HC-Population Health
Providing Continuity of Care for Chronic Diseases After Natural Disasters: A Resource Allocation Model for Public Health Preparedness in Texas
Goal:
The growing incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the United States is a significant public health issue. The increased frequency of natural disasters makes it even more urgent; in Texas, the issue is especially grave owing to the state's rapid climate change. Our study is focused on answering the following vital question: What effects do these natural catastrophes have on Texans with CVD? To fully understand the complex relationship between natural disasters and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, we will carefully examine the direct effects of these events on patient health, identify key health behaviors and environmental factors during these crises, and assess whether improved medication access results in improved post-disaster health outcomes for CVD patients. In addition, the goal of our work is to determine which public health initiatives are most successful in enhancing disaster readiness and resilience.
Partially funded by: Texas State University Translational Health Research Center [THRC Faculty Fellow Program]
Principal Investigators: Dr. Eduardo Pérez,
Collaborators:
- Dr. Cassandra Johnson (Texas State University)
- Dr. Jose Pagán (New York University),
- Dr. Yan Li (Icahn School of Medicine)
Graduate students:
- Faria Farzana
- Imtiajur Rahman
Agent based simulation model in AnyLogic
Simulation optimization framework
- The red dotted line is used to highlight the data and actors (i.e., community, public health decision makers, and prevention programs) involved in the implementation of the decision-making model.
- The outputs from the agent-based model were used as input parameters to the decision-making model that seeks to optimize funding decisions in terms of which community-based health program
Simulation optimization framework
Research publications
Journal papers:
- Pérez, E., *C.M. Johnson, *Y. Li, and *J.A. Pagán, “Optimizing access to fruits and vegetables in rural communities: A decision-making model for the placement of produce markets” under second revision.
- Farzana, F. and Pérez, E., (2025) “Mixed Integer Programming Model for Planning Interventions to Care for Cardiovascular Patients after Natural Disaster” ”, SN Operations Research Forum – Accepted (IF: 0.75).
- Marthak, Y.V., E. Pérez, and F.A. Méndez Mediavilla, (2023) “Analysis and Forecast of Donations at Domestic Hunger Relief Organizations Impacted by Natural Disasters” Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Vol. 86. DOI: 10.1016/J.SEPS.2022.101470, WOSUID: WOS:000951699900001.
- Perez, E., Marthak, Y.V., and F.A. Méndez Mediavilla, (2021) “A Stochastic Programming Model for Tactical Product Prepositioning at Domestic Hunger Relief Organizations Impacted by Natural Hazards” Natural Hazards,Vol.107, pp.2263-2291. DOI: 10.1007/S11069-021-04639-3, WOSUID: WOS:000625732200003.
Conference proceedings:
- Farzana, F. and E. Pérez (2024) “An Agent-based Model to Assess Interventions for Continuous Care of Cardiovascular Diseases after Natural Disasters” Proceedings of the 2024 Winter Simulation Conference, Dec.14-18. DOI: 10.1109/wsc63780.2024.10838772.
- Kothamasu, M., E. Pérez, and F.A. Méndez Mediavilla, (2022) “Modeling and Simulation of Food Bank Disaster Relief Operations” Proceedings of the 2022 Winter Simulation Conference, Singapore, Dec.11-14. DOI: 10.1109/WSC57314.2022.10015480, WOSUID: WOS:000991872901051.
- Kothamasu, M., E. Pérez, and F.A. Méndez Mediavilla, (2021) “A Stochastic Programming Model for Food Bank Disaster Relief Operations considering Transportation Capacity Limitations” Proceedings of the IISE Conference 2021, virtual, May 22-25.