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discuss the challenges and facilitators in implementing and
evaluating digital public health interventions. The last
presentation will cover the need for governmental support in
the future to ensure the success of digital public health
interventions and holistic systems. The workshop will take
place as a round table discussion. Each panellist will give a
short (7 minute) input talk on the specific properties of digital
public health tools. After the panellists present their opinion,
we will open the floor for a discussion. Here, the audience is
invited to share their knowledge and experiences to build a
mutual understanding of the crucial steps in digital public
health interventions. After the workshop, we will create a white
paper on digital public health based on the panellists’ input
and the discussion results.
Key messages:
A mutual understanding of digital public health may
facilitate public sector cooperation and aim towards needs-
based and society-centred technology development to
improve the population’s health.
Digital public health offers unique challenges, and there is an
opportunity to outline these specific nuances to ensure
maximum success in implementing such projects.
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.148
Highlighting the ‘public ‘in digital public health – a
critical reflection
Hajo Zeeb
H Zeeb
1,2,4
, B Schu
¨z
1,3
, I Pigeot
1,2
1
BIPS, Bremen, Germany
2
Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health, Bremen, Germany
3
Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, University of Bremen,
Bremen, Germany
4
EUPHA-DH
Contact: zeeb@leibniz-bips.de
What is the appropriate differentiation of digital public health
versus digital health - or is there none? This is an essential
question when pondering digitalisation and public health,
especially with a view to the potential development of the field.
Digital health seems to be a general term related to
information and communication technology in health care.
Putting a public health lens on this general descriptive term
can be done by simply expanding it towards public health as a
population science and practice field, rather than the narrow
medical and health care arena. However, a more specific
approach towards outlining similarities and differences will
also focus on digital technologies and their challenges in the
core areas of prevention and health promotion. Considering
the leading public health functions, their relationship with
digitalisation and their specific requirements towards digita-
lisation can be a valuable path to describe and discuss what
digital public health is all about. We will also highlight where
interfaces and interrelations with digital health need to be
considered for research and practice. This contribution will
aim to provide such a perspective.
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.149
Moving from human-centred to society-centred
design of health technologies
Jasmin Niess
J Niess
1,2
1
Human-Computer-Interaction, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen,
Switzerland
2
Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health, Bremen, Germany
Contact: jasmin.niess@unisg.ch
The digitised society promises technological solutions to
support mental and physical health and well-being. Amongst
others, the consumer market, health insurance providers, and
companies offer technologies to, among other things, track
one’s mood, improve diet and fitness habits, foster healthy
sleep patterns or track our brain waves to enhance relaxation.
However, while the potential benefits of such technologies are
apparent and technologies might increase individual and
public health, long-term engagement with health technologies
is comparably low. This hints at ineffective solutions and
insufficient knowledge of user needs. Understanding the
specific context of use and user needs is vital to increasing
technology adoption, personal benefits, and profitability of
health technologies. Taking the user perspective into account
when designing technologies is essential to support health and
well-being. To foster long-term engagement with health
technologies, we argue for considering the broader social
context of digital health tools and reflecting on ways how we
can empower society to design better and more inclusive
health technologies. Hence, when developing digital public
health tools, it is essential to go beyond conceptualising people
as users and instead shift the focus to humans as part of society
and embed such consideration in the design process.
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.150
A framework for developing and evaluating digital
and public health tools
Saskia Muellmann
B Schu
¨z
1,2
,SMu
¨llmann
2,3
, C-C Pan
2,3
, T Jahnel
1,2
, S Forberger
2,3
,
DJu
¨rgens
1,2
, N Pedros Barnils
1,2
, A Gerhardus
1,2
1
Institute for Public Health and Nursing Science, University of Bremen,
Bremen, Germany
2
Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health B, Bremen, Germany
3
BIPS, Bremen, Germany
Contact: muellmann@leibniz-bips.de
To paraphrase a classic, evaluating digital technologies in
health is a bit like eating spinach - no one is against it in
principle because it is good for you. However, no one would
do it unless being asked to. In recent years, the sheer number
of digital health technologies that potentially fulfil public
health purposes has increased tremendously. The basis for
evaluating such tools for public health purposes however has
not met this pace, and in particular frameworks for the
systematic development and evaluation of digital technologies
in public health are rare. Existing frameworks for digital
technologies focus on clinical aspects of digital health
applications (e.g., NICE Evidence standards framework for
digital health technologies), thus lacking both a population
and prevention focus. Generic frameworks such as the Health
Technology Assessment (HTA) methodology do not contain
items specific to digital technologies and public health
purposes. Here, we describe the process of developing a
framework specific for the development and evaluation of
digital public health technologies based on the core HTA
model. We conduct a scoping review of frameworks for the
development and the evaluation of technologies in public
health and digital health, following PRISMA-SCR guidelines.
The identified frameworks are then mapped onto the core
HTA model to develop additional items specific for the
development and the evaluation of digital technologies in
public health. These additional items can be used to integrate
the development and evaluation of digital technologies for
public health purposes within the wider HTA context, making
this process both transferable and scalable.
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.151
Implementing a digital public health project - lessons
learned?
Stefan Buttigieg
S Buttigieg
1,2,3
, H Agius Muscat
1
, J-P Ebejer
4
1
Ministry for Health, Valletta, Malta
2
EUPHA-DH
3
Digital Health Malta, Valletta, Malta
4
University of Malta, Valletta, Malta
Contact: info@stefanbuttigieg.com
15th European Public Health Conference 2022 iii63
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The demand for the digitalisation of public health has been
ongoing for more than a decade. The COVID-19 pandemic
was the tipping point that accelerated the ideation, imple-
mentation, and scale-up of such public health projects. Despite
the well-needed push, the same challenges that face every
similar implementation will nonetheless be the same if not
accentuated. The scope of the presentation is to highlight the
difficulties and facilitators that such implementations and
evaluations bring forward. We will also see what we can learn
as public health professionals to ensure that present and future
information systems are well-planned. We have to ensure that
they do not succumb to the pressure of well-intended
stakeholders who are yearning for such solutions to help
their business workflows. This presentation will be enhanced
with the lessons learned from implementing, monitoring, and
following up on Malta’s national contact tracing app and
Customer Relationship Management systems based on
Microsoft Dynamics 365 technologies that tackled the Test,
Track and Trace workflows that were integral to the COVID
response in Malta.
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.152
Making the case for the governance of (digital public)
health futures
Brian Li Han Wong
B Wong
1,2
1
GHFutures2030 Commission Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland
2
EUPHA-DH
Contact: Brian.Wong@graduateinstitute.ch
Digital and data tools are fundamentally changing approaches
to health and the design of health systems, but governance
models have neither followed nor kept up with the pace of
innovation. In response to this challenge, The Lancet &
Financial Times Commission on Governing health futures
2030: Growing up in a digital world explores the convergence
of digital health, artificial intelligence, and other frontier
technologies with universal health coverage to support
attaining the SDG 3. Children and young people are crucial
groups requiring particular attention to ensure that no one is
left behind in achieving universal health coverage and SDG 3
amidst the digital transformation in health. Today, there are
1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24 - the largest
youth population in history - 90 percent of whom live in
developing countries. This cohort represents an unprecedented
powerhouse of human potential and digital engagement that
could transform health to reach sustainable development goals.
This presentation introduces several key findings from the
Commission’s report which pertain to the governance of
(digital public) health futures amidst digital transformations in
health. It will highlight how human-centred approaches to
health are vital to navigating the digital transformations and
maximising their benefits for population health and well-
being. Further, it will provide an action plan for meaningful
youth engagement in the design, development, implementa-
tion, and evaluation of digital public health policies,
programmes, and services.
3.G. Pitch presentations: Data for health services
research
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.153
Association of hospital/ICU characteristics with HAIs:
findings from the SPIN-UTI project
Martina Barchitta
M Barchitta
1,2
, A Maugeri
1,2
, G Favara
1
, R Magnano San Lio
1
,CLa
Mastra
1
, MC La Rosa
1
, E Campisi
1
, I Mura
3,2
, A Agodi
1,2
, SPIN-UTI
network
2
1
Department GF Ingrassia, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
2
GISIO, SItI, Rome, Italy
3
University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Contact: martina.barchitta@unict.it
Background:
Preventing the spread of healthcare-associated infections
(HAIs) in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) constitutes a priority
for Public Health. In a country with decentralized healthcare
system, the comparison between and within regions might
represent a useful approach to identify what hospital and ICU
indicators are associated with HAIs.
Methods:
Using data from the SPIN-UTI (’’Sorveglianza attiva
Prospettica delle Infezioni Nosocomiali nelle Unita
`di
Terapia Intensiva’’) network, the present analyses aimed to
identify the main hospital and ICU indicators associated with
HAI incidence at national level, and to stratify the analyses
between Italian regions.
Results:
No associations between hospital/ICU characteristics and HAIs
were evident at national level. However, ICUs in Southern Italy
showed the highest incidence density of HAIs if compared with
those in Central and Northern Italy (p < 0.001). Stratified
analyses found a positive association of incidence density of
HAIs and total days in ICU in Northern Italy (b= 0.3;
SE = 0.1; p = 0.002); a positive associations with ICU size
(b= 1.8; SE = 0.7; p = 0.020), total days in hospital
(b= 0.06; SE = 0.02; p = 0.037) and total days in ICU
(b= 0.5; SE = 0.1; p = 0.006) in Center Italy; a positive
association with hospital size in Southern Italy (b= 20.3;
SE = 9.4; p = 0.033).
Conclusions:
Although our study confirms that HAIs still represent an
important issue in Italian ICUs, there is some variation
between regions from Northern, Central and Southern Italy. In
general, we found that HAI incidence increased with increasing
number of beds in hospital and in ICU, as well as with the the
increasing number of patient-days. However, further research
is necessary to better understand if additional hospital and ICU
characteristics could motivate the observed regional
differences.
Key messages:
There is a large regional variation in the incidence of HAIs in
Italian ICUs and hospitals.
This difference that could be motivated by specific hospital
and ICU characteristics.
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.154
Association between socio-economic deprivation and
AHRQ composite indicator during pandemic
Fabrizio Cedrone
F Cedrone
1,2
, P Di Giovanni
3
, G Di Martino
4
, F Romano
5
, T Staniscia
1
1
Department of Medicine and Ageing Sciences, ‘‘G. d’Annunzio’’ University
of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
2
Health Management of ‘‘SS. Spirito’’ Hospital, Local Health Authority of
Pescara, Pescara, Italy
iii64 European Journal of Public Health, Volume 32 Supplement 3, 2022
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