From data to action: high-resolution spatial dashboards for equity-oriented public health in Hungary

Public health decision-making requires timely, high-resolution data on disease burden and health inequalities. However, most monitoring systems operate at aggregated levels limiting their ability to support targeted local interventions and reducing their impact on policy and planning.

In 2026, the Hungarian SPATIAL-EPI system was enhanced with interactive, high-resolution dashboards integrating routinely collected mortality, population and socioeconomic data, at county and district levels. The system enables dynamic exploration of noncommunicable disease (NCD) indicators stratified by age, sex and geography, supporting the identification of spatial patterns and the development of local health profiles. The dashboards were specifically designed to translate epidemiological data into actionable insights for public health decision-making and priority setting.

The dashboards revealed substantial territorial inequalities in NCD mortality. For cardiovascular diseases, the relative risk of premature mortality between the highest and lowest deprivation quintiles was approximately twofold among males and 2.5-fold among females. The system enabled identification of high-risk areas where age-standardised premature cardiovascular mortality rates exceeded national averages, directly informing local prioritisation of preventive interventions.

Following the 2026 dashboard implementation and targeted training of health professionals, the number of registered users and active use of the SPATIAL-EPI system doubled (from 245 to 493). The system has already been applied in multiple district-level health planning processes (e.g.Gödöllő), supporting the prioritisation and targeted prevention interventions. These developments demonstrate that spatially explicit decision-support tools enhance the usability of epidemiological data and enable more precise, equity-oriented public health action, contributing to the advancement of precision public health and more efficient resource allocation.

Key messages

• High-resolution spatial dashboards transform health data into actionable intelligence, enabling faster and more targeted public health decisions.

• Spatially detailed monitoring systems are essential for identifying inequalities and guiding equitable resource allocation in public health.