How to augment Manual Contact Tracing with Digital Contact Advice (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Raskar ◽  
Suraj Kapa ◽  
Deepti Pahwa ◽  
Renaud Falgas ◽  
Lagnojita Sinha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Infected Individual ◽  
The Other ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Public ◽  
Hybrid Solution ◽  
Hybrid Solutions

UNSTRUCTURED Manual contact tracing is a top-down solution that starts with contact tracers at the public health level, who identify the contacts of infected individuals, interview them to get additional context about the exposure, and also monitor their symptoms and support them until the incubation period is past. On the other hand, digital contact tracing is a bottom-up solution that starts with citizens who on obtaining a notification about possible exposure to an infected individual may choose to ignore the notification, get tested to determine if they were actually exposed or self-isolate and monitor their symptoms over the next two weeks. Most experts recommend a combination of manual and digital contact tracing, though they are limited published studies to guide implementation. One possible hybrid solution digital and manual contact tracing could involve a smartphone based alert that requests the possible contact of an infected individual to call Public Health (PH) for next steps, or that suggests ways to self-assess in order to reduce the burden on PH by only advising the most critical cases to call. In this paper, we aim to compare manual and digital approaches to contact tracing and provide suggestions for potential hybrid solutions.

Framing Bacterial Genomics for Public Health(care)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Laufer Halpin ◽  
L. Clifford McDonald ◽  
Christopher A. Elkins
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Virulence Determinants ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Public ◽  
Bacterial Genomics ◽  
Healthcare Associated

Advancements in comparative genomics have generated significant interest in defining applications for healthcare-associated pathogens. Clinical microbiology, however, relies on increasingly automated platforms to quickly identify pathogens, resistance mechanisms, and therapy options within CLIA- and FDA-approved frameworks. Additionally, and most notably, healthcare-associated pathogens, especially those that are resistant to antibiotics, represent a diverse spectrum of genera harboring complex genetic targets including antibiotic, biocide, and virulence determinants that can be highly transmissible and, at least for antibiotic resistance, serve as potential targets for containment efforts. U.S. public health investments have focused on rapidly detecting outbreaks and emerging resistance in healthcare-associated pathogens using reference, culture-based, and molecular methods that are distributed, for example, across national laboratory network infrastructures. Herein we describe the public health applications of genomic science that are built from the top-down for broad surveillance, as well as the bottom-up, starting with identification of infections and infectious clusters. For healthcare-associated, including antimicrobial-resistant, pathogens, we propose a combination of top-down and bottom-up genomic approaches leveraged across the public health spectrum, from local infection control, to regional and national containment efforts, to national surveillance for understanding emerging strain ecology and fitness of healthcare pathogens.

Public health messages about COVID-19 prevention in multilingual Taiwan

Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-606
Author(s):  
Chun-Mei Chen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Substantive Content ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
Public Health Information

AbstractIn this paper, I explore multilingual preventative public health messages against the spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan between January and April 2020. Based on empirical data, the symbolic and substantive content of multilingual top-down and bottom-up public health strategies was analyzed and discussed. Findings suggest that the voices of indigenous people have largely been excluded from top-down efforts and strategies in public health communications. Top-down communication did not address the actual concerns of indigenous populations who relied on tourism to bolster their economy. Bottom-up efforts emerged from social exclusion and the inaccessibility of public health information to indigenous populations; such efforts were over-communicated, and the problems of indigenous populations remained unaddressed. I conclude by relating multilingualism and the needs of minority groups, and suggest an inclusive approach to social challenges and solutions for future pandemic preparedness.

scholarly journals Different Roles of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes in the Distribution of Size-Fractionated Phytoplankton in Gwangyang Bay

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1682
Author(s):  
Yoonja Kang ◽  
Yeongji Oh
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Fast Response ◽  
Nutrient Addition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Zooplankton Grazing ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Phytoplankton Distribution ◽  
Summer Bloom ◽  
Gwangyang Bay

The interactive roles of zooplankton grazing (top-down) and nutrient (bottom-up) processes on phytoplankton distribution in a temperate estuary were investigated via dilution and nutrient addition experiments. The responses of size-fractionated phytoplankton and major phytoplankton groups, as determined by flow cytometry, were examined in association with zooplankton grazing and nutrient availability. The summer bloom was attributed to nanoplankton, and microplankton was largely responsible for the winter bloom, whereas the picoplankton biomass was relatively consistent throughout the sampling periods, except for the fall. The nutrient addition experiments illustrated that nanoplankton responded more quickly to phosphate than the other groups in the summer, whereas microplankton had a faster response to most nutrients in the winter. The dilution experiments ascribed that the grazing mortality rates of eukaryotes were low compared to those of the other groups, whereas autotrophic cyanobacteria were more palatable to zooplankton than cryptophytes and eukaryotes. Our experimental results indicate that efficient escape from zooplankton grazing and fast response to nutrient availability synergistically caused the microplankton to bloom in the winter, whereas the bottom-up process (i.e., the phosphate effect) largely governed the nanoplankton bloom in the summer.

Development of a probabilistic model for quantitative risk assessment of COVID-19 in Brazil

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150069
Author(s):  
Paulo Gabriel Santos Campos de Siqueira ◽  
Alexandre Calumbi Antunes de Oliveira ◽  
Heitor Oliveira Duarte ◽  
Márcio das Chagas Moura
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health System ◽  
Probabilistic Model ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Quantitative Risk Assessment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Excessive Number

We have developed a probabilistic model to quantify the risks of COVID-19 explosion in Brazil, the epicenter of COVID-19 in Latin America. By explosion, we mean an excessive number of new infections that would overload the public health system. We made predictions from July 12th to Oct 10th, 2020 for various containment strategies, including business as usual, stay at home (SAH) for young and elderly, flight restrictions among regions, gradual resumption of business and the compulsory wearing of masks. They indicate that: if a SAH strategy were sustained, there would be a negligible risk of explosion and the public health system would not be overloaded. For the other containment strategies, the scenario that combines the gradual resumption of business with the mandatory wearing of masks would be the most effective, reducing risk to considerable category. Should this strategy is applied together with the investment in more Intensive Care Unit beds, risk could be reduced to negligible levels. A sensitivity analysis sustained that risks would be negligible if SAH measures were adopted thoroughly.

scholarly journals Challenges in Contact Tracing by Mining Mobile Phone Location Data for COVID-19: Implications for Public Governance in South Africa

10.28945/4736 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 101-124
Author(s):  
Paul Kariuki ◽  
Lizzy O Ofusori ◽  
Prabhakar Rontala Subramanniam ◽  
Moses Okpeku ◽  
Maria L Goyayi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Location Data ◽  
Pertinent Data ◽  
Privacy And Confidentiality

Aim/Purpose: The paper’s objective is to examine the challenges of using the mobile phone to mine location data for effective contact tracing of symptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and asymptomatic individuals and the implications of this technology for public health governance. Background: The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across South Africa, requiring thousands of people to be traced and their details captured in government health databases as part of public health efforts aimed at breaking the chains of transmission. Contact tracing for COVID-19 requires the identification of persons who may have been exposed to the virus and following them up daily for 14 days from the last point of exposure. Mining mobile phone location data can play a critical role in locating people from the time they were identified as contacts to the time they access medical assistance. In this case, it aids data flow to various databases designated for COVID-19 work. Methodology: The researchers conducted a review of the available literature on this subject drawing from academic articles published in peer-reviewed journals, research reports, and other relevant national and international government documents reporting on public health and COVID-19. Document analysis was used as the primary research method, drawing on the case studies. Contribution: Contact tracing remains a critical strategy in curbing the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. However, given increasing concern regarding its invasive nature and possible infringement of individual liberties, it is imperative to interrogate the challenges related to its implementation to ensure a balance with public governance. The research findings can thus be used to inform policies and practices associated with contact tracing in South Africa. Findings: The study found that contact tracing using mobile phone location data mining can be used to enforce quarantine measures such as lockdowns aimed at mitigating a public health emergency such as COVID-19. However, the use of technology can expose the public to criminal activities by exposing their locations. From a public governance point of view, any exposure of the public to social ills is highly undesirable. Recommendations for Practitioners: In using contact tracing apps to provide pertinent data location caution needs to be exercised to ensure that sensitive private information is not made public to the extent that it compromises citizens’ safety and security. The study recommends the development and implementation of data use protocols to support the use of this technology, in order to mitigate against infringement of individual privacy and other civil liberties. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should explore ways of improving digital applications in order to improve the acceptability of the use of contact tracing technology to manage pandemics such as COVID-19, paying attention to ethical considerations. Impact on Society: Since contact tracing has implications for privacy and confidentiality it must be conducted with caution. This research highlights the challenges that the authorities must address to ensure that the right to privacy and confidentiality is upheld. Future Research: Future research could focus on collecting primary data to provide insight on contact tracing through mining mobile phone location data. Research could also be conducted on how app-based technology can enhance the effectiveness of contact tracing in order to optimize testing and tracing coverage. This has the potential to minimize transmission whilst also minimizing tracing delays. Moreover, it is important to develop contact tracing apps that are universally inter-operable and privacy-preserving.

scholarly journals Biological Tools to Deal with Pollution : Selected Advances and Novel Perspectives

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Abdelaziz Ghanemi ◽  
Besma Boubertakh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
The Other ◽  
Environment And Public Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Metabolic Properties ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
The Impact

Pollution  represents  a  problem  common  to economy and  public  health. Indeed, the public health, because of the  divers’  type of pollutions, is facing divers challenges for which urgent solutions are required.The biology provides approaches not only to deal with the pollution, but also to  obtain  economic  benefits. Some living  organisms  have  particular metabolisms  that allow  them  to  assimilate  and  metabolite  the polluting agents  and thus reduce the  impact  they have on both environment  and public health.  On  the other  hand,  the  metabolic  properties  of  specific organisms make  the  polluting  elements raw materials to  synthesize  other elements that are benefits  for  economy  and  non-toxic  for  the  ecology and  the  biohealth. Yet, other options such as the regulations and laws are  required  to improve the efficiency of these approaches.

The ‘other’ within: Striving for health equity in the Maldives Eva-Maria

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-38
Author(s):  
Eva-Maria Knoll
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
The Other ◽  
National Consciousness ◽  
The Public ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Blood Disorder ◽  
Anthropological Fieldwork

Relations within are quintessential in anthropological fieldwork — and in archipelagos in particular. The domestic sea is incorporated in the national consciousness connecting an archipelagic nation but distinguishing individual islands with a strong emphasis on the centre. The Maldivian archipelago displays this spatial organization of a socio-political and economic centre and a dependent island periphery. In the national consciousness, the capital island, Male', contrasts with “the islands” — a distinction which is particularly evident in the public health sphere, where striving for health equity encounters geographical and socio-political obstacles. Using the topic of the inherited blood disorder thalassaemia as a magnifying lens, this paper asks how different actors are making sense of health inequities between central and outer islands in the Maldivian archipelago. Intra-archipelagic and international mobilities add to the complexities of topological relations, experiences, and representations within this multi-island assemblage. Yet, my study of archipelagic health relations is not confined to a mere outside look at the construction of the ‘island other’ within the archipelagic community. It is a situated investigative gaze on disjunctures, connections, and entanglements, reflecting my methodological-theoretical attempt to unravel my own involvement in island–island relations and representations — my being entangled while investigating entanglements.

The UK COVID-19 contact tracing app as both an emerging technology and public health intervention: The need to consider promissory discourses

2021 ◽  
pp. 136345932110607
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Samuel ◽  
Rosie Sims
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Health Intervention ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sociology Of Expectations ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 contact tracing app was announced to the British public on 12th April 2020. The UK government endorsed the app as a public health intervention that would improve public health, protect the NHS and ‘save lives’. On 5th May 2020 the technology was released for trial on the Isle of Wight. However, the trial was halted in June 2020, reportedly due to technological issues. The app was later remodelled and launched to the public in September 2020. The rapid development, trial and discontinuation of the app over a short period of a few months meant that the mobilisation and effect of the discourses associated with the app could be traced relatively easily. In this paper we aimed to explore how these discourses were constructed in the media, and their effect on actors – in particular, those who developed and those who trialled the app. Promissory discourses were prevalent, the trajectory of which aligned with theories developed in the sociology of expectations. We describe this trajectory, and then interpret its implications in terms of infectious disease public health practices and responsibilities.

Sri Lanka: Pandemic-Catalyzed Democratic Backsliding

2021 ◽  
pp. 349-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhavani Fonseka ◽  
Luwie Ganeshathasan ◽  
Asanga Welikala
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Comparative Constitutional Law ◽  
Front Line Workers ◽  
Public Health Challenge ◽  
Government Statistics

This chapter investigates Sri Lanka’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has posed for Sri Lanka not only a public health challenge and an economic challenge but also, perhaps most seriously, a crisis of constitutional democracy. Although questions have been raised about the accuracy of government statistics, the scale of testing and contact tracing, and failures in providing protective equipment to front-line workers including military personnel, there is broad public approval of the government’s crisis response. However, much more alarming are the clear signs in the government’s response that the public health emergency has provided the impetus for an aggressive executive takeover of the state, steepening the curve of de-democratization. The chapter then describes the aspects of the governmental crisis response that are the cause of worry, and offers an analysis based on a framework drawn from comparative politics and comparative constitutional law as to the agentic, institutional, and causal dimensions of the democratic backslide underway in Sri Lanka. While the pandemic has undoubtedly boosted the process of executive aggrandizement that had already commenced, this catalysis may in fact also shorten the authoritarian cycle, because the accelerated de-democratization is likely to result in executive actions that cross the threshold of public tolerance sooner in what as yet remains a procedural democracy.

Wired for Warmth

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Alan E. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
The Other ◽  
Computer Engineering ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Moral Consciousness ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Real ◽  
Moral Agents ◽  
Artificial Moral Agents ◽  
The Relationship

An aspect of the relationship between philosophy and computer engineering is considered, with particular emphasis upon the design of artificial moral agents. Top-down vs. bottom-up approaches to ethical behavior are discussed, followed by an overview of some of the ways in which traditional ethics has informed robotics. Two macro-trends are then identified, one involving the evolution of moral consciousness in man and machine, the other involving the fading away of the boundary between the real and the virtual.

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