Digital Presence of Health Authorities in Germany and Switzerland: Implications for Open Public Health Data Readiness.

Abstract

Open health data is arguably the cornerstone of modern public health strategy, enabling data-driven policymaking and promoting transparency. The extent and format of health data publication, however, vary widely across jurisdictions, especially within multi-tiered health governance systems. This study subsequently investigates the digital presence and open data strategies of health authorities in Germany and Switzerland, focusing on their official websites as the primary interface for public communication. A structured content assessment was conducted for 16 German state-level public health authorities (Landesgesundheitsämter), 26 Swiss cantonal health departments, and both countries' national public health bodies. Findings show that having a web presence, health-related content, data dashboards, and access to raw (machine-readable) datasets are prominent. German state-level authorities frequently publish general health information with statistical reports and datasets, while Swiss cantons largely offer general health information. At national-level, however, Switzerland provides centralized open data access, unlike Germany's more distributed model (i.e. at state-level). The results suggest that open data visibility is strongly influenced by the structure of public health governance based on population size - decentralized in Germany and more centralized in Switzerland. These findings highlight the value of observing communication trends across governance tiers (and population sizes) to inform open health data strategies in federated systems, and beyond.