ABSTRACT
Pandemics are one of the most important health problems that countries have faced for centuries. Within the scope of combating pandemics, countries need to develop national and international strategies and allocate sufficient resources to their health systems. Health indicators are used to compare the health systems of countries, and the comparative evaluations guide the policymakers and decision-makers on the health systems of countries. In this study, the performance of 12 OECD countries (Belgium, Canada, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) in the context of preparedness for pandemics was analyzed using health indicators (infant mortality/deaths per 1000 live births, current expenditure on health per capita, current expenditure on health (% GDP), total hospital beds per thousand population, and number of physicians per 1000 population). The weights of the criteria were calculated with the CRITIC (Criteria Importance Through Criteria Correlation) method. The criteria weights obtained were analyzed using the WASPAS (weighted aggregated sum product assessment) method, which is one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods, and the performance rankings of the evaluated countries were found. This study contributes to the process of establishing health policies within the scope of combating pandemics.
