This is the first study to use a common methodology to examine HCWs' perceptions and attitudes in different European countries towards monitoring their absence and symptoms for the surveillance of EIDs. It is unique in exploring a diverse range of healthcare professionals' risk perceptions in relation to occupationally acquired infectious diseases and sensitivities around the disclosure of symptoms in light of the recent history of the emergence of new pathogens. The study has provided insight into knowledge gaps and structural barriers to the timely detection of newly circulating infections in hospital settings.