Investigating the impact of the WHO Hive platform for health emergencies preparedness and response

Abstract Background Recent global health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, showed there is a growing need for enhanced collaboration and knowledge sharing across global health communities. The WHO Hive platform provides a centralized hub for public health experts to connect, share and access valuable resources. This study aims to analyze the impact of the Hive following its launch of 4 tools within the Hive to enhance engagement and collaboration: Community space, Chat and discussion forum, Video conferencing, Hive drive document repository. The study will explore further technological and structural needs required to increase its usage in health emergency preparedness and response. Methods This study employs a structured survey for users of the Hive that will be anonymized and stratified by non-identifying data such as professional roles and geographic locations to highlight trends and patterns within specific subgroups. This approach ensures that the analysis is representative of the diverse user base on the Hive platform, with currently over 700 public health experts from more than 200 organizations across 105 countries. Expected Outcomes The study is expected to provide a comprehensive evaluation of Hive’s operational effectiveness in enhancing community collaboration, engagement, and knowledge-sharing, and highlighting its strengths and areas for improvement. The results will help inform future development to enhance collaboration and engagement. Conclusions The WHO Hive offers a unique value proposition as a platform developed by a trusted global health authority, enhancing credibility and fostering greater participation between health professionals. Feedback from the users is crucial to optimize future development to sustain it as a resource for health emergencies preparedness, readiness and response. Key messages • Digital tools for stronger health emergency preparedness and response to enhance collaboration and engagement. • Highlighting key areas for digital integration to strengthen health emergency preparedness and response.