{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T06:05:17Z","timestamp":1780380317971,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780358400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The increasing availability of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)\u2013related data has highlighted the need for robust epidemiological analysis to support public health decision-making, particularly in contexts where data are heterogeneous and fragmented. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), COVID-19 research has generated diverse genomic, clinical, and epidemiological datasets, yet their integration and reuse remain challenging due to inconsistencies in data representation, semantics, and interoperability. This study aimed to review key genomic and epidemiological studies related to COVID-19 in the UAE and, informed by identified gaps, proposes a semantic FAIRness framework for epidemiological data integration and analysis. The framework leverages the FAIR data principles and semantic technologies to provide a conceptual architecture for aggregating heterogeneous data sources, transforming data using ontological models, and enabling semantic linkage and reasoning across datasets. At a conceptual level, the framework is intended to support comparative analysis across studies, facilitate transparent representation of uncertainty, and promote semantically interoperable data sharing among diverse stakeholders. While selected components of the framework build on prior proof-of-concept implementations, the framework as a whole has not yet been fully implemented or empirically evaluated. The proposed approach is therefore positioned as a foundation for future development and evaluation, with the potential to enhance evidence-informed epidemiological analysis and public health decision-making in the UAE and similar contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1759032","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T05:43:18Z","timestamp":1780378998000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A semantic FAIRness framework for epidemiological analysis of COVID-19 data in the UAE"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Haleema","family":"Al Sabbah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Abu Dhabi University","place":["Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anoud","family":"Bani Hani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Colorado Denver","place":["Denver, CO, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nawel","family":"Bessadet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Birmingham City University","place":["Birmingham, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olatunde","family":"Aremu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Birmingham City University","place":["Birmingham, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2020","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1008536","article-title":"The hallmarks of Covid-19 disease","volume":"16","author":"Tang","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS Pathog"},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"39","article-title":"Genomic and molecular analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and the possible strategies of Covid-19 treatment - a review","volume":"15","author":"Lahlou","year":"2020","journal-title":"IOSR J Pharmacy Biol Sci"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"812","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2020.06.043","article-title":"Tracking changes in SARSCoV-2 spike: evidence that D614G increases infectivity of the Covid-19 virus","volume":"182","author":"Korber","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cell"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"160018","DOI":"10.1038\/sdata.2016.18","article-title":"The FAIR guiding principles for scientific data management and stewardship","volume":"3","author":"Wilkinson","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sci Data"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"504","DOI":"10.1007\/s12539-021-00465-0","article-title":"Enabling artificial intelligence for genome sequence analysis of COVID-19 and alike viruses","volume":"14","author":"Ahmed","year":"2021","journal-title":"Interdiscip Sci: Comput Life Sci"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17720","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-020-74666-w","article-title":"Multiple early introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into a global travel hub in the Middle East","volume":"10","author":"Tayoun","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"18728","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-021-98373-2","article-title":"Publisher correction: genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in the UAE reveals novel virus mutation, patterns of co-infection and tissue specific host immune response","volume":"11","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3895","DOI":"10.32604\/cmc.2021.015355","article-title":"Data-fusion for epidemiological analysis of Covid-19 variants in UAE","volume":"68","author":"Bani-Hani","year":"2021","journal-title":"Comput Mater. 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