PAHO Releases Guide to Design AI Instructions for Public Health

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published a guide to help public health professionals design instructions for AI systems. The guide aims to ensure AI generates reliable, relevant, and culturally appropriate content for diverse public health contexts.

“The effectiveness of generative artificial intelligence depends on how it is instructed,” says Marcelo D’Agostino, Head of the Information Systems and Digital Health Unit, PAHO. “Well-designed prompts are key to leveraging its full potential.”

With the rise of Generative AI, technology in public health has moved beyond data analysis to content creation. Health institutions increasingly use AI to prepare alerts, translate reports into plain language, develop educational materials, and simulate responses. Tasks that once required multiple review cycles can now be executed more quickly, provided AI instructions, or “prompts,” are clear, specific, and purposeful. PAHO’s guide emphasizes that the value of AI depends on professionals’ ability to guide it accurately.

The guide positions prompt design as an essential skill for public health personnel to improve operational efficiency and ensure content is accurate, understandable, and actionable. It also cautions about risks when AI-generated content informs public behavior, local policies, or emergency responses, highlighting the need for human oversight.

PAHO recommends treating prompts as “living protocols” that can be tested, refined, and adapted to different contexts, languages, and audiences. The guide also encourages the creation of institutional prompt libraries to maintain consistency and efficiency.

The publication is part of PAHO’s Digital Literacy Program, which aims to strengthen the digital competencies of health workers across the Americas. It also supports the digital transformation of health systems, enabling faster and more precise decisions with a broader impact on public health outcomes.