Quantitative Geographical Approaches in COVID-19 Research: A Review on First- and Second-Order Impacts

Abstract

This chapter reviewed the role of quantitative geographical approaches in COVID-19 research. We particularly focused on two types of COVID-19 research: (1) studies on first-order impacts that investigate immediate health-related impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., virus transmission, confirmed cases, and deaths) and (2) studies on second-order impacts that examine COVID-19’s secondary impacts, including social, economic, and environmental aspects. We focused on 331 papers that adopted quantitative geospatial approaches. We selected these papers from 45 journals in geography, GIScience, and urban and regional planning. Regarding studies on COVID-19 first-order impacts, we identified three research themes: (1) investigating geographical disparities in COVID-19 cases and deaths as well as the accessibility to COVID-19 relevant facilities such as testing and vaccination sites, (2) examining various factors that affect COVID-19 cases and deaths and building a model to predict those in the future, and (3) other topics that are relatively less studied than the aforementioned two themes. We observed fewer papers on second-order impacts than on first-order impacts. Moreover, the topic of human mobility was investigated the most, followed by health and well-being and the environment. This chapter contributes to the literature as it provides a comprehensive review of the role of quantitative geospatial approaches in COVID-19 research and highlights important future research directions.