Building and Developing a Tool (PANDEM-2 Dashboard) to Strengthen Pandemic Management: Participatory Design Study.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Data Science

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical gaps in real-time data sharing and decision-making.
• Data protection, interoperability, and standardization issues impeded effective pandemic information management.
• Customizable data visualization is crucial for informed public health decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop the PANDEM-2 dashboard, a standardized, interactive platform for pandemic management decision-making.
• To outline participatory methods for involving expert end-users in dashboard development.
• To address privacy, data protection, and ethical considerations in pandemic data systems.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed 25 public COVID-19 dashboards to create a visualization catalog.
• Gathered user requirements from 20 experts across 13 EU countries via workshops and consultations.
• Employed participatory design, iterative impact assessment for privacy and ethical risks, and refined the platform based on end-user feedback.

Main Results:

• PANDEM-2 incorporates key variables like case rates, deaths, hospital resources, testing, and vaccination uptake, prioritizing readily available data.
• Identified data gaps in contact tracing and mortality rates, emphasizing the need for improved data collection.
• User feedback stressed the need for diverse visualizations, custom reporting, and analysis across different timeframes and government interventions.

Conclusions:

• PANDEM-2 offers an adaptable, user-friendly platform for pandemic preparedness and response.
• Data interoperability, cross-border collaboration, and custom IT tools are vital for robust health crisis management.
• The study provides insights into developing effective IT solutions for future pandemic preparedness.