A Missed Opportunity? Exploring Changes in Influenza Vaccination Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Data From 12 Countries Worldwide.

Background: Vaccination is a key measure in influenza control, yet global coverage rates remain low, although previous research reported an increase in influenza vaccination coverage rates (VCR) after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to assess whether these changes were sustained over time by analyzing VCR trends from 2012 to 2023 in the countries included in the FluCov project.

Methods: Data on influenza VCR from 2012 to 2023 for different age and risk groups were extracted from national health organizations and international sources for countries included in the FluCov project.

Exploring Different Sampling Strategies: A Description of Our Success in Reaching Hard-to-Reach Turkish and Moroccan Immigrant Women in The Netherlands.

Introduction: In the Netherlands, since 1996, there is a national cervical cancer (CC) screening programme in place for women aged 30-60 years. The participation of Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch women is very low. To facilitate their informed decision-making, we developed a culturally sensitive educational video, and evaluated it through a questionnaire study.

Identifying essential resource parameters for pandemic preparedness and response: an international Delphi study within the EU PANDEM-2 project.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial role of healthcare and public health resource management, where scarcity impairs pandemic response resulting in increased disease transmission, delayed patient care and poorer health outcomes. In the EU PANDEM-2 project, we aimed to identify essential resource parameters for pandemic preparedness and response in the context of an emerging viral respiratory illness.

Design: After performing a systematic literature review, we conducted a Delphi study consisting of a structured questionnaire and consensus round with two separate panels of European public health experts (PHEs) and clinicians, respectively.

Home-based nursing care for clients carrying multidrug-resistant organisms: A focus group study in the Netherlands.

Background: The growing population of vulnerable clients receiving home-based nursing care (HBNC), combined with the worldwide increase in the prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), poses a new burden on nursing staff. This study explored the attitudes, perceptions, experiences, challenges, and needs of nursing staff providing HBNC for clients carrying MDROs.

Methods: Seven focus groups with home-based nursing staff (N = 34) were performed in the Netherlands between April and July 2022, using a semistructured, open-ended topic list based on the integrated-change model and seven domains of practice.

Determinants of Citizens' Intention to Participate in Self-Led Contact Tracing: Cross-Sectional Online Questionnaire Study.

Background: Contact tracing (CT) is a key intervention to contain outbreaks of communicable diseases. During large-scale outbreaks, public health services may lack the resources required to perform CT effectively. One way of mitigating this issue is to shift some of the tasks in CT normally performed by public health services to cases and their contacts, supported by digital tools.

Determinants of intended prevention behaviour against mosquitoes and mosquito-borne viruses in the Netherlands and Spain using the MosquitoWise survey: cross-sectional study.

Background: Recently, Europe has seen an emergence of mosquito-borne viruses (MBVs). Understanding citizens' perceptions of and behaviours towards mosquitoes and MBVs is crucial to reduce disease risk. We investigated and compared perceptions, knowledge, and determinants of citizens' behavioural intentions related to mosquitoes and MBVs in the Netherlands and Spain, to help improve public health interventions.

The public's considerations about implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions to manage a novel COVID-19 epidemic.

In the future, new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus might emerge and cause outbreaks. If this occurs, the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) can be reconsidered. Consideration of the potential benefits and harms of implementing NPIs, and ultimately deciding about implementing NPIs, is currently mainly executed by experts and governments.

Cancer risks related to intellectual disabilities: A systematic review.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) face barriers in cancer care contributing to poorer oncological outcomes. Yet, understanding cancer risks in the ID population remains incomplete.

Aim: To provide an overview of cancer incidence and cancer risk assessments in the entire ID population as well as within ID-related disorders.

Effectiveness of educational interventions for healthcare workers on vaccination dialogue with older adults: a systematic review.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCW) significantly influence older adults' vaccine acceptance. This systematic review aimed to identify effective educational interventions for HCWs that could enhance their ability to engage in a dialogue with older adults on vaccination.

Methods: Medline, Scopus, Cochrane library and grey literature were searched for comparative studies investigating educational interventions concerning older adult vaccinations.

Determinants of Dutch public health professionals' intention to use digital contact tracing support tools: A cross-sectional online questionnaire study.

Contact tracing (CT) can be a resource intensive task for public health services. To alleviate their workload and potentially accelerate the CT-process, public health professionals (PHPs) may transfer some tasks in the identification, notification, and monitoring of contacts to cases and their contacts themselves, using 'digital contact tracing support tools' (DCTS-tools). In this study, we aimed to identify determinants of PHPs' intention to use DCTS-tools.

Development and validation of the MosquitoWise survey to assess perceptions towards mosquitoes and mosquito-borne viruses in Europe.

Due to climate change and the expanding geographical ranges of key mosquito species, several mosquito-borne viruses (MBVs) have recently emerged in Europe. Understanding people's perceptions and behaviours towards these viruses and the mosquitoes capable of transmitting them is crucial for implementing effective prevention measures and targeted communication campaigns. However, there is currently no appropriate validated survey for European populations to assess this.

Kaleidoscopic integration: Advancing the integration of incommensurable knowledge in healthcare guidelines.

The integration of different types of knowledge in epistemically hierarchical settings remains one of the greatest challenges when developing standards for healthcare practices. In this article, we open up the notion of knowledge integration and empirically examine the various ways in which different types of knowledge interact and can be integrated. To allow us to focus on the diverse forms of knowledge as well as their interaction and integration, we combine Moreira's work on repertoires of evaluation with that of Dewulf and Bouwen on frame interactions.

Preferences for public engagement in decision-making regarding four COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions in the Netherlands: A survey study.

Background: Worldwide, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were implemented during the COVID-19 crisis, which heavily impacted the daily lives of citizens. This study considers public perspectives on whether and how public engagement (PE) can contribute to future decision-making about NPIs.

Methods: An online survey was conducted among a representative sample of the public in the Netherlands from 27 October to 9 November 2021.

Capturing Emerging Experiential Knowledge for Vaccination Guidelines Through Natural Language Processing: Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: Experience-based knowledge and value considerations of health professionals, citizens, and patients are essential to formulate public health and clinical guidelines that are relevant and applicable to medical practice. Conventional methods for incorporating such knowledge into guideline development often involve a limited number of representatives and are considered to be time-consuming. Including experiential knowledge can be crucial during rapid guidance production in response to a pandemic but it is difficult to accomplish.

Voices of society: the emergence of civil-society practices aiming to engage in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public groups mobilised themselves in civil-society engagement practices (CSEPs) aiming to improve or suggest alternative epidemic management. This study explores the motivation to establish CSEPs and their perceived contributions to epidemic management, to gain insight whether integrating views of CSEPs could add value. A systematic online search was executed to identify CSEPs focused on COVID-19 management between January 2020 and January 2022 in the Netherlands.

Rapid response screening for emerging zoonotic pathogens, barriers and opportunities: A study for enhanced preparedness of the Netherlands.

Background: Outbreaks of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) require rapid identification of potential reservoir hosts and mapping disease spread in these hosts to inform risk assessment and adequate control measures. Animals are often understudied when a novel EID is detected in humans and acquisition of animal samples is hampered by practical, ethical, and legal barriers, of which there is currently no clear overview. Therefore, the three aims of this study are (1) to map potentially available collections of animal samples, (2) to assess possibilities and barriers for reuse of these samples and (3) to assess possibilities and barriers for active animal and environmental sampling in the Netherlands.

Did the temporary suspension of Vaxzveria vaccinations influence COVID-19 vaccination intentions, vaccination perceptions and trust in the vaccination campaign? A repeated survey study in the Netherlands.

In spring 2021, several countries, among which the Netherlands, suspended vaccinations against COVID-19 with the Vaxzevria vaccine from AstraZeneca after reports of rare but severe adverse events. This study investigates the influence of this suspension on the Dutch public's perceptions of COVID-19 vaccinations, trust in the government's vaccination campaign, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions. We conducted two surveys in a population of general Dutch public (18 + ), one shortly before the pause of AstraZeneca vaccinations and one shortly thereafter (N eligible for analysis = 2628).

Getting ready to act: theorising a stepwise transition into crisis response at points of entry based on interviews with COVID-19 responders and a military preparedness framework.

Introduction: Points of entry (POE) have an important role in timely national response to infectious diseases threats. However, a guiding framework is lacking for the transition from generic preparedness into optimally specified response for an imminent infectious disease threat, a step called 'operational readiness'.

Objective: We aim to contribute to the conceptual closure of this preparedness-response gap for infectious disease control at POE by providing content to the operational readiness concept.

Evaluating intra-action reviews at points of entry: ongoing learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Long-lasting crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require proper interim evaluation in order to optimize response. The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control have recently promoted the in(tra)-action review (IAR) method for this purpose. We systematically evaluated the added value of two IARs performed in the Dutch point of entry (PoE) setting.

Risk for Severe COVID-19 Outcomes among Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, the Netherlands.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected persons in long-term care, who often experience health disparities. To delineate the COVID-19 disease burden among persons with intellectual disabilities, we prospectively collected data from 36 care facilities for 3 pandemic waves during March 2020-May 2021. We included outcomes for 2,586 clients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, among whom 161 had severe illness and 99 died.

Focus group study on perceptions and information needs regarding vaccines targeting the older population: a cross-country comparison in four European countries.

The increasing life expectancy leads to more older adults suffering from infectious diseases. Vaccines are available against diverse infections such as influenza, pneumococcal disease, herpes zoster and tetanus. However, vaccine acceptance is crucial for optimal preventive effect.

Evaluation of a Web-Based Culturally Sensitive Educational Video to Facilitate Informed Cervical Cancer Screening Decisions Among Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch Women Aged 30 to 60 Years: Randomized Intervention Study.

Background: In the Netherlands, since 1996, a national cervical cancer (CC) screening program has been implemented for women aged 30 to 60 years. Regional screening organizations send an invitation letter and information brochure in Dutch to the home addresses of targeted women every 5 years. Although this screening is free of charge, Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch women, especially, show low screening participation and limited informed decision-making (IDM).

Public engagement in decision-making regarding the management of the COVID-19 epidemic: Views and expectations of the 'publics'.

Background: In the management of epidemics, like COVID-19, trade-offs have to be made between reducing mortality and morbidity and minimizing socioeconomic and political consequences. Traditionally, epidemic management (EM) has been guided and executed attentively by experts and policymakers. It can, however, still be controversial in the public sphere.