Can digital twin technology revolutionize public health emergency management? Insights from the PPRR framework

The inherent nature of public health emergencies often renders them unpredictable and inadequately managed in a timely manner, resulting in significant impacts on lives, property, and social stability. In recent years, the frequency and severity of such emergencies have escalated. As an integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, big data, and the Internet of Things, digital twin technology has been increasingly adopted across diverse fields, including industrial production, urban planning, and healthcare. This study aimed to investigate recent advancements in digital twin technology, particularly in the fields of medicine and urban construction, with a focus on its potential to mitigate the impacts of public health crises. By employing the PPRR framework, this study further explored the prospects for constructing and applying digital twin technology within the public health management system. Taking perceived fidelity (SF), model plasticity (MP), decision coupling (DC), and governance credibility (GC) as the core constructs, we discussed the operability of unified modeling and quantitative evaluation of each stage of digital twin implementation. This approach comprehensively explained all four phases of emergency management: prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. Through enabling the digitalization, intelligence, and visualization of the entire health emergency management process, digital twin technology offers holistic solutions throughout the life cycle of public health emergencies. These include preventive measures, real-time detection, early warning systems, and intelligent emergency response management. Such innovations have the potential to significantly enhance management efficiency and effectiveness, bolster coordinated responses to public health crises, and improve the overall resilience of public health systems.