middle-income countries showed the greatest improvement, particularly in risk communication and emergency response, while zoonotic disease capacities saw little progress. While the SPAR tool aids monitoring, it requires revisions to better reflect real-world pandemic responses. High SPAR scores do not always indicate effective crisis management. This study recommends integrating more dynamic, operational, and context-sensitive indicators to enhance the global preparedness for future health emergencies.

Keywords: International Health Regulations (IHR); SPAR; COVID-19; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/695/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/695/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:5:p:695-:d:1644036

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().