Factors influencing international collaboration on the prevention of COVID-19

OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 has spread rapidly throughout the world, which has highlighted the importance of collaboration between countries to prevent further transmission of the virus. This review aims to identify the factors that influence international collaboration between policymakers for COVID-19 prevention and consider strategies to manage pandemics in the future. STUDY DESIGN: A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework for scoping reviews. METHODS: A literature search was performed across PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and Embase databases using relevant keywords. The initial search identified 1010 articles; after selection criteria were applied, 28 studies were included in the review. RESULTS: Most of the selected articles were literature reviews, and China had the greatest contribution of articles to this study. The following seven key categories influencing international collaboration were identified: political, structure, infrastructure, leadership and governance, knowledge and information sharing, community engagement, and process/action. CONCLUSION: Leadership and governance was the most important factor identified in international collaboration between countries. In addition, knowledge and information sharing were seen to help avoid repetition of negative situations experienced in other countries. Moreover, controlling COVID-19 on a global scale is more likely to be achieved when there are sufficient structures and resources and when appropriate communication between countries, health systems and communities is used. This collaboration can also greatly benefit low- and middle-income countries where resources and expertise are often limited.