Summary of prioritized evidence syntheses on pandemics and health emergencies

Health-related misinformation

• What is the impact of strategies to mitigate health misinformation in diverse settings, and across diverse populations? 
• Which behavioural science-informed change approaches, techniques, and barriers/enablers are targeted in trials of interventions to mitigate health-related misinformation?

Misinformation in political institutions

• What is known about the types of mis/disinformation practices in democracies, including those which have emerged more recently?
• What is known about the effectiveness of interventions to combat mis/disinformation?

Scientific advisory bodies and expert panels

• How can the design and operation of Scientific Advisory Bodies and Expert Panels be optimized to: a) enhance the integration of science advice into decision-making and b) enable rigorous evaluation of SAB/EP impact and effectiveness in Canada and other OECD countries?

University of Antioquia - Unit of Evidence and Deliberation for Decision Making

• What countries have developed national One Health strategies?
• What is known about the governance structures, key components, evaluation mechanisms, and effects of the identified One Health strategies?

Factors associated with public trust

• What factors are associated with public trust in government health authorities and officials?

• How do factors associated with public trust in healthcare systems differ across OECD countries?

Strategies for public trust

New evidence synthesis

• Which strategies evaluated in health contexts are associated with changes in public trust?
• Who, what, where and how have public trust-enhancing strategies been evaluated in randomized and quasi-experimental studies in health contexts?
• How has public trust been measured in evaluation of public trust-enhancing studies health contexts?

Community resilience

• What are the effects of upstream and midstream actions (involving PH) used before, during or after a pandemic on the resilience, mental health and psychosocial well-being of communities?
• What characteristics define resilient communities in the context of pandemics, and (b) what indicators, implementation and measurement tools, and evaluation frameworks have been used to assess community resilience in relation to pandemics?
• What are the recommended role(s) of local/regional/ provincial/national public health authorities in Canada (and if feasible) other “most prepared” countries for the planning, implementing and evaluating upstream and midstream actions before, during and after pandemics?

Coordination and maintenance of essential services

New evidence synthesis

• [Question still being defined]

Respiratory syncytial virus vaccines

• What is the effectiveness of RSV vaccines (Abrysvo by Pfizer, Arexvy by GSK, and mRESVIA by Moderna) against medically attended LRTD and severe LRTD in older adults aged ≥60 years and newborns (via vaccinated mothers)? Additionally, what is the effectiveness of nirsevimab (Beyfortus) and clesrovimab (Enflonsi) against hospitalization in children ≤2 year?

McMaster Health Forum and Evidence Synthesis Ireland

Influenza antivirals

• Among exposed (asymptomatic) or infected individuals in community and high-risk settings, what is the effect of influenza antiviral post-exposure prophylaxis or treatment, compared with no antiviral use, on measures of transmission?

Influenza vaccine

• What is the effectiveness of trivalent and quadrivalent influenza vaccines in preventing influenza-associated outcomes MAARI, outpatient visits, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death) across different influenza types and subtypes (subtypes, A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2), and B) in the following populations: a) older adults aged ≥60 years; and b) children aged 0–17 years as reported in the northern and southern hemispheres in the 2024−2025 and 2025-2026 seasons, respectively?

Stockpile and distribution of antivirals

• What behavioural factors (barriers and facilitators) influence the stockpile management and distribution of antiviral medications against respiratory viruses associated with severe disease?
• What are potential differences in community-based distribution versus hospital distribution of antivirals against respiratory viruses associated with severe disease?

Use of antivirals

• What behavioural factors influence the prescribing by healthcare practitioners and use by patients of antivirals for the prevention and treatment of respiratory viruses associated with severe disease?
• How do behavioural factors influencing antiviral prescription and patient use vary across different types of healthcare practitioner (physicians vs pharmacists vs nurses)?

Wildfires

• What is known about interventions to prevent, mitigate, respond and recover from wildfire-related health harms and what is their impact on health outcomes?
• Where are the gaps in the evidence base and which are particularly relevant to the Canadian context?

Genetic signature of avian influenza

• What is the current knowledge on experimentally verified molecular markers affecting biological characteristics of avian influenza A viruses (AIVs)?

Contact reduction

• What is best available evidence about reducing contacts in preventing the transmission of respiratory infectious diseases in non-healthcare community-based settings?

• Original questions:
  • What do we know from the best-available evidence about the impacts of different vaccine delivery approaches or programs on vaccine access, uptake, program costs, efficiency, and patient and provider experiences?
  • What do we know about barriers to implementation of vaccine delivery approaches?

• Original question: What is the effectiveness of the combinations of at least two public health and social measures, or PHSMs (e.g., quarantine and isolation, masks, ventilation, physical distancing and reduction of contacts, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and cleaning and disinfecting) in reducing transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses (e.g., influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV) in non-healthcare community-based settings?

• Original questions
  • What is the best available evidence about strategies and interventions that promote adherence to the six PHSMs (quarantine and isolation, masks, physical distancing and reduction of contacts, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, cleaning, and disinfecting, and ventilation) in preventing transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections in non-healthcare, community-based settings?
  • Within studies testing the effectiveness of strategies and interventions that promote adherence to the six PHSMs, what are the spillover effects to PHSM behaviours and other health behaviours that were not targeted by the intervention?

• To create a living evidence synthesis platform that support translational (i.e., ‘bench-to-bedside’) research for pandemic preparedness by integrating preclinical evidence synthesis into national pandemic response infrastructure. The platform will support policy and decision-making, inform clinical trial design, and evidence inform countermeasure development including vaccine and therapeutic strategies.