Johnson, E., R., Martínez, M. C., and Ozturkcan, S., "Complications in big data-based communication in the wake of COVID-19: A comparison of North American and Nordic practices of multinational healthcare corporations," Engineering and Technology Management Summit 2022, 20-21 Oct 2022, Istanbul, Turkey.

1. Complications in big data-based
communication in the wake of COVID-19:
A comparison of North American and Nordic
practices of multinational healthcare corporations
Elizabeth Ripley Johnson, María Castaño Martínez, Selcen Öztürkcan
cite as
Johnson, E., R., Martínez, M. C., and Ozturkcan, S., "Complications in big data-based communication in the wake of COVID-19: A comparison of North American
and Nordic practices of multinational healthcare corporations," Engineering and Technology Management Summit 2022, 20-21 Oct 2022, Istanbul, Turkey.

2. "an abundance of information — some accurate and some inaccurate — that makes it difficult for
people to find trustworthy sources and trustworthy guidance when they need it" - WHO, February 2020
Motivation
a global health crisis together with a worldwide communications crisis
⇒ clear, concise, and efficient communication of complex health-related data
BUT
challenges of pandemic healthcare communication in
the United States and the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden).
those developing communications to
disseminate healthcare information:
● inexperienced
● inadequately trained
circulation of misinterpreted data
the spread of incorrect information

3. • unprecedented pandemic times
• rapidly evolving, fast-paced scientific discovery
• high volumes of data and public health information
RQs
● What are the challenges involved in healthcare
communication?
● How do the challenges differ in the Nordics vs. the U.S.?
● What are the risks involved in communicating
information derived from public healthcare big data?
swiftly determine
how to communicate data successfully

4. Methodology
• March - April of 2020
• snowball sampling as COVID-19 rapidly spread
throughout the United States and the Nordics
• focused on communication-responsible
professionals in the United States and the
Nordic region who work for publicly traded
healthcare and life science research
multinational corporations (Table 1 for detailed
interviewee information).
• 13 semi-structured interviews (40-70 minutes)
~60% of all healthcare research and
development in high-income countries
funded by for-profit and privately funded
organizations
● Nordics: population-wide public health
data registries
● US: largest healthcare industry in the
world
qualitative research

5. Findings… the three emerging themes
three core elements exacerbated during the COVID-19 crisis:
(1) the big data;
(2) the context and requirements within the business environment to process and utilize the big data;
(3) the communication development process itself.
communication
in healthcare
industry
3
big data
process of developing communication
business environment
1 2

6. Nordics: data from patient health registers, electronic medical records, and pharmacy registries.
US: data derived from health insurance claims
Both: sometimes big data unuseful for communication needs
• incomplete,
• concerns about the accuracy or integrity of the data,
• the accuracy of the algorithms or the tools used to interpret the data
• irrelevant to the target audience.
project put on pause until all OK, or stop the communication development.
The Big Data
1

7. a challenge unique to communicating health-related big data
→ preparation and processing of the data itself
time-intensive process of gathering, analyzing, and utilization
⇒ delayed distribution of critical health information
The Big Data
high volumes of low-quality data and
low volumes of high variety data
→ bad data, missing data, or data gaps.
1

8. • engage & reach effectively
• maintain compliance
• minimise legal or reputational risks
• follow international regulatory protocols
• adapt communications to geographic markets
• internal approval process among various business unit stakeholders
Nordics: account for the regulations in each country if there is more than one audience.
• Amending communication per each country requirement - COSTLY & TIME CONSUMING
US: each state had similar legal parameters
Both: multiple stakeholders involved in the communication development process → time-
consuming iterative drafting process
The Business Environment
2

9. Message development depends on how well the communications professional understand the
data.
• improve the process
• build strong relationships with data science experts
• strengthen their translation process
• communicate the meaning and information derived from the data more accurately
Building effective communications demands audience analysis
• highly complex ecosystem of stakeholders
• understand the audience’s communication needs
• tailor the message to best reach them (hospital clinicians vs. patients
Customization allow for the bifurcation of each audience to communicate more directly.
The Process of Developing Communications
3

10. The Challenge
hardest part: customizing the message and translating data into an accessible language to
the target audience without oversimplifying
Communicating health data requires the preservation of accuracy in the data, results, or
findings when distilling the information’s complexity into clear and comprehensible terms.

11. Different Challenges - US vs. Nordics
Nordics:
● different challenges→ prohibitive data specific (unique procedures, restrictions,
requirements, and regulations in each country)
● patient registry accounting for all patients in the healthcare system
US:
● data not representative of the whole population
● data available via health insurance claims restricted to specific age or income groups, or
members of private insurance plans
● health outcomes for those without insurance claims data, presumably in a lower
socioeconomic segment of the population --> unknown.
Scientists risked inequality and generalizability as the data represents the higher-income
population in the U.S.

12. Common Challenges - US vs. Nordics
BOTH:
● consensus acknowledging the need for regulations aiming to safeguard consumers from
predatory or harmful marketing.
● BUT prevent communicators from being agile and reaching wider audiences at a faster pace.

13. In a pandemic, speed and accuracy were essential.
• bridge the knowledge gap between scientists and communicators: maintain information
accuracy and data integrity in the translation and simplification via education and training
Global public healthcare demands a worldwide approach to healthcare communications.
• regulatory diversity + variety of data sources around the world → hinder possibility of
establishing a global healthcare system that communicate simultaneously, accurately, and
timely relevant information across countries.
COVID-19 Pandemic

14. questions
and
comments
Thank you !
Selcen Öztürkcan
selcen.ozturkcan@lnu.se