scholarly journals COVID-19 Contact Tracing: Current States and Future Directions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jabed Morshed Chowdhury ◽  
Md Sadek Ferdous ◽  
Kamanashis Biswas ◽  
Niaz Chowdhury ◽  
Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
High Level

Contact tracing has become a key tool for public health officials to effectively combat the spread of new diseases, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, this process is either manual or semi-manual and often very time consuming and inefficient. It largely relies of human memory and cannot be scalable to tackle pandemic like COVID-19. Researchers and practitioners around the world have turned into the technology based approaches to provide a scalable solution. Smartphone and associated digital technologies have the potential to provide a better solution due to its high level of penetration coupled with mobility. However, information like location or proximity associated with other personal data are very sensitive private information and can be used by the states to do surveillance over their citizen. Researchers have proposed different contact tracing protocols to overcome or limit those concerns. In this paper, we have critically reviewed these protocols and apps to identify the strength and weakness of each approaches. Finally, we have pen down our recommendations to make contact tracing mechanism more universally inter-operable and privacy preserving.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Contact Tracing: Challenges and Future Directions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jabed Morshed Chowdhury ◽  
Md Sadek Ferdous ◽  
Kamanashis Biswas ◽  
Niaz Chowdhury ◽  
Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy
Keyword(s):  
Personal Data ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Significant Challenge ◽  
Innovative Solution ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
High Level

Contact tracing has become a vital tool for public health officials to effectively combat the spread of new diseases, such asthe novel coronavirus disease COVID-19. Contact tracing is not new to epidemiologist rather, it used manual or semi-manualapproaches that are incredibly time-consuming, costly and inefficient. It mostly relies on human memory while scalabilityis a significant challenge in tackling pandemics. The unprecedented health and socio-economic impacts led researchersand practitioners around the world to search for technology-based approaches for providing scalable and timely answers.Smartphones and associated digital technologies have the potential to provide a better approach due to their high level ofpenetration, coupled with mobility. While data-driven solutions are extremely powerful, the fear among citizens is thatinformation like location or proximity associated with other personal data and can be weaponised by the states to enforcesurveillance. Low adoption rate of such apps due to the lack of trust questioned the efficacy and demanded researchers tofind innovative solution for building digital-trust, and appropriately balancing privacy and accuracy of data. In this paper,we have critically reviewed such protocols and apps to identify the strength and weakness of each approach. Finally, wehave penned down our recommendations to make the future contact tracing mechanisms more universally inter-operable andprivacy-preserving.

scholarly journals Contact Tracing: A Memory Task With Consequences for Public Health

2020 ◽  
pp. 174569162097820
Author(s):  
Maryanne Garry ◽  
Lorraine Hope ◽  
Rachel Zajac ◽  
Ayesha J. Verrall ◽  
Jamie M. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Investigative Interviewing ◽  
Infected People ◽  
Variable Level ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Crucial Part

In the battle for control of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), we have few weapons. Yet contact tracing is among the most powerful. Contact tracing is the process by which public-health officials identify people, or contacts, who have been exposed to a person infected with a pathogen or another hazard. For all its power, though, contact tracing yields a variable level of success. One reason is that contact tracing’s ability to break the chain of transmission is only as effective as the proportion of contacts who are actually traced. In part, this proportion turns on the quality of the information that infected people provide, which makes human memory a crucial part of the efficacy of contact tracing. Yet the fallibilities of memory, and the challenges associated with gathering reliable information from memory, have been grossly underestimated by those charged with gathering it. We review the research on witnesses and investigative interviewing, identifying interrelated challenges that parallel those in contact tracing, as well as approaches for addressing those challenges.

scholarly journals Causes and Management of Neck Pain in Primary Care, Review Article

2021 ◽  
pp. 144-152
Author(s):  
Faisal Suliman Algaows ◽  
Nader Marzouq AlOtaibi ◽  
Salma Mousa Hakami ◽  
Omar Abdrabalrasoul Alkhabaz ◽  
Bandar Owaidh ALJohani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Neck Pain ◽  
Spinous Process ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Upper Limbs ◽  
The World ◽  
High Level ◽  
Pain Patients

Neck pain is a prevalent ailment that affects many people around the world. Neck pain is linked to a high level of disability and is usually regarded as a serious public health issue. Pain between the superior nuchal line and the spinous process of the first thoracic vertebra is referred to as neck pain. The pain in the neck might refer to the head, trunk, and upper limbs in some cases. This article seeks to offer a summary of the existing evidence on the prevalence, costs, diagnosis, prognosis, risk factors, prevention, and management of neck pain patients.

scholarly journals A cross-sectional population survey of physicians in Alberta, Canada about a novel provincial contact tracing smartphone app

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Jerome ◽  
M Pietrosanu ◽  
K Dhillon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
English Language ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Health Zone ◽  
Public Health Campaigns

Abstract Background The Canadian province of Alberta released the ABTraceTogether smartphone app in May 2020 to assist in contact tracing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Public engagement with this public health tool has been low, limiting the effectiveness of the intervention. This study examines physician knowledge of the app and practice patterns in relation to the app. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional self-administered online English language survey of physicians and medical students in Alberta, Canada. The survey link was sent to all registered members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and was distributed by other provincial physician organizations and health zone leaders. Results The survey received 317 responses. 96% of participants were aware of the app but only 27% had recommended the app to patients. The most common reason provided for not downloading or recommending the app was that participants had security concerns about the app. 23% of participants indicated they did not believe they had a responsibility to recommend the app to others. Conclusions Our study provides insights into participants’ knowledge and beliefs about the ABTraceTogether app. This information may be valuable to public health officials who wish to engage physicians in future public health campaigns.

scholarly journals A Second-Order Disaster? Digital Technologies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094816
Author(s):  
Mirca Madianou
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The One

One of the most striking features of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom has been the disproportionate way in which it has affected Black, Asian, ethnic minority, and working class people. In this article, I argue that digital technologies and data practices in the response to COVID-19 amplify social inequalities, which are already accentuated by the pandemic, thus leading to a “second-order disaster”—a human-made disaster which further traps disadvantaged people into precarity. Inequalities are reproduced both in the everyday uses of technology for distance learning and remote work as well as in the public health response. Applications such as contact tracing apps raise concerns about “function creep”—the reuse of data for different purposes than the one for which they were originally collected—while they normalize surveillance which has been traditionally used on marginalized communities. The outsourcing of the digital public health response consolidates the arrival of the privatized digital welfare state, which increases risks of potential discrimination.

scholarly journals Workshop: EUPHA and Europe-wide action on digital public health

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Health System Strengthening ◽  
World Health ◽  
Collaborative Action ◽  
European Public ◽  
The World

Abstract The World Health Assembly Resolution on Digital Health unanimously approved by WHO Member States in May 2018 demonstrated a collective recognition of the value of digital technologies to contribute to advancing universal health coverage (UHC) and other health aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The World Health Organization has just released first ever guideline on digital interventions for health system strengthening. Et the European level, in June 2018 the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched the WHO/Europe initiative for Digitalization of Health Systems and in February 2019 organized the first Symposium on the Future of Digital Health Systems in the European Region. The European Commission in April 2018 published a Communication on Digital transformation of health and care in the digital single market and requested the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in health (EXPH) to release an evidence-based opinion on how to assess the impact of digital transformation of health services. In such context, the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) has at an early stage acknowledged and understood the crucial importance of applying the potential offered by digitalization to public health. Not only its most prominent members work and research as WHO and EC experts on how to plan, implement and evaluate effective digital public health interventions, but EUPHA itself - as umbrella organization representing public health associations and institutes across Europe had: i) actively participated to the WHO Euro Symposium successfully co-organizing a session on the ‘beautiful marriage’ between digitalization and public health, ii) supported the publication of a EJPH supplement on digital health and iii) has planned to create a EUPHA Section on Digital Health. With the overall goal of positioning the proposed EUPHA Section on Digital Health in the enriching and constructive context of the European Public Health Conference the workshop specifically aims to: present a comprehensive conceptual framework for the application of digital technologies to public health in Europe;present and report on EUPHA collaborative action on digital health, aligned with European institutions;present the structure and content of the EJPH supplement on digital health;present the general aim, specific objectives, scope, mission and preliminary outputs of the proposed EUPHA Section on Digital Health, as well as its synergy with other EUPHA’s Section workPresent the results of two/three specific projects on digital public health to serve as concrete examples of the application of digital solutions to public healthEngage with the audience to promote the active participation of the broader EUPHA community to the activities of the Section, collect interests and best practices, and share ideas and projects worth scaling up at the Section-level. Key messages The ‘beautiful marriage’ between digitalization and public health has to be concretely planned, implemented and evaluated. EUPHA action on digital public health can be further strengthened through the collaborative action and work of its dedicated Section.

scholarly journals Heterogeneity of the COVID-19 epidemic in Australia: What can we learn from it?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiuli Chen ◽  
Yibeltal Assefa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
System Capacity ◽  
World Health ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The World ◽  
Effective Community ◽  
One Year ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract It has been more than one year since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic of COVID-19. Countries around the world are still struggling to control their epidemics. Australia has shown its resilience in the fight against the epidemic by providing a comprehensive response involving the whole-of-government and whole-of-society. Despite the overall successful national response, the epidemic in Australia has been heterogeneous across states. We conducted a mixed-methods study to analyze the epidemic and explain the variable manifestation of the epidemic across states in Australia. Most of the COVID-19 cases and deaths were in Victoria and New South Wales states due to differences in governance of the epidemic and public health responses (quarantine and contact tracing) among states. Countries could learn not only from Australia’s overall successful response, through good governance, effective community participation, adequate public health and health system capacity and multisectoral actions, but also from the heterogeneity of the epidemic among states. Successful response to epidemics in countries with a decentralized administration requires multi-level governance with alignment and harmonization of the response.

scholarly journals Scrutinising COVIDSafe: Frameworks for evaluating digital contact tracing technologies

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-161
Author(s):  
Adam Lodders ◽  
Jeannie Marie Paterson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Contact Tracing

Digital technologies are being used to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic through a variety of methods, including monitoring compliance with quarantine and contact tracing. These uses of technology are said to promote public health outcomes but risk undermining rights to privacy. In this article we focus on the use of digital technologies for contact tracing, such as the COVIDSafe app used in Australia. We explore the kind of framework that might be used for evaluating the design, deployment and governance of such technologies to ensure they operate in a manner that is proportionate to the ends to be achieved. We conclude that, in addition to issues of privacy, any use of contact tracing technology should address important considerations of efficacy, equity and accountability.

scholarly journals 13.A. Workshop: Responding to COVID19 in Europe: a tale of five countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Outbreak Management ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Population Attitudes

Abstract Since emerging from a market in Wuhan China in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen causing COVID-19, has spread worldwide. On January 30th 2020 the World Health Organization declared the COVID19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and declared it a pandemic on March 11th 2020. With over 2.4 million cases and 180,000 deaths reported by mid-June, Europe has been the second most affected region in the world. Individual countries such as Italy and the UK have been amongst the hardest hit in the world. However, the COVID19 situation in Europe is marked by wide variations both in terms of how countries have been affected, and in terms of how they have responded. The proposed workshop will provide compare and contrast the situation and response in five countries in the European region: The UK, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, moderated by a firm and charismatic chair. This interactive workshop will enable better understanding of the disease's spread and trajectory in different EU countries. International comparisons will help to describe the growth and scale of the pandemic in the selected EU countries. The choice of countries reflects those that have reported high and low incidence and mortality, as well as represent a range in the strictness of the control measures implemented, from full lockdown to the most permissive. The session will go beyond describing those and will be an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of these different approaches and lessons learnt around the different components of the response such as case identification, contact tracing, testing, social distancing, mask use, health communication and inequalities. We plan to have short and effective 5 min presentations followed by a longer and constructively provocative moderated discussion. Importantly, the five European case studies will offer ground to discuss the public health principles behind outbreak management preparedness and balancing public health with other imperatives such as economic ones, but also social frustration. The audience will be engaged through a Q&A session. Key messages The approach to managing the COVID19 outbreak has varied among European countries, and the optimal approach is likely to be context specific. The effect of the pandemic will be long term and public health imperatives must take population attitudes and behavior as well as economic and indirect health effects into account.

scholarly journals Contact Tracing Apps in ASEAN: A Threat to Privacy and Personal Data

2021 ◽  
pp. 50-76
Author(s):  
Agung Kurniawan Sihombing ◽  
Yogi Bratajaya
Keyword(s):  
Personal Data ◽  
International Standards ◽  
World Health ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Right To Privacy ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Asean Member ◽  
The World ◽  
Government Surveillance ◽  
The Right

On March 11 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially categorized the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a global pandemic. The rapid spread of COVID-19 prompted governments all around the world to take steps toward controlling the pandemic and its significant socio-economic impacts. Digital technology has been relied upon to provide innovative solutions to aid efforts of stopping the spread of COVID-19. One such innovation is the development and implementation of contact tracing applications or apps. The use of these apps allows public health authorities to track confirmed cases of COVID-19 and mitigate its transmission. However, as useful as they may be, there exists a well-grounded fear that contact tracing apps may be used as a tool to broaden government surveillance powers. This is especially true among member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where domestic regulations guaranteeing the right to privacy and protection of personal data are relatively weak. Additionally, ASEAN lacks a comprehensive and strong regional mechanism for the protection of human rights and personal data. This paper aims to analyze the implementation of contact tracing apps in ASEAN member states, whether its implementation fulfills the international standards of the protection of the right to privacy and personal data, as well as provide recommendations to ensure that countries do not spiral towards a state of unrestricted government surveillance.

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