The European Health Information Gateway has been revamped to include new functionalities and enhanced presentation of diverse health information.
The Gateway, initially launched in 2016, has grown to include thousands of indicators and resource links to topics across the continuum of health. This “version 2.0” of the Gateway, launched on 12 October 2017, builds on existing strengths and principles, such as a complete bilingual interface between English and Russian, and open, structured and quick access to all data and metadata through the Gateway and the back-end application programming interface (API) and data warehouse.
A new search feature allows all information on the Gateway to be mined, and, more excitingly, queried for analysis using natural language terms.
Detailed “how-to” articles and videos are available for users, ranging from beginner to advanced; for example, on how to create, share and publish interactive visualizations, and on performing data analysis via the API and data warehouse.
The Health for All (HFA) explorer, which contains hundreds of indicators from the suite of HFA databases, has also been enhanced with updated visualization and export functions.
Improving the information that underpins health policies in the WHO European Region
Although a wealth of information, data and evidence exists within the European Region, it is often scattered, incomplete and difficult to access. The Gateway aims to remedy this by making available diverse and substantive health information in an interface that promotes exploration, discovery and analysis.
The Gateway and related products are part of WHO’s efforts to improve access to health information, under the umbrella of the European Health Information Initiative (EHII), which aims to harmonize and improve health information within the Region. Now numbering 35 members, including Member States, international organizations and public health partners, the EHII operates in 6 key areas:
- generating information for health and well-being, with a focus on indicators
- improving access to and dissemination of health information
- capacity-building
- strengthening health information networks
- supporting development of health information strategies
- enhancing communication and advocacy.
The Gateway, mobile statistics app, data warehouse and API support the EHII in improving and harmonizing health information.