Precision Public Health Approach in Outbreak Management: Protocol for a Scoping Review (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Precision Public Health (PPH) is a newly emerging field in public health medicine. The application of various types of data such as clinical data, personal data, and environmental data combined into a large-volume database known as Big Data (BD) can improve public health initiatives including outbreak management. With good quality BD, the PPH is capable to deliver more tailored interventions to a specific population within a specific timeframe. However, the application of PPH possesses several challenges and limitations that need to be addressed. OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study is to provide evidence of the various use of PPH in outbreak management, the types of data that could be used in PPH application, and the limitations and barriers in the application of the PPH approach. METHODS We adopted the reviewer framework proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute in the present study. Articles or studies will be searched in PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct. The inclusion criteria were English publications between January 2017 and January 2023, all experimental studies, observational studies, and text or opinion papers that show potential evidence of the PPH application in outbreak management. Our selection of articles was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for Scoping Review guidelines. Data extraction was performed using a standardized data extraction form. The outcome of the evidence assessment will be narrative instead of quantitative. RESULTS The database search resulted in 1059 articles. Upon completing the screening and eligibility stages, 30 articles were included in the scoping review. As of 21 February 2023, the scoping review is in the descriptive synthesis stage. We anticipate the scoping review report will be completed by June 2023. CONCLUSIONS This scoping review protocol presents the methods that guide the scoping review and identify and map studies that used a precision public health approach in addressing communicable disease or outbreak management. This review may address the advantages and disadvantages of implementing the precision public health concept as well as the limitations and barriers. This evidence could be beneficial for policymakers and implementers in improving outbreak management by incorporating precision public health approaches. CLINICALTRIAL