The science behind survival kits goes beyond a vague statistical analysis of who prepared and who survived. There is also a significant difference between survival kits and disaster preparedness. The article does not seem to draw that difference very well.

Physiology:

We know that the body must maintain a narrow temperature range in order to survive. Shelter helps to maintain that temperature range. Thermodynamics explains why. How do you lose heat? Conduction, convection, radiation, respiration. Most pocket survival kits will have some form of shelter, usually in the form of a "Heat Sheet" type emergency blanket. This can prevent convection and reduce the radiation of your body heat away from the body. A good BOB will have some form of insulating pad which can prevent or reduce conduction. In hot environments, the emergency blanket can also serve as a shade. Tents and tarps should be included in your disaster preparedness kits.

Most survival kits contain (or should) some form of collecting and purifying water. The body needs water to survive, and the effects of dehydration can present very quickly under certain conditions. The larger you are the more water you need. The higher the temperature the more you need. The more active you are the more you need. Staying hydrated prevents the mental effects of dehydration which can cause very bad judgement. Water is also very important in maintaining your body's ability to maintain a safe body temperature. Do not forget oral rehydration salts, or just salt.

While survival kits usually do not contain food, and the body can survive without food for a while, the brain works better with energy. Pound for pound, the brain uses more energy than any other part of the body, it needs energy to function properly. As with water, some food can aid in maintaining good judgement. Food can prevent hyponatremia. It can also reduce the level of stress the person may be under. Disaster preparedness should absolutely include food store. It can also help to manage the behaviors of the people you are with. A bunch of very hungry people are difficult to manage.

While not usually present in survival kits, a good BOB will contain methods of protecting yourself from insects. Mosquitos kill more people than any other creature on Earth. Ticks are becoming more dangerous also. Disaster preparedness should include this as well. Repellents and nets come in handy when you are without mechanical cooling and must expose yourself to the bugs. It greatly enhances comfort as well, making people get along better.

In many disaster situations that are prolonged, sanitation is critical. When you group large numbers of people in a small area, disease will spread. Proper hygiene and general cleanliness goes a long way to prevent epidemics, and makes people more pleasant to be around. Disaster preparedness should absolutely include everything you need to establish and maintain proper sanitation. That is toilets, trash, bathing, cleaning. Soap is good as long as you have enough water. Hand sanitizer is cheap and stores for a long time. Shovels and other tools may be necessary to construct field expedient sanitation facilities. If you have a local body of water, buckets and a small red wagon are great for retrieving water to flush toilets with. Gastrointestinal illness can kill, and at least dehydrate severely. Face masks and gloves can be a big help in avoiding outbreaks.

Even for those people who do not require specific medications should build a stock of basic medicines to aid in dealing with illnesses that can develop in a crowded situation. If you need prescription medications, you need to store enough to get through a couple of weeks. Diabetics are more vulnerable due to the need to refrigerate insulin, but I think I have heard of some other options being developed for insulin that are more durable.

I will not even get into the psychology, but the act of preparing does a lot to help someone avoid being in a life threatening/survival situation.

In our more developed countries we have emergency services and other organizations that will and do respond fairly quickly to such situations. Many other countries do not have such help on the way. It takes longer and there is less of it. Think of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 or the tsunami in South Asia in 2004, it took a long time to reach areas affected, and those people suffered greatly even if they did not die.