Injury surveillance in low-resource settings using Geospatial and Social Web technologies

Abstract

BackgroundExtensive public health gains have benefited high-income countries in recent decades, however, citizens of low and middle-income countries (LMIC) have largely not enjoyed the same advancements. This is in part due to the fact that public health data - the foundation for public health advances - are rarely collected in many LMIC. Injury data are particularly scarce in many low-resource settings, despite the huge associated burden of morbidity and mortality. Advances in freely-accessible and easy-to-use information and communication (ICT) technology may provide the impetus for increased public health data collection in settings with limited financial and personnel resources.Methods and ResultsA pilot study was conducted at a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa to assess the utility and feasibility of using free (non-licensed), and easy-to-use Social Web and GeoWeb tools for injury surveillance in low-resource settings. Data entry, geocoding, data exploration, and data visualization were successfully conducted using these technologies, including Google Spreadsheet, Mapalist, BatchGeocode, and Google Earth.ConclusionThis study examined the potential for Social Web and GeoWeb technologies to contribute to public health data collection and analysis in low-resource settings through an injury surveillance pilot study conducted in Cape Town, South Africa. The success of this study illustrates the great potential for these technologies to be leveraged for public health surveillance in resource-constrained environments, given their ease-of-use and low-cost, and the sharing and collaboration capabilities they afford. The possibilities and potential limitations of these technologies are discussed in relation to the study, and to the field of public health in general.

Pertussis: Microbiology, Disease, Treatment, and Prevention

“…Existing information technology and new telecommunication systems may be leveraged to integrate case finding and communication among health care providers and public health agencies with diagnostic testing and guidance for prophylaxis and treatment that facilitates early termination of pertussis outbreaks (581). Such new-generation disease surveillance systems may be adaptable to mobile platforms, particularly in low-and middle-income countries with limited hardwire broadband capacity, and may benefit control of pertussis and many other diseases (582)(583)(584)(585)(586). Strengthened surveillance for pertussis cases among vaccinees and nonvaccinees will help shed light on the emergence and distribution of vaccine-induced escape strains of B. pertussis that may emerge in different parts of the world (510,511).…”

Implications of smartphone usage on privacy and spatial cognition: academic literature and public perceptions

“…During Vancouver Riots in 2011, law enforcement shared video surveillance footage and invited the public to help identify those who engaged in criminal activity since there were not enough police officers to enforce the law in real time (Michael and Michael 2011). The use of VGI could also be used to identify epidemiologic patterns necessary to link time, place, and people associated with transmission of disease (Goranson et al 2013) and injury trends (Cinnamon and Schuurman 2010). However, collecting sensitive health data and associated locational information poses serious privacy risks to those who contribute this personal information (Jones et al 2011;Goranson et al 2013).…”

A GIS-based spatiotemporal analysis of violent trauma hotspots in Vancouver, Canada: identification, contextualisation and intervention

“…Effective injury surveillance programmes can facilitate goal-tracking43; social web technologies are a promising asset in this regard, particularly in deprived urban areas where mobile phone usage is rapidly growing 56. High-quality trauma data were vital in this and other studies.…”