Mobile Technology

Public health surveillance systems are constantly facing challenges of epidemics and shortage in the health care workforce. These challenges are more pronounced in developing countries, which bear the greatest burden of disease and where new pathogens are more likely to emerge, old ones to reemerge and drug-resistant strains to propagate. In August 2008, a mobile phone based surveillance system was piloted in 6 of the 23 districts in the state of AP in India. Health workers in 3832 hospitals and health centers used mobile phones to send reports to and receive information from the nationwide Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP). Like in many other states, the IDSP in AP is facing many operational constraints like lack of human resource, irregular supply of logistics, hard to reach health facilities, poor coordination with various health programs and poor linkages with non-state stakeholders. The mobile phone based surveillance system was an attempt to tackle some of the barriers to improving the IDSP by capitalizing on the exponential growth in numbers as well as reach of mobile phones in the state. Promising results from the pilot of the system led AP state to extend it to about 16,000 reporting units in all 23 districts. This study evaluates how the system has affected the efficiency and effectiveness of IDSP in the state.

Objective

To assess the impact of use of mobile phones use on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP)

The critical need for population-level interventions to support the health needs of the growing population of older adults is widely recognized1. In addition, there is a need for novel indicators to monitor wellness as a resource for living and a means for prediction and prevention of changes in community health status2. Smart homes, defined as residential infrastructure equipped with technology features that enable passive monitoring of residents to proactively support wellness, have the potential to support older adults for independence at the residence of their choice. However, a characterization of the current state of smart homes research as a population health intervention is lacking. In addition, there is a knowledge translation gap between the smart homes research and public health practice communities. The EBPH movement identifies three types of evidence along a continuum to inform population health interventions: Type 1 (something should be done), Type 2 (this should be done) and Type 3 (how it should be done)3. Type 2 evidence consists of a classification scheme for interventions (emerging, promising, effective and evidence-based)3. To illustrate typology use with an example: the need for population health interventions for aging populations is well known (Type 1 evidence), many studies show that smart home technologies can support aging in place (Type 2 evidence) but there are few, if any, examples of smart homes as population health interventions to support aging in place (Type 3 evidence). Our research questions for this systematic review are: 1) What categories of Type 2 evidence from the scientific literature uphold smart homes as an EBPH intervention? 2) What are the novel health indicators identified from smart home studies to inform design of a community health registry that supports prediction and prevention of negative changes in health status? 3) What stakeholders are reported in studies that contribute Type 2 evidence for smart homes as an EBPH intervention? 4) What gaps exist between Type 2 and Type 3 evidence for smart homes as an EBPH intervention?

Objective

This study aims to 1) characterize the state of smart homes research as a population health intervention to support aging in place through systematic review and classification of scientific literature using an evidence-based public health (EBPH) typology and 2) identify novel indicators of health captured by monitoring technologies to inform design of a community health registry.

Mobile technology provides opportunities to monitor and improve health in areas of the world where resources are scarce. Poor infrastructure and the lack of access to medical services for millions have led to increased usage of mobile technology for health related purposes in recent years. As adoption has increased, so has its acceptance as a viable technology for health data collection. The ability to provide timely, accurate, and informed responses to emerging outbreaks of disease and other health threats makes mobile technology highly suitable for use in surveillance data collection activities and within the arena of global health informatics overall. The American Public Health Association defines global health informatics as the application of information and communication technologies to improve health in low-resource settings, which include the following: linking disparate sources of data together through natural language processing, use of mobile health technologies for disease surveillance, use of telemedicine to manage chronic disease, use of digital libraries to increase knowledge and awareness of public health events. 

Objective 

To present the prevailing global public health informatics landscape in developing countries highlighting current mobile system requirements and usage for disease surveillance and revealing gaps in the technology.

Tanzania has a disease surveillance infrastructure with national, regional and district offices for human and animal disease surveillance. Electricity shortages and limited communications infrastructure create a challenge for a rapid information exchange of the disease surveillance information. Cell phones revolution provided 75.8% mobile network coverage of the population and 45% of land area in 2005-2013. At the moment 98% of the district centers are covered with the network. The network growth is expected at a pace of 17-25% annually throughout 2015. The following technologies become available for nation-wide use in surveillance: 1) online voice, 2) SMS, 3) mobile web, and 4) Android applications on cell phones. These technologies have different advantages for disease surveillance that are evaluated for proper application.

Objective

In the past few years Tanzania has experienced a cell phone technology revolution presenting new opportunities for disease surveillance improvements. This dynamic environment, challenged with resource constraints and the need for a one-health joint effort for disease surveillance and control, calls for evaluation of technologies for better planning and implementation of future information technology projects in disease surveillance.