Health Data as a Global Good: Best Practices, Challenges and Future Perspectives

A Special Issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 January 2027 | Viewed by 1513

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: global health; health economics; aging; developing countries
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In an era of rapid global transformation, health data play a crucial role in enhancing patient care, optimizing healthcare delivery, and informing decision-making processes. By providing valuable insights into population health needs, it enables targeted interventions, thereby strengthening healthcare systems. However, health data collection remains fragmented across the globe, often failing to capture the diverse needs of different populations. While some regions continue to rely on paper-based systems, others have adopted digital health information systems that lack integration, exacerbating existing health inequities.

This Special Issue aims to advance evidence-based practices and interdisciplinary research by exploring health data as a global good for improving healthcare delivery. It highlights the best practices for integrating and applying health data across diverse settings and populations, examines challenges in epidemiological surveillance and data governance, and discusses how digital health solutions can enhance health data collection to improve patient care and public health outcomes. Reliable, accurate, and timely health data collection is essential to support informed policy decisions, advance health equity, and contribute to the achievement of universal health coverage. This Special Issue seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice by providing a platform for case studies, real-world challenges, and innovative solutions that can shape the future of healthcare delivery. Researchers and practitioners are invited to contribute high-quality research focused on the practical applications of health data to improve healthcare outcomes.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Health data;
  • Monitoring systems;
  • Epidemiological surveillance;
  • Data governance;
  • Public health strategies;
  • Digital health.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Stefano Orlando
Guest Editor

Dr. Stefania Moramarco
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • health data
  • data collection
  • epidemiological surveillance
  • data monitoring

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 1637 KB  
Article
Public Health Responsible AI Capability (PH-RAIC) Framework: A Conceptual Model for Integrating AI into Public Health Agencies
by Arnob Zahid, Ravishankar Sharma and Rezwan Ahmed
Healthcare 2026, 14(10), 1364; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14101364 - 15 May 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 832
Abstract
Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transitioning from experimental pilots to core public health functions such as disease surveillance, resource planning, and analysis of social and structural determinants of health. Yet, health data collection and stewardship remain fragmented across the globe; some jurisdictions still [...] Read more.
Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transitioning from experimental pilots to core public health functions such as disease surveillance, resource planning, and analysis of social and structural determinants of health. Yet, health data collection and stewardship remain fragmented across the globe; some jurisdictions still rely on paper-based systems, while others operate noninteroperable digital systems that can exacerbate inequities. Treating health data as a global good therefore requires governance that enables innovation while protecting rights, safety, and trust. This study aims to develop a conceptual meso-level capability framework that translates responsible AI principles into organizational practices for public health agencies. Methods: We developed the framework using a targeted narrative synthesis of contemporary governance guidance and documented early implementation experiences, purposively selected to represent major strands of current practice and debate. A structured expert panel consultation (n = 9) was subsequently conducted to assess the face validity and content validity of the proposed framework domains. Results: We propose the Public Health Responsible AI Capability (PH-RAIC) framework, which adapts principles of transparency, accountability, fairness, ethics, and safety to institutional realities faced by public health agencies. PH-RAIC identifies four interdependent capability domains: (1) strategic governance and alignment; (2) data and infrastructure stewardship; (3) participatory design, equity, and public engagement; and (4) lifecycle oversight, learning, and decommissioning. All four domains achieved Content Validity Index (CVI) values ≥ 0.85 in the expert panel consultation. The framework is presented as a conceptual, meso-level model that has undergone preliminary expert validation but requires further empirical testing in real-world agency settings. Conclusions: PH-RAIC links these domains to example practices, diagnostic questions, and illustrative measurement indicators to help agencies navigate efficiency–equity trade-offs and strengthen legitimacy and accountability in AI-enabled public health systems. It offers a validated conceptual basis for future empirical testing and operational readiness tools. Full article
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