Academic-Nonprofit Partnership for Public Health: Document Analysis and Systematization of the Implementation of a Multijurisdictional Long COVID Surveillance Platform.

CONTEXT: Health information exchanges (HIEs) are generally underutilized as data sources for public health surveillance, potentially decreasing the ability of public health practitioners to leverage the rich, real-time, clinical, and public health data therewith contained.

OBJECTIVES

To systematize the process of implementing an academic-nonprofit partnership (ANPP) designed to leverage multijurisdictional HIE data for public health surveillance of Long COVID by Systematizing the ANPP's. Implementation, with a focus on its operational strengths, opportunities, challenges, and strategies for its sustained growth.

DESIGN

Document review and analysis informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Surveillance System Evaluation framework. We employed a systematic approach to the collection and interpretation of 5 types of documents to describe the experience of implementing a multistakeholder, multijurisdictional, HIE-based ANPP for public health surveillance from 2022 to 2025.

SETTING

Multijurisdictional settings in the US.

PARTICIPANTS

The ANPP and its constituent organizations.

INTERVENTION: Implementation of the ANPP.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Identification of critical lessons learned including key partnership elements, encountered challenges, surveillance framework application, and strategies for implementing a multistakeholder, multijurisdictional ANPP for public health surveillance.

RESULTS

A participatory, iterative approach was used to engage stakeholders on ANPP implementation. Foundational strengths included complementary partner expertise and robust data environments, which created unique opportunities for comprehensive Long COVID surveillance. Challenges involved navigating varied institutional, legal, and regulatory requirements, complex data permission structures, and coordinating teams across different time zones. Key lessons learned highlighted that extensive initial investment in legal frameworks, data environments, and communication protocols, though time-consuming, significantly improves surveillance capabilities. Strategies to ensure success included replacing large meetings with focused working groups, fostering frequent communication, and implementing rigorous inter-team data quality control.

CONCLUSION

Implementing multistakeholder, multijurisdictional, HIE-based surveillance necessitates substantial upfront investment. Continuous refinement and strategic efforts are vital for overcoming operational complexities and maximizing HIE potential for robust public health surveillance.