Optimizing communication of acute respiratory infection surveillance: insights from user feedback
Abstract
Problem: Surveillance is essential for infectious disease control, with communication to professionals and the public as a key action. In recent years, the amount of surveillance data has increased steadily in the Netherlands. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment publishes weekly online updates on acute respiratory infections and respiratory pathogens, including influenza virus, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. It is important to ensure that these webpages meet the needs of users in terms of content, timing, and visualization.
Description of the problem: From June to August 2025, interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals and journalists. Journalists were invited because they use surveillance information to inform the public. The interviews aimed to identify information needs, assess data accessibility, and explore opportunities to improve visualization.
Results: Both journalists and professionals appreciated the availability of data and valued weekly updates. While they found the webpages easy to access and navigate, they expressed a preference for uniform layouts, including consistent structure, concise overview of the current situation, and standardized figure layouts and titles. Both groups emphasized that more information is not necessarily better. Professionals prioritized information on the current situation and seasonal trends, and preferred figures organized by respiratory season. In contrast, journalists sought more contextual information, notable extremes, and preferred figures presented by calendar year.
Lessons: Implementing standardized layouts and focusing on essential content will support more effective communication. At the same time, it remains challenging to ensure that presented data meets the diverse needs of website users. These results underscore the importance of involving end-users in the development and evaluation of public health communication tools.
Key messages: • Standardized layouts and focusing on essential content can improve online communication of the increasing amount of surveillance data, but it remains challenging to meet the diverse needs of users.
• Involving end-users is highly important in developing and evaluating public health communication tools.
Related
- Defining severe acute respiratory infection hospitalisations for national register-based surveillance in Finland, 2022-2025
- Etiology and co-infection patterns of acute respiratory viral infections in Bhopal, India: insights from short-term molecular study
- Respiratory pathogen epidemiology in children under 5 years hospitalized with acute respiratory infections in Qingdao, China: a retrospective, single-center, repeated cross-sectional surveillance study
- Optimizing the Patient Experience Through Clinician Coaching or Communication Intervention: A Randomized Pilot Study
- Optimizing physician-patient communication through an integrated perspective of prospect theory and the ultimatum game: a controlled study among patients undergoing elective surgery or invasive procedures in a Chinese tertiary hospital
BibTeX
@article{huiberts2026optimizing,
title = {{Optimizing communication of acute respiratory infection surveillance: insights from user feedback}},
author = {A Huiberts and J Van den Brink and A Teirlinck and L Zwakhals and K Van Beers and R Van Leijenhorst and M Te Wierik and M Hilhorst-Verheij and R Van Gageldonk-Lafeber},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1880},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1880},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Optimizing communication of acute respiratory infection surveillance: insights from user feedback
AU - A Huiberts
AU - J Van den Brink
AU - A Teirlinck
AU - L Zwakhals
AU - K Van Beers
AU - R Van Leijenhorst
AU - M Te Wierik
AU - M Hilhorst-Verheij
AU - R Van Gageldonk-Lafeber
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1880
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1880
AB - Problem: Surveillance is essential for infectious disease control, with communication to professionals and the public as a key action. In recent years, the amount of surveillance data has increased steadily in the Netherlands. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment publishes weekly online updates on acute respiratory infections and respiratory pathogens, including influenza virus, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. It is important to ensure that these webpages meet the needs of users in terms of content, timing, and visualization. Description of the problem: From June to August 2025, interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals and journalists. Journalists were invited because they use surveillance information to inform the public. The interviews aimed to identify information needs, assess data accessibility, and explore opportunities to improve visualization. Results: Both journalists and professionals appreciated the availability of data and valued weekly updates. While they found the webpages easy to access and navigate, they expressed a preference for uniform layouts, including consistent structure, concise overview of the current situation, and standardized figure layouts and titles. Both groups emphasized that more information is not necessarily better. Professionals prioritized information on the current situation and seasonal trends, and preferred figures organized by respiratory season. In contrast, journalists sought more contextual information, notable extremes, and preferred figures presented by calendar year. Lessons: Implementing standardized layouts and focusing on essential content will support more effective communication. At the same time, it remains challenging to ensure that presented data meets the diverse needs of website users. These results underscore the importance of involving end-users in the development and evaluation of public health communication tools. Key messages: • Standardized layouts and focusing on essential content can improve online communication of the increasing amount of surveillance data, but it remains challenging to meet the diverse needs of users. • Involving end-users is highly important in developing and evaluating public health communication tools.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -