Identifying data-driven good practices in population health management: a Europeanscoping review

Background

Effective use of healthcare data and data-driven decision-making can improve the quality and organisation of care across primary, secondary, and hospital care. As such, the project is data driven, with key questions such as what data are needed, in addition to what is available, to reach the clearest picture of the structure and needs of the population. A comprehensive overview of existing data-driven practices is needed. To identify transferable good practices, a scoping review was conducted.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase to identify data-driven good practices in healthcare delivery. The review focused on strategies applicable to population health management across primary care, secondary care, and hospital networks. To ensure transferability to the Belgian healthcare context, only studies conducted in European countries were included. Particular attention was given to emergency services, cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases. Study selection and data extraction followed predefined criteria.

Results

Most studies originated from the United Kingdom (n = 12), followed by Spain (n = 4), and Belgium and the Netherlands (n = 3 each). Preliminary results from the scoping review indicate that the majority of the articles are situated within infectious diseases focusing on surveillance, risk prediction or data sharing. The studies regarding cardiovascular diseases primarily focused on risk prediction or data sharing. Emergency care was the least represented domain, mainly focused on risk prediction models.

Conclusions

This review highlights that data-driven good practices in Europe mainly focus on infectious disease surveillance, predictive modelling, and data sharing, while evidence for emergency care remains limited. These findings may support strategic healthcare planning and resource allocation in Belgian regions.

Key messages

• Data-driven PHM in Europe mainly focuses on infectious disease surveillance and predictive modelling, with limited evidence for emergency care planning.

• European data-driven practices can support regional healthcare planning in Belgium, but require adaptation to local data systems and care structures.