10.O. Scientific session: Public health dashboards and health inequality monitoring in Europe

Abstract Monitoring health inequalities-not just overall health outcomes-is essential for effective, equity-oriented public health policy. From the pioneering use of radial diagrams by Florence Nightingale, who plotted causes of death among British troops posted in the Crimea in the 1850s, to today's advanced visualisation platforms such as Tableau, Power BI, and open-source tools like R Shiny, visual storytelling has been key to driving public health action. Across Europe, data dashboards are increasingly used to visualise trends and support planning at national and local levels. However, while interest in using dashboards for monitoring health inequalities is growing, many existing tools offer only limited stratification by social or economic factors, and their practical application to equity-focused policy making remains unclear. This workshop will explore the availability, development, and use of public health dashboards for monitoring health inequalities across Europe. Organised as a scientific session featuring four presentations, it will offer a well-rounded view of current practices, innovations, and challenges. The session will begin with a European-level overview of dashboards across 12 countries, assessing their availability and capacity to support inequality monitoring. This will be followed by national case studies from Belgium and Norway, illustrating how dashboards and other visualisation tools have been implemented in differing contexts and the lessons learned. A final presentation will explore the user perspective from Finland, examining how regional policymakers interact with dashboards, barriers to their use for health inequality monitoring, and potential improvements to better support local policy development. By participating, attendees will gain a clearer understanding of the current landscape and gaps in using dashboards to monitor health inequalities. The session will provide practical insights for researchers, policymakers, public health professionals, and tool developers, offering insight into emerging best practices and strategies for strengthening data visualisation tools. Participants will be invited to reflect on experiences from different national contexts, exchange ideas, and discuss how dashboards can be made more responsive, inclusive, and effective to better support equity-focused policy-making. Our organising team brings together researchers from leading public health institutes, each with distinct experience in developing and promoting dashboards across diverse contexts. With growing interest in leveraging data for equity-driven decision-making, now is a critical moment to realise the full potential of public health dashboards. This workshop aims to spark ongoing dialogue, collaboration, and innovation in this evolving area of public health practice. Key messages • Dashboards can be used to monitor and address health inequalities across different European contexts. • Cross-country learning and collaboration can strengthen the use of data visualisation tools for health equity.