The seeds for Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) were sown during the 2018 Ebola response in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to collaboratively perform real-time systematic operational research to inform evidence-based response. In 2020, the IOA partnership was formalised to establish a platform for exchange for all partners in the GOARN network. Since then, IOA has operated as a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding outbreak dynamics in many different public health emergencies including the plague, cholera, measles, polio and malnutrition and to inform response with multiple partners.
Today, IOA aims to drive comprehensive, accountable, and effective public health and clinical strategies by enabling communities, and national and subnational health authorities to use data for operational decision-making. IOA embraces a holistic approach: from the research questions to the data that are collected or accessed, to the interpretation of results and the recommendations that follow. In addition, IOA promotes co-development and monitoring of evidence-informed recommendations with Ministries of Health.
In these new videos, an overview is given of what IOA is, how it adopts a multi-actor and multi-stakeholder approach, and how an IOA approach can be adopted for decision-making in public health emergencies. The videos are available in English and French:
