Applications of Operational Research OR in Health in developing countries: A review

In this paper, the applications of Operational Research OR in Health in the developing countries are reviewed from 286 published articles spread over more than 70 periodicals, journals and research reports over the last two decades. The sub-areas included are: (a) Health Planning, (b) Disease Control, (c) Location/Allocation, (d) Health Administration, (e) Public Health, (f) Family Planning and (g) Nutrition Planning. The object of this review is to examine the extent to which Operational Research OR applications in these areas are relevant to development problems of the Third World countries and the suitability of the existing techniques and methodologies for tackling such problems.