scholarly journals Bringing real-time geospatial precision to HIV incidence measurements via mobile phones (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Placide Nsabimana ◽  
Bernard Uzabakiriho ◽  
Daniel M Kagabo ◽  
Jerome Nduwayo ◽  
Qinyouen Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Lateral Flow ◽  
Rural Site ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Hiv Test

BACKGROUND Precise measurements of HIV incidences at community levels can help mount a more effective public health response, but the most reliable methods currently require labor-intensive population surveys. Novel mobile phone technologies are being tested for adherence to medical appointments and antiretroviral therapy, but using them to track HIV test results with automatically generated geospatial coordinates has not been widely tested. OBJECTIVE We customized a portable reader for interpreting the results of HIV lateral flow tests, and developed a mobile phone app to track HIV test results in urban and rural locations in Rwanda. The objective is to assess the feasibility of this technology to collect frontline HIV test results in real time and with geospatial context to help measure HIV incidences and improve epidemiological surveillance. METHODS 20 healthcare workers used the technology to track the test results of 2290 patients across three hospital sites (two urban sites in Kigali, and a rural site in the Western Province of Rwanda). Smartphones for less than $70 USD each were used. The mobile phone app to record HIV test results could take place without internet connectivity, with uploading of results to the cloud taking place later with internet. RESULTS 92% of HIV test results could be tracked in real time on an online dashboard with geographical resolution down to street resolution. Out of the 20 healthcare workers, 68% would recommend the lateral flow reader, and 100% would recommend the mobile phone app. CONCLUSIONS Mobile phones have the potential to simplify the input of HIV test results with geospatial context and in real time to improve public health surveillance of HIV.

Accuracy of Medical Examiner’s Assessment for Near–Real-Time Surveillance of Fatal Drug Overdoses, King County, Washington, March 2017–February 2018

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110084
Author(s):  
Kirsten Vannice ◽  
Julia Hood ◽  
Nicole Yarid ◽  
Meagan Kay ◽  
Richard Harruff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Positive Predictive Value ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Negative Predictive Value ◽  
Drug Overdose ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Death Certificate ◽  
King County ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Drug Overdoses

Objectives Up-to-date information on the occurrence of drug overdose is critical to guide public health response. The objective of our study was to evaluate a near–real-time fatal drug overdose surveillance system to improve timeliness of drug overdose monitoring. Methods We analyzed data on deaths in the King County (Washington) Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO) jurisdiction that occurred during March 1, 2017–February 28, 2018, and that had routine toxicology test results. Medical examiners (MEs) classified probable drug overdoses on the basis of information obtained through the death investigation and autopsy. We calculated sensitivity, positive predictive value, specificity, and negative predictive value of MEs’ classification by using the final death certificate as the gold standard. Results KCMEO investigated 2480 deaths; 1389 underwent routine toxicology testing, and 361 were toxicologically confirmed drug overdoses from opioid, stimulant, or euphoric drugs. Sensitivity of the probable overdose classification was 83%, positive predictive value was 89%, specificity was 96%, and negative predictive value was 94%. Probable overdoses were classified a median of 1 day after the event, whereas the final death certificate confirming an overdose was received by KCMEO an average of 63 days after the event. Conclusions King County MEs’ probable overdose classification provides a near–real-time indicator of fatal drug overdoses, which can guide rapid local public health responses to the drug overdose epidemic.

Use of Mobile Phones to Help Prevent Child Maltreatment

2015 ◽  
pp. 906-922
Author(s):  
Katelyn M. Guastaferro ◽  
Matthew C. Jackson ◽  
Shannon Self-Brown ◽  
Julie J. Jabaley ◽  
John R. Lutzker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Mobile Phone Technology ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Child Maltreatment Prevention ◽  
Prevention Interventions

Child maltreatment prevention interventions have been proven to reduce risk and rates of recidivism, although only recently have these interventions incorporated mobile phone technology in implementation. This article first presents the public health problem of child maltreatment and discusses the use of technology in the at-risk population. Prior public health research that has evaluated the effect of mobile phone technology in implementation is reviewed followed by the few child maltreatment prevention research efforts that have incorporated mobile phones. Limitations of mobile phone technology in this field and future directions are suggested.

scholarly journals A collaborative multiyear, multimodel assessment of seasonal influenza forecasting in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (8) ◽  
pp. 3146-3154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas G. Reich ◽  
Logan C. Brooks ◽  
Spencer J. Fox ◽  
Sasikiran Kandula ◽  
Craig J. McGowan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Forecast Accuracy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
Health Decision Making ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Health Decision

Influenza infects an estimated 9–35 million individuals each year in the United States and is a contributing cause for between 12,000 and 56,000 deaths annually. Seasonal outbreaks of influenza are common in temperate regions of the world, with highest incidence typically occurring in colder and drier months of the year. Real-time forecasts of influenza transmission can inform public health response to outbreaks. We present the results of a multiinstitution collaborative effort to standardize the collection and evaluation of forecasting models for influenza in the United States for the 2010/2011 through 2016/2017 influenza seasons. For these seven seasons, we assembled weekly real-time forecasts of seven targets of public health interest from 22 different models. We compared forecast accuracy of each model relative to a historical baseline seasonal average. Across all regions of the United States, over half of the models showed consistently better performance than the historical baseline when forecasting incidence of influenza-like illness 1 wk, 2 wk, and 3 wk ahead of available data and when forecasting the timing and magnitude of the seasonal peak. In some regions, delays in data reporting were strongly and negatively associated with forecast accuracy. More timely reporting and an improved overall accessibility to novel and traditional data sources are needed to improve forecasting accuracy and its integration with real-time public health decision making.

scholarly journals Ethics of instantaneous contact tracing using mobile phone apps in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 427-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Parker ◽  
Christophe Fraser ◽  
Lucie Abeler-Dörner ◽  
David Bonsall
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Mobile Phone Data ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Ethical Implications

In this paper we discuss ethical implications of the use of mobile phone apps in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact tracing is a well-established feature of public health practice during infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics. However, the high proportion of pre-symptomatic transmission in COVID-19 means that standard contact tracing methods are too slow to stop the progression of infection through the population. To address this problem, many countries around the world have deployed or are developing mobile phone apps capable of supporting instantaneous contact tracing. Informed by the on-going mapping of ‘proximity events’ these apps are intended both to inform public health policy and to provide alerts to individuals who have been in contact with a person with the infection. The proposed use of mobile phone data for ‘intelligent physical distancing’ in such contexts raises a number of important ethical questions. In our paper, we outline some ethical considerations that need to be addressed in any deployment of this kind of approach as part of a multidimensional public health response. We also, briefly, explore the implications for its use in future infectious disease outbreaks.

scholarly journals Mental health care for medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Walton ◽  
Esther Murray ◽  
Michael D Christian
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Valuable Resource ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Critical Part ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Response

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for society. Supporting the mental health of medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers (staff) is a critical part of the public health response. This paper details the effects on staff and addresses some of the organisational, team and individual considerations for supporting staff (pragmatically) during this pandemic. Leaders at all levels of health care organisations will find this a valuable resource.

scholarly journals Variola Virus-Specific Diagnostic Assays: Characterization, Sensitivity, and Specificity

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 1406-1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley V. Kondas ◽  
Victoria A. Olson ◽  
Yu Li ◽  
Jason Abel ◽  
Miriam Laker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Sensitivity And Specificity ◽  
Real Time Pcr ◽  
Variola Virus ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Pcr Assays

A public health response relies upon rapid and reliable confirmation of disease by diagnostic assays. Here, we detail the design and validation of two variola virus-specific real-time PCR assays, since previous assays cross-reacted with newly identified cowpox viruses. The assay specificity must continually be reassessed as other closely related viruses are identified.

scholarly journals Real-time Laboratory-Based Influenza Surveillance with Xpert Flu

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Dugas ◽  
Howard Burkom ◽  
Richard Rothman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Influenza Surveillance ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽  
National Surveillance ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Site Type ◽  
Rapid Pcr ◽  
Surveillance And Response

In order to provide real-time access to influenza test results, we created a laboratory-based surveillance system which automatically uploaded influenza test results from a rapid PCR-based influenza test, Xpert Flu, and the associated testing times and locations. On-site, type-specific results were available to physicians and uploaded for public health awareness within 100 minutes of patient nasopharyngeal swab. Expansion of this real-time capability to sentinel facilities could improve both local and national surveillance and response, reducing the need for syndromic influenza surveillance.

scholarly journals Implementation of Mobile Phone Data Collection in the Conduct EPI Comprehensive Review in East and Southern African Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol Special Issue (2) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
Isah Mohammed Bello ◽  
Abubakar Sadiq Umar ◽  
Godwin Ubong Akpan ◽  
Joseph Okeibunor ◽  
Chukwudi Shibeshi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Mobile Phone Data ◽  
Data Detection ◽  
Time Data ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Comprehensive Review

Mobile phone data collection tools are increasingly becoming very usable collecting, collating and analysing data in the health sector. In this paper, we documented the experiences with mobile phone data collection, collation and analysis in 5 countries of the East and Southern African, using Open Data Kit (ODK), where questionnaires were designed and coded on an XML form, uploaded and data collected using Android-Based mobile phones, with a web-based system to monitor data in real-time during EPI comprehensive review. The ODK interface supports in real-time monitoring of the flow of data, detection of missing or incomplete data, coordinate location of all locations visited, embedded charts for basic analysis. It also minimized data quality errors at entry level with the use of validation codes and constraint developed into the checklist. These benefits, combined with the improvement that mobile phones offer over paper-based in terms of timeliness, data loss, collation, and real-time data collection, analysis and uploading difficulties, make mobile phone data collection a feasible method of data collection that needs to be further explored in the conduct of all surveys in the organization.

scholarly journals Bacterial Contamination of Healthcare worker’s Mobile Phones; a Case Study at Two Referral Hospitals in Uganda

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tusabe Fred
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Referral Hospitals

Abstract Background Hospital and Community-acquired infections are escalating and pose significant public health unhealthiness worldwide. The advancements of telemedicine and automation of healthcare records are supported by cellphones, laptops and wearable devices. This study focused on the incidence of healthcare workers’ mobile phones becoming contaminated with pathogenic bacteria and their possible roles as vehicles of transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.Method: A case study at two referral hospitals in Uganda between May and October 2020. Self-administered questionnaires were administered to participants after informed consent. Mobile phones of the participants in different departments of the hospitals were swabbed and samples were collected and transported to the microbiology laboratory for bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Results: The point prevalence of Healthcare workers’ mobile phone bacterial contamination with one or more species was 93%. Organisms isolated were E. coli 5.6% (1), Micrococcus spp 11.1% (2), Coagulase-negative staphylococci, CoNS, 61.1% (11) and Bacillus spp 22.2% (4). About 45% of the organisms were multidrug-resistant. Resistance was major to penicillin, cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin and Gentamycin respectively. The isolated E. coli was resistant to all antibiotics used in the study. Only 15% (2) of the participants disinfected their phones at least once a week and 8% cleaned their hands after using a mobile phone.Conclusion: Healthcare Workers’ mobile phones can act as fomites for the transmission of multidrug-resistant micro-organisms. This study provides strong evidence for developing and strengthening disinfection protocols for mobile phones and does not underscore the importance of hand hygiene in the middle of a patient encounter especially when the HCW grabs a phone but doesn't re-clean their hands before patient contact.

Real-Time Infectious Disease Modeling to Inform Emergency Public Health Decision Making

2022 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Bershteyn ◽  
Hae-Young Kim ◽  
R. Scott Braithwaite
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Infectious Disease Modeling

Infectious disease transmission is a nonlinear process with complex, sometimes unintuitive dynamics. Modeling can transform information about a disease process and its parameters into quantitative projections that help decision makers compare public health response options. However, modelers face methodologic challenges, data challenges, and communication challenges, which are exacerbated under the time constraints of a public health emergency. We review methods, applications, challenges and opportunities for real-time infectious disease modeling during public health emergencies, with examples drawn from the two deadliest pandemics in recent history: HIV/AIDS and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 43 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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