scholarly journals KIWI: A technology for public health event monitoring and early warning detection

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamir N Mukhi ◽  
Ellie Andres ◽  
Bryan Demianyk ◽  
Ben Gammon ◽  
Harold Kloeze
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
User Participation ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Event Monitoring ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Geographic Coverage ◽  
Monitoring And Early Warning

Objectives: To introduce the Canadian Network for Public Health Intelligence’s new Knowledge Integration using Web-based Intelligence (KIWI) technology, and to perform preliminary evaluation of the KIWI technology using a case study. The purpose of this new technology is to support surveillance activities by monitoring unstructured data sources for the early detection and awareness of potential public health threats.Methods: A prototype of the KIWI technology, adapted for zoonotic and emerging diseases, was piloted by end-users with expertise in the field of public health and zoonotic/emerging disease surveillance. The technology was assessed using variables such as geographic coverage, user participation, and others; categorized by high-level attributes from evaluation guidelines for internet based surveillance systems. Special attention was given to the evaluation of the system’s automated sense-making algorithm, which used variables such as sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values. Event-based surveillance evaluation was not applied to its full capacity as such an evaluation is beyond the scope of this paper.Results: KIWI was piloted with user participation = 85.0% and geographic coverage within monitored sources = 83.9% of countries. The pilots, which focused on zoonotic and emerging diseases, lasted a combined total of 65 days and resulted in the collection of 3243 individual information pieces (IIP) and 2 community reported events (CRE) for processing. Ten sources were monitored during the second phase of the pilot, which resulted in 545 anticipatory intelligence signals (AIS). KIWI’s automated sense-making algorithm (SMA) had sensitivity = 63.9% (95% CI: 60.2-67.5%), specificity = 88.6% (95% CI: 87.3-89.8%), positive predictive value = 59.8% (95% CI: 56.1-63.4%), and negative predictive value = 90.3% (95% CI: 89.0-91.4%).Discussion: Literature suggests the need for internet based monitoring and surveillance systems that are customizable, integrated into collaborative networks of public health professionals, and incorporated into national surveillance activities. Results show that the KIWI technology is well posied to address some of the suggested challenges. A limitation of this study is that sample size for pilot participation was small for capturing overall readiness of integrating KIWI into regular surveillance activities.Conclusions: KIWI is a customizable technology developed within an already thriving collaborative platform used by public health professionals, and performs well as a tool for discipline-specific event monitoring and early warning signal detection.

scholarly journals Potential Applications of Emerging Technologies in Disease Surveillance

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Huang ◽  
Wayne Loschen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Health Field

ObjectiveThe objective of this presentation is to explore emerging technologies and how they will impact the public health field. New technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) will likely be incorporated into epidemiological methods and processes. This presentation will provide an overview of these technologies and focus on how they may impact public health surveillance in the future.IntroductionWith the increase in the amount of public health data along with the growth of public health informatics, it is important for epidemiologists to understand the current trends in technology and the impact they may have in the field. Because it is unfeasible for public health professionals to be an expert in every emerging technology, this presentation seeks to provide them with a better understanding of how emerging technologies may impact the field and the level of expertise required to realize benefits from the new technologies. Furthermore, understanding the capabilities provided by emerging technologies may guide future training and continuing education for public health professionals.MethodsAnalysis of current capabilities and potential advances in emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, and IoT were performed by reviewing articles and whitepapers. In addition to a literature review, interviews will be performed with public health experts to determine how the emerging technologies align with current practices and the extent to which they may solve existing public health surveillance challenges.ResultsThe literature review revealed many emerging technologies and potential applications in the public health field, including:BlockchainBlockchains can serve as electronic health information exchanges that hold the metadata and access information for patient electronic health records (EHRs).1 These systems can ensure data privacy protections while also facilitate relevant data sharing from EHRs to disease surveillance systems. Furthermore, blockchain technology can be used in food supply chain management systems. During food contamination events, epidemiologists can trace through the blockchain to identify possible sources of the contamination.2AIAI can be used to improve the prediction and detection capabilities of disease surveillance systems. Machine learning algorithms can reveal patterns in the data and enable faster anomaly detection. Furthermore, machine learning models can be trained on data to create predictive models.IoTUrban IoT systems can monitor environmental indices including water and air quality, energy consumption, waste management, and traffic congestion in smart cities.3 The data collected from such systems can be incorporated into more comprehensive disease surveillance systems and assist epidemiologists in better understanding populations and environmental risk factors.We will analyze and discuss such prospective applications with public health professionals to determine their potential impact on public health processes and practices in the next one, five, and ten years.ConclusionsBlockchain, AI, IoT and other emerging technologies have applications in public health surveillance and impact the field to varying degrees. In addition to technological advances, there will be barriers to adoption that must be overcome before the value provided by the technologies can be realized. Many new technologies will require significant collaboration between public health departments, healthcare providers, and other partners to successfully incorporate the technologies into epidemiological processes. These collaborations include forming consortiums to exchange data in a blockchain and working with IoT providers for data access. Some technologies will require public health professionals to obtain additional training before they can take full advantage of the capabilities provided, while other technologies may be implemented by external partners allowing epidemiologists to utilize the new capabilities without the need to completely understand the underlying concepts. As emerging technologies are introduced into the public health field, a strong understanding of their capabilities and suitable applications will allow public health professionals to fully capture the benefits provided by the new technologies.References1. Ekblaw A, Azaria A, Halamka JD, Lippman A. A Case Study for Blockchain in Healthcare:“MedRec” prototype for electronic health records and medical research data. InProceedings of IEEE open & big data conference 2016 Aug 22 (Vol. 13, p. 13).2. Yiannas F. A New Era of Food Transparency Powered by Blockchain. Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization. 2018 Jul;12(1-2):46-56.3. Zanella A, Bui N, Castellani A, Vangelista L, Zorzi M. Internet of things for smart cities. IEEE Internet of Things Journal. 2014 Feb 14;1(1):22-32.

Principles of outbreak investigation

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Sopon Iamsirithaworn ◽  
Panithee Thammawijaya ◽  
Kumnuan Ungchusak
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Outbreak Investigation ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Environmental Surveys ◽  
Practical Recommendations ◽  
Communicating Risk

Outbreak investigation is an essential function of public health professionals. It is an opportunity to gain new knowledge of diseases and to discover the weaknesses of current public health practices and systems. Unfortunately, most outbreaks are not investigated. This chapter will present the principles and important points about outbreak investigation. The reader will learn about how to detect outbreaks from routine official surveillance and unofficial sources. The reader can assume oneself as an investigator who has to organize the team, review previous knowledge, and prepare the technical and management aspects, before starting the investigation. The reader will learn about the major ten steps in the investigation, with examples, which starts by confirming the existence of the outbreak, verifying the diagnosis, gathering case information, descriptive epidemiology, formulating and testing the hypothesis when necessary, conducting environmental surveys to supplement epidemiological evidence, providing timely on-site reporting of the findings, with practical recommendations to local and national responsible authorities, and communicating risk to health professional community and public. The reader is reminded about the need to follow-up on the recommendations and continue vigorous surveillance of the health problem. The chapter ends by forecasting more joint international investigations to control emerging diseases and new problems. After reading this chapter, the reader should be clear that outbreak investigation is an interesting, challenging, and important task requiring a competent investigator who combines sound scientific knowledge and good management.

Public Health Surveillance: Ethical Considerations

2019 ◽  
pp. 319-330
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
Health Surveillance ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Ethical Conflicts

Public health surveillance is one approach used by public health professionals to gather evidence to inform public health policies and actions. Related ethical considerations have evolved over time, from those common to infectious disease surveillance, such as privacy and confidentiality, consent, discrimination, and stigma, to additional considerations related to the surveillance of noncommunicable conditions, such as self-determination justice, and provision of benefit. Recent advances in technology, data science, data collection, and expectations of how public health surveillance can serve the public good have substantial implications for how public health professionals should design and conduct ethical surveillance systems. Public health professionals can anticipate, address, and potentially avoid ethical conflicts by integrating ethical considerations throughout the development and implementation of a public health surveillance system.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Advanced Field Epidemiology Training Programs in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: A Multi-Country Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohannad Al Nsour ◽  
Yousef Khader ◽  
Haitham Bashier ◽  
Majd Alsoukhni
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Health Surveillance ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Field Epidemiology ◽  
Public Health Professionals

Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) are competency-based training programs aiming to strengthen the epidemiologic capacity of the public health workforce. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the advanced FETPs in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) and ascertain whether the expected objectives of the programs are met. A descriptive study was conducted based on Kirkpatrick's model for evaluating training programs. Data were collected from FETP graduates and FETP technical advisers on the practices of FETP graduates, their engagement in key areas of field epidemiology, and their perceived skills and capacity to perform such activities. A total of 166 FETP graduates responded to the online survey. Almost two-thirds of FETP graduates reported that they are often engaged in managing public health surveillance systems (n = 119, 71.7%), analyzing the surveillance data (n = 116, 69.9%), training public health professionals (n = 113, 68.1%), investigations on and response to outbreaks (n = 109, 65.7%), and managing staff and resources (n = 106, 63.9%). However, only 28.3% reported that they are often engaged in writing scientific research articles. More than two-thirds of graduates reported that the FETP helped them to perform most of the field epidemiology activities and rate their skills as good. In conclusion, the FETP graduates in the EMR were well engaged in many field epidemiology activities including managing public health surveillance systems, surveillance data analysis, training public health professionals, and investigations on and response to outbreaks. Therefore, the FETPs should continue supporting the graduates to work toward strengthening surveillance systems and investigating outbreaks and to participate in regional and global efforts as part of the Global Health Security.

Oral health diseases among the older people: a general health perspective

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Health ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The relationship between oral health and general health is gaining interest in geriatric research; however, a lack of studies dealing with this issue from a general perspective makes it somewhat inaccessible to non-clinical public health professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between oral health and general health of the elderly on the basis of literature review, and to give non-clinical medical professionals and public health professionals an overview of this discipline. Methods: This study was based on an in-depth review of the literature pertaining to the relationship between oral health and general health among the older people. The tools commonly used to evaluate dental health and the academic researches of male elderly people were also reviewed. And future research directions were summarized. Results: Dental caries, periodontal disease, edentulism, and xerostomia are common oral diseases among the older people. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the leading causes of missing teeth and edentulism. Xerostomia, similar to dry mouth, is another common oral health disease in the older people. No clear correlation exists between the subjective feeling of dryness and an objective decrease of saliva. Rather, both conditions can be explained by changes in saliva. The General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) are the main assessment tools used to examine oral health and quality of life in the older people. The GOHAI tends to be more sensitive to objective values pertaining to oral function. In addition, oral health studies in male elderly people are population-based cohort or cross-sectional studies, involving masticatory function, oral prevention, frailty problems, cardiovascular disease risk, and cognitive status. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the incidence of certain oral diseases, even among individuals who take oral health care seriously. Oral health care should be based on the viewpoint of comprehensive treatment, including adequate nutrition, good life and psychology, and correct oral health care methods. In the future, researchers could combine the results of meta-analysis with the clinical experience of doctors to provide a more in-depth and broader discussion on oral health research topics concerning the older people.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Education for Public Health: A Practical Foundation for Solidarity

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Perkiö ◽  
R Harrison ◽  
M Grivna ◽  
D Tao ◽  
C Evashwich
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Rigorous Evaluation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Professionals

Abstract Education is a key to creating solidary among the professionals who advance public health’s interdisciplinary mission. Our assumption is that if all those who work in public health shared core knowledge and the skills for interdisciplinary interaction, collaboration across disciplines, venues, and countries would be facilitated. Evaluation of education is an essential element of pedagogy to ensure quality and consistency across boundaries, as articulated by the UNESCO education standards. Our study examined the evaluation studies done by programs that educate public health professionals. We searched the peer reviewed literature published in English between 2000-2017 pertaining to the education of the public health workforce at a degree-granting level. The 2442 articles found covered ten health professions disciplines and had lead authors representing all continents. Only 86 articles focused on evaluation. The majority of the papers examined either a single course, a discipline-specific curriculum or a teaching method. No consistent methodologies could be discerned. Methods ranged from sophisticated regression analyses and trends tracked over time to descriptions of focus groups and interviews of small samples. We found that evaluations were primarily discipline-specific, lacked rigorous methodology in many instances, and that relatively few examined competencies or career expectations. The public health workforce enjoys a diversity of disciplines but must be able to come together to share diverse knowledge and skills. Evaluation is critical to achieving a workforce that is well trained in the competencies pertinent to collaboration. This study informs the pedagogical challenges that must be confronted going forward, starting with a commitment to shared core competencies and to consistent and rigorous evaluation of the education related to training public health professionals. Key messages Rigorous evaluation is not sufficiently used to enhance the quality of public health education. More frequent use of rigorous evaluation in public health education would enhance the quality of public health workforce, and enable cross-disciplinary and international collaboration for solidarity.

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