Operational research in infectious disease outbreak response: An analysis of the World Health Organization’s Disease Outbreak News

Timely and effective response to infectious disease outbreaks depends on the rapid application of evidence-based policies. Operational research (OR) is conducted during emergency response to inform decision-making, and guide response strategies; however, there is no standardized mechanism for documenting how OR is conducted or communicated during outbreaks. The World Health Organization Disease Outbreak News (DONs) platform is a global reporting mechanism that provides publicly-accessible updates on acute public health emergency response activities. Although DONs reports describe outbreak response actions, the extent to which they capture OR has not been examined. This study reviewed DONs reports to characterize how outbreak response efforts are documented and to assess the visibility of OR reporting. A structured content analysis was conducted of DONs reports published between January 2012 and October 2024. Reports describing acute infectious disease outbreaks were included. Quantitative data were extracted on outbreak response activities, deployment, technical support, and OR. Reports were deductively coded using a coding framework to identify thematic patterns. 412 outbreak events were included. Most DONs reports described deployment activities (100%) and technical support (95.1%). OR was explicitly mentioned in only 9 reports (2.2%).. Thematic analysis identified four key patterns: increasing report completeness over time; frequent association of deployment with laboratory and diagnostic activities; frequent association of technical support with infection prevention and control; and inconsistent OR reporting. Terminology used to describe response varied across reports, making systematic identification of OR difficult. While DONs reports provide valuable and accessible information on outbreak response activities, they capture limited information on OR. Enhancing reporting guidance, including clearer terminology and OR documentation, could improve the ability to share lessons learned. While DONs are not intended as the sole forum for reporting OR, strengthening their role as a communication platform may support knowledge sharing and contribute to effective, evidence-informed outbreak response.