Table 1.

Syndromic surveillance academic research in Public Health England and the benefits applied to the public health system

Academic Research Area	Application and Integration to Public Health
Air pollution impact	Improved understanding of the impact of air pollution incidents on health Knowledge applied during incidents to provide reassurance of which indicators were used, their sensitivity, and the development of baselines used for surveillance during air pollution incidents11
Heat wave morbidity indicators	Improved knowledge of the impact of extreme heat on a wide range of morbidity indicators Strengthened heat wave surveillance and improved reassurance to public health incident teams about which indicators are important for surveillance during heat waves12
Heat wave impact	Understanding the impact of heat waves with indicators of heat and sunstroke Reassurance of sensitivity of indicators and development of baselines used for routine heat wave surveillance13
Incident scenarios	Understanding the characteristics of public health incidents (eg, pandemic influenza, Cryptosporidium contamination of the drinking water supply) that can be identified with syndromic surveillance indicators Improved reassurance during outbreaks or incidents about what syndromic surveillance can detect
Union of European Football Associations 2016 football tournament: impact on health, including cardiovascular events	Planning for future mass-gathering sporting events Determining the public health impact of mass-gathering sporting events and updating guidance on which syndromic indicators should be routinely monitored during mass gatherings
Impact of media reporting on syndromic surveillance	Understanding the possible impact of media coverage on syndromic surveillance data and the bias that it can introduce to data analysis and statistics Improved interpretation of key messages during public health incidents and clear recommendations to incident directors15
Gastrointestinal infections	Improved understanding of the use of syndromic surveillance to detect local gastrointestinal outbreaks Improved reassurance during incidents (eg, flooding) of what syndromic surveillance can detect