International Journal of One Health, EISSN: 2455-8931 151 International Journal of One Health Available at www.onehealthjournal.org/Vol.7/No.2/1.pdf RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access A scoping review on data integration in the field of infectious diseases, 2009-2018 Seulgi Kim 1 , Chulwoo Rhee 2 , Su Jin Kang 3 and Sangwoo Tak 3 1. Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; 2. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; 3. Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. Corresponding author: Sangwoo Tak, e-mail: tak.sangwoo@gmail.com Co-authors: SK: ksk8916@snu.ac.kr, CR: rhee275@gmail.com, SJK: socsjk@gmail.com Received: 15-03-2021, Accepted: 07-06-2021, Published online: 07-08-2021 doi: www.doi.org/10.14202/IJOH.2021.151-157 How to cite this article: Kim S, Rhee C, Kang SJ, Tak S (2021) A scoping review on data integration in the field of infectious diseases, 2009-2018, Int. J. One Health, 7(2): 151-157. Abstract Background and Aim: Little is known about data integration in public health research and its impact. This study aimed to summarize known collaboration information, the characteristics of the datasets used, the methods of data integration, and knowledge gaps. Materials and Methods: We reviewed papers on infectious diseases from two or more datasets published during 2009- 2018, before the coronavirus disease pandemic. Two independent researchers searched the Medline and Global Health databases using predetermined criteria. Results: Of the 2375 items retrieved, 2272 titles and abstracts were reviewed. Of these, 164 were secondary reviews. Full-text reviews identified 153 relevant articles; we excluded 11 papers that did not meet our inclusion criteria. Of the 153 papers, 150 were single-country studies. Most papers were from North America (n=47). Viral diseases were the most commonly researched diseases (n=66), and many studies sought to define infection rates (n=62). Data integration usually employed unique national identifiers (n=37) or address-based identifiers (n=30). Two data sources were combined (n=121), and at least one data source typically included routine surveillance information. Conclusion: We found a growing usage of data integration in infectious diseases, emphasizing the advantages of data integration and linkage analysis, and reiterating its importance in public health emergency preparedness and response. Keywords: data integration, infectious disease, national policy, public health, scoping review, surveillance. Introduction The public health and socioeconomic conse- quences of the past outbreaks and the current corona- virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emphasize that the prevention and mitigation of outbreaks are critical. Outbreaks of West African Lassa fever, Ebola virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and COVID-19 have shown that humans, animals, and the environment contribute to the development and spread of emerging infectious diseases [1-4]. The “One Health” initiative emphasizes the need for a collaborative and multisectoral approach to improving public health surveillance and risk man- agement. International health organizations, including the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have long made it clear that cooperation among agencies and ministries in terms of data integration/sharing is of fundamen- tal importance when seeking to increase public health surveillance capacity [5-7]. Collaboration efforts among governmental public health agencies have shown that no single actor/agency has all the knowl- edge and capacity about emerging infectious diseases. Such diseases are complex and associated with many uncertainties. Enhancements of national and global surveillance systems that collect and analyze the inter- connections between people, animals, and the shared environment are critical when trying to prevent or rapidly respond to infectious diseases. Governments, scholars, and organizations worldwide have paid increased attention to public health surveillance and risk management. Recent advances in informatics have also greatly aided data integration [4,8]. Although environmental factors and zoono- ses have become matters of public health concern, requiring multisectoral, the “One Health” initia- tive, including risk monitoring through public sur- veillance systems, and surveillance systems remain independent [1,9,10]. Despite the increasing interest in multisector collaboration/data integration world- wide [11,12], little is known about how data are inte- grated by public health researchers and the impact of such work. This study aimed to review recent publications on infectious diseases and summarize information on sectors that collaborate the characteristics of the Copyright: Kim, et al. 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