Applications of Agent-Based Modeling in Population Management and the Resilience of Dialysis Services in the Face of Disruptive Extreme Events: A Scoping Review

This is a scoping review protocol on the applications of agent-based modeling (ABM) in the population management of patients with kidney disease and in the resilience of dialysis services during disruptive extreme events.Disruptive environmental and technological events—such as floods, heatwaves, power outages, and infrastructure failures—can severely compromise the continuity of care, particularly for clinically vulnerable populations such as patients dependent on dialysis. ABM has emerged as a powerful tool to simulate complex interactions between patients, healthcare systems, infrastructure, and logistics, allowing the exploration of system behavior under stress scenarios. While ABM has been increasingly applied in healthcare research, its specific use in the context of renal care and disaster response remains fragmented and not yet systematically mapped. Dialysis-dependent patients require continuous, resource-intensive treatment, making them particularly susceptible to disruptions in transportation, energy supply, water systems, and workforce availability. In this context, ABM can support the evaluation of strategies such as patient redistribution, resource allocation, and service reorganization. However, there is limited understanding of how these models have been designed, what components and assumptions they incorporate, and which outcomes they address in disaster scenarios. This scoping review aims to map and characterize the use of ABM in supporting population management and the organization of dialysis services in the face of disruptive extreme events. It seeks to identify how these models represent renal populations, healthcare resources, and system dynamics, as well as to highlight methodological gaps and opportunities for future applications in nephrology, disaster preparedness, and health system resilience. This is a protocol and does not include results.