title: Key features of an EU health information system: a concept mapping study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the acknowledged value of an EU health information system (EU-HISys) and the many achievements in this field, the landscape is still heavily fragmented and incomplete. Through a systematic analysis of the opinions and valuations of public health stakeholders, this study aims to conceptualize key features of an EU-HISys.
  
  
  METHODS
  Public health professionals and policymakers were invited to participate in a concept mapping procedure. First, participants (N = 34) formulated statements that reflected their vision of an EU-HISys. Second, participants (N = 28) rated the relative importance of each statement and grouped conceptually similar ones. Principal Component and cluster analyses were used to condense these results to EU-HISys key features in a concept map. The number of key features and the labelling of the concept map were determined by expert consensus.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The concept map contains 10 key features that summarize 93 statements. The map consists of a horizontal axis that represents the relevance of an 'organizational strategy', which deals with the 'efforts' to design and develop an EU-HISys and the 'achievements' gained by a functioning EU-HISys. The vertical axis represents the 'professional orientation' of the EU-HISys, ranging from the 'scientific' through to the 'policy' perspective. The top ranking statement expressed the need to establish a system that is permanent and sustainable. The top ranking key feature focuses on data and information quality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides insights into key features of an EU-HISys. The results can be used to guide future planning and to support the development of a health information system for Europe.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of International Health, CAPHRI, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands nicole.rosenkoetter@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rosenkötter
authors.affiliation: 2 Department for Public Health Forecasting, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Achterberg
authors.affiliation: 3 Academic Collaborative Centre for Public Health Brabant, Tranzo, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tilburg, Tilburg, The Netherlands 4 Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marja J H
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: van Bon-Martens
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of International Health, CAPHRI, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Michelsen
authors.affiliation: 2 Department for Public Health Forecasting, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands 3 Academic Collaborative Centre for Public Health Brabant, Tranzo, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tilburg, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hans A M
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: van Oers
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of International Health, CAPHRI, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brand
mesh_terms: D005062:European Union; D063005:Health Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D011635:Public Health Administration