1
|
Evangelou G, Adams SN. "Tremendous burdens often unveil enormous gifts": The experiences of South African caregivers implementing speech and language teletherapy for children with cerebral palsy during COVID-19. J Pediatr Rehabil Med 2024; 17:85-96. [PMID: 38251071 PMCID: PMC10977356 DOI: 10.3233/prm-220118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE In accordance with South Africa's restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, some speech-language pathologists (SLPs) attempted to engage in novice teletherapy regimes to ensure continuity of care for children with cerebral palsy (CP). This study aimed to explore the experiences of caregivers of children with CP implementing SLP teletherapy during COVID-19 in South Africa. The goal was to shed light on how these families can be better supported and how teletherapy practices can be adjusted for this population. METHODS This study employed a qualitative phenomenological research design using in-person and virtual semi-structured interviews with 18 purposively sampled participants with children with CP who received speech and language teletherapy during COVID-19. The data was evaluated using an inductive thematic analysis approach whereby themes elicited from the caregivers' narratives were analyzed. RESULTS Interviews (n = 18) unveiled the significant understanding caregivers gained by becoming integral and active stakeholders in the provision of teletherapy. Caregivers were able to meaningfully communicate and bond with their children with CP. However, caregivers also assumed the burden that teletherapy placed on them, as they had to renegotiate their role during the pandemic in order to provide routine teletherapy. CONCLUSION Findings indicated the need for person-centered SLP teletherapy interventions that utilize contextually and culturally responsive techniques and resources.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Evangelou
- Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, School of Human and Community Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Skye Nandi Adams
- Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, School of Human and Community Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Towett G, Snead RS, Grigoryan K, Marczika J. Geographical and practical challenges in the implementation of digital health passports for cross-border COVID-19 pandemic management: a narrative review and framework for solutions. Global Health 2023; 19:98. [PMID: 38066568 PMCID: PMC10709942 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-023-00998-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid global spread of infectious diseases, epitomized by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, has highlighted the critical need for effective cross-border pandemic management strategies. Digital health passports (DHPs), which securely store and facilitate the sharing of critical health information, including vaccination records and test results, have emerged as a promising solution to enable safe travel and access to essential services and economic activities during pandemics. However, the implementation of DHPs faces several significant challenges, both related to geographical disparities and practical considerations, necessitating a comprehensive approach for successful global adoption. In this narrative review article, we identify and elaborate on the critical geographical and practical barriers that hinder global adoption and the effective utilization of DHPs. Geographical barriers are complex, encompassing disparities in vaccine access, regulatory inconsistencies, differences across countries in data security and users' privacy policies, challenges related to interoperability and standardization, and inadequacies in technological infrastructure and limited access to digital technologies. Practical challenges include the possibility of vaccine contraindications and breakthrough infections, uncertainties surrounding natural immunity, and limitations of standard tests in assessing infection risk. To address geographical disparities and enhance the functionality and interoperability of DHPs, we propose a framework that emphasizes international collaboration to achieve equitable access to vaccines and testing resources. Furthermore, we recommend international cooperation to establish unified vaccine regulatory frameworks, adopting globally accepted standards for data privacy and protection, implementing interoperability protocols, and taking steps to bridge the digital divide. Addressing practical challenges requires a meticulous approach to assessing individual risk and augmenting DHP implementation with rigorous health screenings and personal infection prevention measures. Collectively, these initiatives contribute to the development of robust and inclusive cross-border pandemic management strategies, ultimately promoting a safer and more interconnected global community in the face of current and future pandemics.
Collapse
|
3
|
Asare IT, Douglas M, Kye-Duodu G, Manu E. Challenges and opportunities for improved contact tracing in Ghana: experiences from Coronavirus disease-2019-related contact tracing in the Bono region. BMC Infect Dis 2023; 23:335. [PMID: 37202733 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08317-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Ghana, contact tracing received heightened attention in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic during its peak period. Despite the successes achieved, numerous challenges continue to limit the efforts of contact tracing in completely curtailing the effect of the pandemic. Despite these challenges, there are still opportunities that could be harnessed from the COVID-19 contact tracing experience for future eventualities. This study thus identified the challenges and opportunities associated with COVID-19 contact tracing in the Bono Region of Ghana. METHODS Using a focus group discussion (FGD) approach, an exploratory qualitative design was conducted in six selected districts of the Bono region of Ghana in this study. The purposeful sampling technique was employed to recruit 39 contact tracers who were grouped into six focus groups. A thematic content analysis approach via ATLAS ti version 9.0 software was used to analyse the data and presented under two broad themes. RESULTS The discussants reported twelve (12) challenges that hindered effective contact tracing in the Bono region. These include inadequate personal protective equipment, harassment by contacts, politicisation of the discourse around the disease, stigmatization, delays in processing test results, poor remuneration and lack of insurance package, inadequate staffing, difficulty in locating contacts, poor quarantine practices, poor education on COVID-19, language barrier and transportation challenges. Opportunities for improving contact tracing include cooperation, awareness creation, leveraging on knowledge gained in contact tracing, and effective emergency plans for future pandemics. CONCLUSION There is a need for health authorities, particularly in the region, and the state as a whole to address contact tracing-related challenges while simultaneously harnessing the recommended opportunities for improved contact tracing in the future for effective pandemic control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Tachie Asare
- Department of Population and Behavioural Sciences, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana
| | - Mbuyiselo Douglas
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Private Bag X1, Mthatha, 5117, South Africa
| | - Gideon Kye-Duodu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana
| | - Emmanuel Manu
- Department of Population and Behavioural Sciences, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Fitriani WR, Sutanto J, Handayani PW, Hidayanto AN. User Compliance With the Health Emergency and Disaster Management System: Systematic Literature Review. J Med Internet Res 2023; 25:e41168. [PMID: 37145840 DOI: 10.2196/41168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Health-related hazards have a detrimental impact on society. The health emergency and disaster management system (Health EDMS), such as a contact-tracing application, is used to respond to and cope with health-related hazards. User compliance with Health EDMS warnings is key to its success. However, it was reported that user compliance with such a system remains low. OBJECTIVE Through a systematic literature review, this study aims to identify the theories and corresponding factors that explain user compliance with the warning message provided by Health EDMS. METHODS The systematic literature review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. The search was performed using the online databases Scopus, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, IEEE, and PubMed, for English journal papers published between January 2000 and February 2022. RESULTS A total of 14 papers were selected for the review based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Previous research adopted 6 theories when examining user compliance, and central to the research was Health EDMS. To better understand Health EDMS, based on the literature reviewed, we mapped the activities and features of Health EDMS with the key stakeholders involved. We identified features that require involvement from individual users, which are surveillance and monitoring features and medical care and logistic assistance features. We then proposed a framework showing the individual, technological, and social influencing factors of the use of these features, which in turn affects compliance with the warning message from Health EDMS. CONCLUSIONS Research on the Health EDMS topic increased rapidly in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An in-depth understanding of Health EDMS and user compliance before designing the system is essential for governments and developers to increase the effectiveness of Health EDMS. Through a systematic literature review, this study proposed a research framework and identified research gaps for future research on this topic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Juliana Sutanto
- Department Human Centred Computing, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Rehman A, Xing H, Adnan Khan M, Hussain M, Hussain A, Gulzar N. Emerging technologies for COVID (ET-CoV) detection and diagnosis: Recent advancements, applications, challenges, and future perspectives. Biomed Signal Process Control 2023; 83:104642. [PMID: 36818992 DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2023.104642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
In light of the constantly changing terrain of the COVID outbreak, medical specialists have implemented proactive schemes for vaccine production. Despite the remarkable COVID-19 vaccine development, the virus has mutated into new variants, including delta and omicron. Currently, the situation is critical in many parts of the world, and precautions are being taken to stop the virus from spreading and mutating. Early identification and diagnosis of COVID-19 are the main challenges faced by emerging technologies during the outbreak. In these circumstances, emerging technologies to tackle Coronavirus have proven magnificent. Artificial intelligence (AI), big data, the internet of medical things (IoMT), robotics, blockchain technology, telemedicine, smart applications, and additive manufacturing are suspicious for detecting, classifying, monitoring, and locating COVID-19. Henceforth, this research aims to glance at these COVID-19 defeating technologies by focusing on their strengths and limitations. A CiteSpace-based bibliometric analysis of the emerging technology was established. The most impactful keywords and the ongoing research frontiers were compiled. Emerging technologies were unstable due to data inconsistency, redundant and noisy datasets, and the inability to aggregate the data due to disparate data formats. Moreover, the privacy and confidentiality of patient medical records are not guaranteed. Hence, Significant data analysis is required to develop an intelligent computational model for effective and quick clinical diagnosis of COVID-19. Remarkably, this article outlines how emerging technology has been used to counteract the virus disaster and offers ongoing research frontiers, directing readers to concentrate on the real challenges and thus facilitating additional explorations to amplify emerging technologies.
Collapse
|
6
|
Xu R, Wu L, Liu Y, Ye Y, Mu T, Xu C, Yuan H. Evaluation of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health service utilization in China: A study using auto-regressive integrated moving average model. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1114085. [PMID: 37089481 PMCID: PMC10115989 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1114085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BackgroundThe outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 presented a major challenge to the healthcare system in China. This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on health services utilization in China in 2020.MethodsHealth service-related data for this study were extracted from the China Health Statistical Yearbook. The Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average model (ARIMA) was used to forecast the data for the year 2020 based on trends observed between 2010 and 2019. The differences between the actual 2020 values reported in the statistical yearbook and the forecast values from the ARIMA model were used to assess the impact of COVID-19 on health services utilization.ResultsIn 2020, the number of admissions and outpatient visits in China declined by 17.74 and 14.37%, respectively, compared to the ARIMA model’s forecast values. Notably, public hospitals experienced the largest decrease in outpatient visits and admissions, of 18.55 and 19.64%, respectively. Among all departments, the pediatrics department had the greatest decrease in outpatient visits (35.15%). Regarding geographical distribution, Beijing and Heilongjiang were the regions most affected by the decline in outpatient visits (29.96%) and admissions (43.20%) respectively.ConclusionThe study’s findings suggest that during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, one in seven outpatient services and one in six admissions were affected in China. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish a green channel for seeking medical treatment without spatial and institutional barriers during epidemic prevention and control periods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rixiang Xu
- School of Humanities and Management, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lang Wu
- School of Humanities and Management, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yulian Liu
- School of Humanities and Management, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yaping Ye
- School of Humanities and Management, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tingyu Mu
- School of Nursing, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Caiming Xu
- School of Law, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Caiming Xu, Huiling Yuan,
| | - Huiling Yuan
- School of Humanities and Management, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Caiming Xu, Huiling Yuan,
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Ali Y, Khan HU. A Survey on harnessing the Applications of Mobile Computing in Healthcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions. Comput Netw 2023; 224:109605. [PMID: 36776582 PMCID: PMC9894776 DOI: 10.1016/j.comnet.2023.109605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic ravaged almost every walk of life but it triggered many challenges for the healthcare system, globally. Different cutting-edge technologies such as Internet of things (IoT), machine learning, Virtual Reality (VR), Big data, Blockchain etc. have been adopted to cope with this menace. In this regard, various surveys have been conducted to highlight the importance of these technologies. However, among these technologies, the role of mobile computing is of paramount importance which is not found in the existing literature. Hence, this survey in mainly targeted to highlight the significant role of mobile computing in alleviating the impacts of COVID-19 in healthcare sector. The major applications of mobile computing such as software-based solutions, hardware-based solutions and wireless communication-based support for diagnosis, prevention, self-symptom reporting, contact tracing, social distancing, telemedicine and treatment related to coronavirus are discussed in detailed and comprehensive fashion. A state-of-the-art work is presented to identify the challenges along with possible solutions in adoption of mobile computing with respect to COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, this research will help the researchers, policymakers and healthcare professionals to understand the current research gaps and future research directions in this domain. To the best level of our knowledge, this is the first survey of its type to address the COVID-19 pandemic by exploring the holistic contribution of mobile computing technologies in healthcare area.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yasir Ali
- Higher Education Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Government Degree College Kotha Swabi, KP, Pakistan
- Higher Education Department, Shahzeb Shaheed Government Degree College Razzar, Swabi, KP, Pakistan
| | - Habib Ullah Khan
- Accounting and Information, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University, Doha Qatar
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ilu SY, Prasad R. Improved autoregressive integrated moving average model for COVID-19 prediction by using statistical significance and clustering techniques. Heliyon 2023; 9:e13483. [PMID: 36776910 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than 192 countries. The condition results in a respiratory illness (e.g., influenza) with signs and symptoms such as cold, cough, fever, and breathing difficulties. Predicting new instances of COVID-19 is always a challenging task. Methods This study improved the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA)-based time series prediction model by incorporating statistical significance for feature selection and k-means clustering for outlier detection. The accuracy of the improved model (ARIMAI) was examined using World Health Organization's official data on the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide and compared with that of many modern, cutting-edge algorithms. Results The ARIMAI model (RSS score = 0.279, accuracy = 97.75%) outperformed the current ARIMA model (RSS score = 0.659, accuracy = 93%). Conclusions The ARIMAI model is not only an efficient but also a rapid and simple technique to forecast COVID-19 trends. The usage of this model enables the prediction of any disease that will affect patients in the future pandemics.
Collapse
|
9
|
Dzandu MD. Antecedent, behaviour, and consequence (a-b-c) of deploying the contact tracing app in response to COVID-19: Evidence from Europe. Technol Forecast Soc Change 2023; 187:122217. [PMID: 36439939 PMCID: PMC9678838 DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In response to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, countries have or intend to deploy contact tracing apps as a way of containing and or reducing the community spread of the virus. Whilst a few studies have so far been conducted on the acceptability of the app, little is known about the antecedent, behaviour, and consequence (a-b-c) of deploying the app and its success thereof. This study, therefore, proposes and validates an integrated a-b-c and technology acceptance model of deploying the contract tracing app in four European countries. The study adopts a quantitative approach and uses publicly available cross country survey data from the Center for Open Science. An extract of 2512 data is analysed using SEM-PLS. The results confirmed the integrated a-b-c and technology acceptance model that underpins the study and revealed that the chance of achieving a positive outcome with citizens complying with recommendations of the app was only 17.1 % or R2 = 0.171 (±0.020) whilst the chance of negative consequent or deviant response of uninstallation of the app by the citizens was 54.3 % or R2 = 0.543 (±0.021). The results have huge implications for governments and public health institutions in their attempt to deploy the contract tracing app.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Dzandu
- Centre for Digital Business Research, Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS, UK
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Souza Filho EMD, Tavares RDS, Dembogurski BJ, Gagliano AHNP, Pacheco LCDO, Pacheco LGDRN, Carmo FBD, Alvim LGM, Monteiro A. An online platform for COVID-19 diagnostic screening using a machine learning algorithm. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) 2023; 69:e20221394. [PMID: 37075448 PMCID: PMC10176636 DOI: 10.1590/1806-9282.20221394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE COVID-19 has brought emerging public health emergency and new challenges. It configures a complex panorama that has been requiring a set of coordinated actions and has innovation as one of its pillars. In particular, the use of digital tools plays an important role. In this context, this study presents a screening algorithm that uses a machine learning model to assess the probability of a diagnosis of COVID-19 based on clinical data. METHODS This algorithm was made available for free on an online platform. The project was developed in three phases. First, an machine learning risk model was developed. Second, a system was developed that would allow the user to enter patient data. Finally, this platform was used in teleconsultations carried out during the pandemic period. RESULTS The number of accesses during the period was 4,722. A total of 126 assistances were carried out from March 23, 2020, to June 16, 2020, and 107 satisfaction survey returns were received. The response rate to the questionnaires was 84.92%, and the ratings obtained regarding the satisfaction level were higher than 4.8 (on a 0-5 scale). The Net Promoter Score was 94.4. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge, this is the first online application of its kind that presents a probabilistic assessment of COVID-19 using machine learning models exclusively based on the symptoms and clinical characteristics of users. The level of satisfaction was high. The integration of machine learning tools in telemedicine practice has great potential.
Collapse
|
11
|
Zhang T, Nishiura H. COVID-19 cases with a contact history: A modeling study of contact history-stratified data in Japan. Math Biosci Eng 2023; 20:3661-3676. [PMID: 36899598 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2023171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to develop a transmission model of COVID-19 cases with and without a contact history to understand the meaning of the proportion of infected individuals with a contact history over time. We extracted epidemiological information regarding the proportion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases with a contact history and analyzed incidence data stratified by the presence of a contact history in Osaka from January 15 to June 30, 2020. To clarify the relationship between transmission dynamics and cases with a contact history, we used a bivariate renewal process model to describe transmission among cases with and without a contact history. We quantified the next-generation matrix as a function of time; thus, the instantaneous (effective) reproduction number was calculated for different periods of the epidemic wave. We objectively interpreted the estimated next-generation matrix and replicated the proportion of cases with a contact p(t) over time, and we examined the relevance to the reproduction number. We found that p(t) does not take either the maximum or minimum value at a threshold level of transmission with R(t)=1.0. With R(t) < 1 (subcritical level), p(t) was a decreasing function of R(t). Qualitatively, the minimum p(t) was seen in the domain with R(t) > 1. An important future implication for use of the proposed model is to monitor the success of ongoing contact tracing practice. A decreasing signal of p(t) reflects the increasing difficulty of contact tracing. The present study findings indicate that monitoring p(t) would be a useful addition to surveillance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tong Zhang
- School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Wai Wong WC, Zhao IY, Ma YX, Dong WN, Liu J, Pang Q, Lu XQ, Molassiotis A, Holroyd E. Primary Care Physicians' and Patients' Perspectives on Equity and Health Security of Infectious Disease Digital Surveillance. Ann Fam Med 2023; 21:33-39. [PMID: 36635084 PMCID: PMC9870645 DOI: 10.1370/afm.2895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic facilitated the rapid development of digital detection surveillance (DDS) for outbreaks. This qualitative study examined how DDS for infectious diseases (ID) was perceived and experienced by primary care physicians and patients in order to highlight ethical considerations for promoting patients' autonomy and health care rights. METHODS In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposefully selected group of 16 primary care physicians and 24 of their patients. The group was reflective of a range of ages, educational attainment, and clinical experiences from urban areas in northern and southern China. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and translated. Two researchers coded data and organized it into themes. A third researcher reviewed 15% of the data and discussed findings with the other researchers to assure accuracy. RESULTS Five themes were identified: ambiguity around the need for informed consent with usage of DDS; importance of autonomous decision making; potential for discrimination against vulnerable users of DDS for ID; risk of social inequity and disparate care outcomes; and authoritarian institutions' responsibility for maintaining health data security. The adoption of DDS meant some patients would be reluctant to go to the hospital for fear of either being discriminated against or forced into quarantine. Certain groups (older people and children) were thought to be vulnerable to DDS misappropriation. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate the paramount importance of establishing national and international ethical frameworks for DDS implementation. Frameworks should guide all aspects of ID surveillance, addressing privacy protection and health security, and underscored by principles of social equity and accountability.Annals "Online First" article.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- William Chi Wai Wong
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Ivy Yan Zhao
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Ye Xuan Ma
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Wei Nan Dong
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Jia Liu
- Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qin Pang
- Department of Information Technology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiao Qin Lu
- School of General Practice and Continuing Education, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Alex Molassiotis
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Eleanor Holroyd
- Office of the Dean, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Donelle L, Comer L, Hiebert B, Hall J, Shelley JJ, Smith MJ, Kothari A, Burkell J, Stranges S, Cooke T, Shelley JM, Gilliland J, Ngole M, Facca D. Use of digital technologies for public health surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review. Digit Health 2023; 9:20552076231173220. [PMID: 37214658 PMCID: PMC10196539 DOI: 10.1177/20552076231173220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of digital technologies have been leveraged for public health surveillance worldwide. However, concerns remain around the rapid development and deployment of digital technologies, how these technologies have been used, and their efficacy in supporting public health goals. Following the five-stage scoping review framework, we conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature to identify the types and nature of digital technologies used for surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic and the success of these measures. We conducted a search of the peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 1 December 2019 and 31 December 2020 to provide a snapshot of questions, concerns, discussions, and findings emerging at this pivotal time. A total of 147 peer-reviewed and 79 grey literature publications reporting on digital technology use for surveillance across 90 countries and regions were retained for analysis. The most frequently used technologies included mobile phone devices and applications, location tracking technologies, drones, temperature scanning technologies, and wearable devices. The utility of digital technologies for public health surveillance was impacted by factors including uptake of digital technologies across targeted populations, technological capacity and errors, scope, validity and accuracy of data, guiding legal frameworks, and infrastructure to support technology use. Our findings raise important questions around the value of digital surveillance for public health and how to ensure successful use of technologies while mitigating potential harms not only in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also during other infectious disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lorie Donelle
- College of Nursing, University of South
Carolina, USA
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, Canada
| | - Leigha Comer
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, Canada
| | - Brad Hiebert
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, Canada
| | - Jodi Hall
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, Canada
| | | | | | - Anita Kothari
- School of Health Studies, Western University, Canada
| | - Jacquelyn Burkell
- Faculty of Information and Media
Studies, Western University, Canada
| | - Saverio Stranges
- Schulich School of Medicine &
Dentistry, Western University, Canada
| | - Tommy Cooke
- Surveillance Studies Centre, Queen's University, Canada
| | - James M. Shelley
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, Canada
| | - Jason Gilliland
- Department of Geography and
Environment, Western University, Canada
| | - Marionette Ngole
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, Canada
| | - Danica Facca
- Faculty of Information and Media
Studies, Western University, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Ogunjo S, Olusola A, Orimoloye I. Association Between Weather Parameters and SARS-CoV-2 Confirmed Cases in Two South African Cities. Geohealth 2022; 6:e2021GH000520. [PMID: 36348988 PMCID: PMC9635841 DOI: 10.1029/2021gh000520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Several approaches have been used in the race against time to mitigate the spread and impact of COVID-19. In this study, we investigated the role of temperature, relative humidity, and particulate matter in the spread of COVID-19 cases within two densely populated cities of South Africa-Pretoria and Cape Town. The role of different levels of COVID-19 restrictions in the air pollution levels, obtained from the Purple Air Network, of the two cities were also considered. Our results suggest that 26.73% and 43.66% reduction in PM2.5 levels were observed in Cape Town and Pretoria respectively for no lockdown (Level 0) to the strictest lockdown level (Level 5). Furthermore, our results showed a significant relationship between particulate matter and COVID-19 in the two cities. Particulate matter was found to be a good predictor, based on the significance of causality test, of COVID-19 cases in Pretoria with a lag of 7 days and more. This suggests that the effect of particulate matter on the number of cases can be felt after 7 days and beyond in Pretoria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ogunjo
- Department of PhysicsFederal University of TechnologyAkureNigeria
| | - Adeyemi Olusola
- Faculty of Environmental and Urban ChangeYork UniversityTorontoCanada
- Department of GeographyUniversity of the Free StateBloemfonteinSouth Africa
| | - Israel Orimoloye
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Food and AgricultureThe University of the West Indies, St. Augustine CampusSt. AugustineTrinidad and Tobago
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Chantziara S, Brigden L C A, Mccallum CH, Craddock IJ. Using Digital Tools for Contact Tracing to Improve COVID-19 Safety in Schools: Qualitative Study Exploring Views and Experiences Among School Staff. JMIR Form Res 2022; 6:e36412. [PMID: 36191172 PMCID: PMC9629345 DOI: 10.2196/36412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Throughout the pandemic, governments worldwide have issued guidelines to manage the spread and impact of COVID-19 in schools, including measures around social distancing and contact tracing. Whether schools required support to implement these guidelines has not yet been explored in depth. Despite the development of a range of technologies to tackle COVID-19, such as contact-tracing apps and electronic vaccine certificates, research on their usefulness in school settings has been limited. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to explore the needs of school staff in managing COVID-19 and their experiences and perspectives on technological support in relation to contact tracing. School staff are the ones likely to make key implementation decisions regarding new technologies, and they are also the ones responsible for using the new tools daily. Including both management staff and class teachers in the development of school-based technologies can lead to their successful adoption by schools. METHODS Semistructured interviews were conducted with UK school staff, including primary and secondary school teachers and school managers. Thematic analysis, facilitated by NVivo, was used to analyze the data. Two of the authors independently coded 5 (28%) of the interviews and reached a consensus on a coding framework. RESULTS Via purposive sampling, we recruited 18 participants from 5 schools. Findings showed that primary schools did not perform contact tracing, while in secondary schools, digital seating plans were used to identify close contacts in the classroom and manual investigations were also conducted identify social contacts. Participants reported that despite their efforts, high-risk interactions between students were not adequately monitored. There was a need to improve accuracy when identifying close contacts in common areas where students congregate. Proximity tracking, use of access cards, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) emerged as potential solutions, but there were concerns surrounding false alerts, burden, and security. CONCLUSIONS School staff have found it difficult to monitor and implement social distancing and contact-tracing provisions. There are opportunities for mobile digital technologies and CCTV to support school staff in keeping their students and colleagues safe; however, these must place minimal demands on staff and prioritize security measures. Study findings can help researchers and practitioners who work in different contexts and settings understand what particular challenges are faced by school staff, and inform further research on the design and application of digital solutions for contact tracing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Chantziara
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | | | - Claire H Mccallum
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Ian J Craddock
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Himeur Y, Al-Maadeed S, Almaadeed N, Abualsaud K, Mohamed A, Khattab T, Elharrouss O. Deep visual social distancing monitoring to combat COVID-19: A comprehensive survey. Sustain Cities Soc 2022; 85:104064. [PMID: 35880102 PMCID: PMC9301907 DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2022.104064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing (SD) has played an essential role in controlling and slowing down the spread of the virus in smart cities. To ensure the respect of SD in public areas, visual SD monitoring (VSDM) provides promising opportunities by (i) controlling and analyzing the physical distance between pedestrians in real-time, (ii) detecting SD violations among the crowds, and (iii) tracking and reporting individuals violating SD norms. To the authors' best knowledge, this paper proposes the first comprehensive survey of VSDM frameworks and identifies their challenges and future perspectives. Typically, we review existing contributions by presenting the background of VSDM, describing evaluation metrics, and discussing SD datasets. Then, VSDM techniques are carefully reviewed after dividing them into two main categories: hand-crafted feature-based and deep-learning-based methods. A significant focus is paid to convolutional neural networks (CNN)-based methodologies as most of the frameworks have used either one-stage, two-stage, or multi-stage CNN models. A comparative study is also conducted to identify their pros and cons. Thereafter, a critical analysis is performed to highlight the issues and impediments that hold back the expansion of VSDM systems. Finally, future directions attracting significant research and development are derived.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yassine Himeur
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Qatar University, Qatar
| | - Somaya Al-Maadeed
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Qatar University, Qatar
| | - Noor Almaadeed
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Qatar University, Qatar
| | - Khalid Abualsaud
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Qatar University, Qatar
| | - Amr Mohamed
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Qatar University, Qatar
| | - Tamer Khattab
- Electrical Engineering Department, Qatar University, Qatar
| | - Omar Elharrouss
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Qatar University, Qatar
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Delgado J, de Manuel A, Parra I, Moyano C, Rueda J, Guersenzvaig A, Ausin T, Cruz M, Casacuberta D, Puyol A. Bias in algorithms of AI systems developed for COVID-19: A scoping review. J Bioeth Inq 2022; 19:407-419. [PMID: 35857214 PMCID: PMC9463236 DOI: 10.1007/s11673-022-10200-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
To analyze which ethically relevant biases have been identified by academic literature in artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed either for patient risk prediction and triage, or for contact tracing to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, to specifically investigate whether the role of social determinants of health (SDOH) have been considered in these AI developments or not. We conducted a scoping review of the literature, which covered publications from March 2020 to April 2021. Studies mentioning biases on AI algorithms developed for contact tracing and medical triage or risk prediction regarding COVID-19 were included. From 1054 identified articles, 20 studies were finally included. We propose a typology of biases identified in the literature based on bias, limitations and other ethical issues in both areas of analysis. Results on health disparities and SDOH were classified into five categories: racial disparities, biased data, socio-economic disparities, unequal accessibility and workforce, and information communication. SDOH needs to be considered in the clinical context, where they still seem underestimated. Epidemiological conditions depend on geographic location, so the use of local data in studies to develop international solutions may increase some biases. Gender bias was not specifically addressed in the articles included. The main biases are related to data collection and management. Ethical problems related to privacy, consent, and lack of regulation have been identified in contact tracing while some bias-related health inequalities have been highlighted. There is a need for further research focusing on SDOH and these specific AI apps.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janet Delgado
- Department of Philosophy 1, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Alicia de Manuel
- Department of Philosophy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iris Parra
- Department of Philosophy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristian Moyano
- Department of Philosophy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jon Rueda
- FiloLab Scientific Unit of Excellence of the University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Txetxu Ausin
- Institute for Philosophy of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Maite Cruz
- Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP), Granada, Spain
| | - David Casacuberta
- Department of Philosophy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Angel Puyol
- Department of Philosophy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Chopdar PK. Adoption of Covid-19 contact tracing app by extending UTAUT theory: Perceived disease threat as moderator. Health Policy Technol 2022; 11:100651. [PMID: 35855013 DOI: 10.1016/j.hlpt.2022.100651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Objectives Contact tracing applications are technological solutions that can quickly trace and notify users of their potential exposure to the Covid-19 virus and help contain the spread of the disease. However, extant research delineating the various factors predicting the adoption of contact tracing apps is scant. The study's primary objective is to develop and validate a research model based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), health belief model (HBM), perceived privacy risk and perceived security risk to understand the adoption of contact tracing application. Methods An online survey was carried out among users of the ‘Aarogya Setu’ contact tracing app in India. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) tool was employed to analyze data from 307 respondents. Results The results showed that performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions positively influenced users’ intention to adopt the app. In contrast, perceived privacy and security risks were significant barriers to app adoption. Perceived disease threat as a moderator mitigated the adverse impact of perceived privacy risk on users' intention to adopt contact tracing apps. Conclusions The current study gives insights on both drivers and barriers to the adoption of contract tracing applications. Various theoretical and practical implications of significance are provided for academicians and practitioners to effectively promote app adoption to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
Collapse
|
19
|
Schooley B, Feldman SS. User perceptions about sharing exposure notification information for communicable diseases. Front Digit Health 2022; 4:926683. [PMID: 35966143 PMCID: PMC9366094 DOI: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.926683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The (GuideSafe™) Exposure Notification System (ENS) was built and deployed in (Alabama) for anonymous sending and receiving of COVID-19 exposure alerts to people who have been in close contact with someone who later reports a positive COVID-19 test. Little is known about how the demographic groups perceive recent privacy-preserving the ENS innovations, including their usability, usefulness, satisfaction, and continued interest in sharing COVID-19 exposure information. The purpose of this study was to investigate how users across the demographic groups perceive the sharing of exposure information with various types of organizations and to investigate how end-user perceptions of the ENS usability, usefulness, and satisfaction differ across the demographic groups within the context of a statewide deployment of an exposure notification system. Methods A survey was administered to (state residents blinded for review) (N = 1,049) to assess propensity to share COVID-19 infection data and evaluate end-user perceptions about usability, usefulness, and satisfaction with the (Alabama) ENS. The ANOVA and the Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) post-hoc tests were conducted to assess the demographic group differences. Results The ENS survey participants had a high awareness of contact tracing, exposure notifications, and the (GuideSafe™) ENS and reported having downloaded the app. Survey results revealed the majority of participants rated the app as useful (n = 490, 79%), easy to use (n = 490, 79%), and reported satisfaction with its use (n = 546, 88%). Other results suggest that ethnicity and age may be important factors for trust in sharing exposure information. Conclusion The (GuideSafe™) system was one integrated component of comprehensive education and work re-entry strategy across (Alabama) that reached a broad user base. Users across the different demographic groups perceive the sharing of information about their communicable disease exposures differently. Furthermore, demographic factors play a role in which types of organizations individuals are willing to share their communicable disease exposure information. Public health institutions, employers, schools, healthcare providers, and technology designers may want to consider these findings as they construct technologies and perform outreach campaigns aimed at reducing infection rates with the ENS and related technologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Schooley
- College of Engineering and Computing, Univeristy of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Sue S. Feldman
- Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
- *Correspondence: Sue S. Feldman
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Afroogh S, Esmalian A, Mostafavi A, Akbari A, Rasoulkhani K, Esmaeili S, Hajiramezanali E. Tracing app technology: an ethical review in the COVID-19 era and directions for post-COVID-19. Ethics Inf Technol 2022; 24:30. [PMID: 35915595 PMCID: PMC9330978 DOI: 10.1007/s10676-022-09659-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We conducted a systematic literature review on the ethical considerations of the use of contact tracing app technology, which was extensively implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid and extensive use of this technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, while benefiting the public well-being by providing information about people's mobility and movements to control the spread of the virus, raised several ethical concerns for the post-COVID-19 era. To investigate these concerns for the post-pandemic situation and provide direction for future events, we analyzed the current ethical frameworks, research, and case studies about the ethical usage of tracing app technology. The results suggest there are seven essential ethical considerations-privacy, security, acceptability, government surveillance, transparency, justice, and voluntariness-in the ethical use of contact tracing technology. In this paper, we explain and discuss these considerations and how they are needed for the ethical usage of this technology. The findings also highlight the importance of developing integrated guidelines and frameworks for implementation of such technology in the post- COVID-19 world. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10676-022-09659-6.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Saleh Afroogh
- Department of Philosophy, The State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12203 USA
| | - Amir Esmalian
- UrbanResilience.AI Lab, Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840 USA
| | - Ali Mostafavi
- UrbanResilience.AI Lab, Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840 USA
| | - Ali Akbari
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840 USA
| | | | - Shahriar Esmaeili
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 USA
| | - Ehsan Hajiramezanali
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Gostin LO, Benjamin GC, Worku T. The Federal Global Migration and Quarantine Network: A Report From the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. JAMA 2022; 328:241-242. [PMID: 35687349 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2022.10542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence O Gostin
- O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
| | | | - Tequam Worku
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Francombe J, Ali GC, Gloinson ER, Feijao C, Morley KI, Gunashekar S, de Carvalho Gomes H. Assessing the Implementation of Digital Innovations in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to Address Key Public Health Functions: Scoping Review of Academic and Nonacademic Literature. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2022; 8:e34605. [PMID: 35605152 PMCID: PMC9301563 DOI: 10.2196/34605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Digital technologies have been central to efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, a range of literature has reported on developments regarding the implementation of new digital technologies for COVID-19–related surveillance, prevention, and control. Objective In this study, scoping reviews of academic and nonacademic literature were undertaken to obtain an overview of the evidence regarding digital innovations implemented to address key public health functions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to expand on the work of existing reviews by drawing on additional data sources (including nonacademic sources) by considering literature published over a longer time frame and analyzing data in terms of the number of unique digital innovations. Methods We conducted a scoping review of the academic literature published between January 1, 2020, and September 15, 2020, supplemented by a further scoping review of selected nonacademic literature published between January 1, 2020, and October 13, 2020. Both reviews followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach. Results A total of 226 academic articles and 406 nonacademic articles were included. The included articles provided evidence of 561 (academic literature) and 497 (nonacademic literature) unique digital innovations. The most common implementation settings for digital innovations were the United States, China, India, and the United Kingdom. Technologies most commonly used by digital innovations were those belonging to the high-level technology group of integrated and ubiquitous fixed and mobile networks. The key public health functions most commonly addressed by digital innovations were communication and collaboration and surveillance and monitoring. Conclusions Digital innovations implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been wide ranging in terms of their implementation settings, the digital technologies used, and the public health functions addressed. However, evidence gathered through this study also points to a range of barriers that have affected the successful implementation of digital technologies for public health functions. It is also evident that many digital innovations implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are yet to be formally evaluated or assessed.
Collapse
|
23
|
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Exploring the scope and utility of digital proximity tracing in the effective containment of COVID-19 infection: A narrative review. Germs 2022; 12:276-282. [PMID: 36504605 PMCID: PMC9719377 DOI: 10.18683/germs.2022.1329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The ongoing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can be acknowledged as one of the most significant public health emergencies the world has encountered in the last few decades. The purpose of the current review is to understand the significance of contact tracing and explore the pros and cons of digital contact tracing in ensuring better containment of the COVID-19 outbreaks. A widespread search of published articles pertaining to the topic was done in the PubMed search engine and a total of 46 articles matching the objectives of the present review were identified. However, four articles were discarded because of the non-availability of the free full text, and thus 42 research papers were finally included. Digital contact tracing bridges the gap wherein we aim to expedite the process of contact tracing to identify the potential contacts of the confirmed cases. These applications are designed in such a way that they send a notification on the smartphone of a person, once the user is exposed to one or more confirmed cases of COVID-19. To conclude, in the battle against the COVID-19 infection, the international welfare agencies and national policy makers have been looking forward to the employment of digital technologies to support the ongoing public health measures for contact tracing. The approach of digital contact/proximity tracing should be considered as a supplement to conventional manual tracing. The need of the hour is to take specific measures to improve the inherent design of these apps, their implementation and demonstration of their effectiveness, which in turn will play a part in enhancing their acceptance and usability among the general population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava
- MD, FAIMER, PGDHHM, DHRM, FCS, ACME, M. Phil. (HPE), Deputy Director – Academics, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth – Deemed to be University, Medical Education Unit Coordinator and Member of the Institute Research Council, Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Thiruporur – Guduvancherry Main Road, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpet District – 603108, Tamil Nadu, India,Corresponding author: Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava,
| | - Prateek Saurabh Shrivastava
- MD, Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth – Deemed to be University, Thiruporur – Guduvancherry Main Road, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpet District - 603108, Tamil Nadu, India
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Yigezu A, Zewdie SA, Mirkuzie AH, Abera A, Hailu A, Agachew M, Memirie ST. Cost-analysis of COVID-19 sample collection, diagnosis, and contact tracing in low resource setting: The case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269458. [PMID: 35679290 PMCID: PMC9182302 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Ethiopia has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through a combination of interventions, including non-pharmaceutical interventions, quarantine, testing, isolation, contact tracing, and clinical management. Estimating the resources consumed for COVID-19 prevention and control could inform efficient decision-making for epidemic/pandemic-prone diseases in the future. This study aims to estimate the unit cost of COVID-19 sample collection, laboratory diagnosis, and contact tracing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods Primary and secondary data were collected to estimate the costs of COVID-19 sample collection, diagnosis, and contact tracing. A healthcare system perspective was used. We used a combination of micro-costing (bottom-up) and top-down approaches to estimate resources consumed and the unit costs of the interventions. We used available cost and outcome data between May and December 2020. The costs were classified into capital and recurrent inputs to estimate unit and total costs. We identified the cost drivers of the interventions. We reported the cost for the following outcome measures: (1) cost per sample collected, (2) cost per laboratory diagnosis, (3) cost per sample collected and laboratory diagnosis, (4) cost per contact traced, and (5) cost per COVID-19 positive test identified. We conducted one-way sensitivity analysis by varying the input parameters. All costs were reported in US dollars (USD). Results The unit cost per sample collected was USD 1.33. The unit cost of tracing a contact of an index case was USD 0.66. The unit cost of COVID-19 diagnosis, excluding the cost for sample collection was USD 3.91. The unit cost of sample collection per COVID-19 positive individual was USD 11.63. The unit cost for COVID-19 positive test through contact tracing was USD 54.00. The unit cost COVID-19 DNA PCR diagnosis for identifying COVID-19 positive individuals, excluding the sample collection and transport cost, was USD 37.70. The cost per COVID-19 positive case identified was USD 49.33 including both sample collection and laboratory diagnosis costs. Among the cost drivers, personnel cost (salary and food cost) takes the highest share for all interventions, ranging from 51–76% of the total cost. Conclusion The costs of sample collection, diagnosis, and contact tracing for COVID-19 were high given the low per capita health expenditure in Ethiopia and other low-income settings. Since the personnel cost accounts for the highest cost, decision-makers should focus on minimizing this cost when faced with pandemic-prone diseases by strengthening the health system and using digital platforms. The findings of this study can help decision-makers prioritize and allocate resources for effective public health emergency response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amanuel Yigezu
- National Data Management Center for Health, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- * E-mail:
| | - Samuel Abera Zewdie
- Partnership and Cooperation Directorate, Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Alemnesh H. Mirkuzie
- National Data Management Center for Health, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Adugna Abera
- Parasitology Department, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Alemayehu Hailu
- Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Mesfin Agachew
- National Data Management Center for Health, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Solomon Tessema Memirie
- Addis Center for Ethics and Priority Setting, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Linares AR, Bramstedt KA, Chilukuri MM, Doraiswamy PM. Physician perceptions of surveillance: Wearables, Apps, and Chatbots for COVID-19. Digit Med 2022; 8:000010. [PMID: 36245571 PMCID: PMC9549767 DOI: 10.4103/digm.digm_28_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Background and Purpose To characterize the global physician community's opinions on the use of digital tools for COVID-19 public health surveillance and self-surveillance. Materials and Methods Cross-sectional, random, stratified survey done on Sermo, a physician networking platform, between September 9 and 15, 2020. We aimed to sample 1000 physicians divided among the USA, EU, and rest of the world. The survey questioned physicians on the risk-benefit ratio of digital tools, as well as matters of data privacy and trust. Statistical Analysis Used Descriptive statistics examined physicians' characteristics and opinions by age group, gender, frontline status, and geographic region. ANOVA, t-test, and Chi-square tests with P < 0.05 were viewed as qualitatively different. As this was an exploratory study, we did not adjust for small cell sizes or multiplicity. We used JMP Pro 15 (SAS), as well as Protobi. Results The survey was completed by 1004 physicians with a mean (standard deviation) age of 49.14 (12) years. Enthusiasm was highest for self-monitoring smartwatches (66%) and contact tracing apps (66%) and slightly lower (48-56%) for other tools. Trust was highest for health providers (68%) and lowest for technology companies (30%). Most respondents (69.8%) felt that loosening privacy standards to fight the pandemic would lead to misuse of privacy in the future. Conclusion The survey provides foundational insights into how physicians think of surveillance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra R Linares
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, USA
| | - Katrina A Bramstedt
- Department of Medicine, Bond University Medical Program, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mohan M Chilukuri
- Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - P. Murali Doraiswamy
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, USA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Rahman MM, Khatun F, Sami SI, Uzzaman A. The evolving roles and impacts of 5G enabled technologies in healthcare: The world epidemic COVID-19 issues. Array 2022; 14:100178. [PMID: 35571870 PMCID: PMC9085442 DOI: 10.1016/j.array.2022.100178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The latest 5G technology is being introduced the Internet of Things (IoT) Era. The study aims to focus the 5G technology and the current healthcare challenges as well as to highlight 5G based solutions that can handle the COVID-19 issues in different arenas. This paper provides a comprehensive review of 5G technology with the integration of other digital technologies (like AI and machine learning, IoT objects, big data analytics, cloud computing, robotic technology, and other digital platforms) in emerging healthcare applications. From the literature, it is clear that the promising aspects of 5G (such as super-high speed, high throughput, low latency) have a prospect in healthcare advancement. Now healthcare is being adopted 5G-based technologies to aid improved health services, more effective medical research, enhanced quality of life, better experiences of medical professionals and patients in anywhere–anytime. This paper emphasizes the evolving roles of 5G technology for handling the epidemiological challenges. The study also discusses various technological challenges and prospective for developing 5G powered healthcare solutions. Further works will incorporate more studies on how to expand 5G-based digital society as well as to resolve the issues of safety–security–privacy and availability–accessibility–integrity in future health crises.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Md Mijanur Rahman
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Trishal, Mymensingh 2224, Bangladesh
| | - Fatema Khatun
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj 8100, Bangladesh
| | - Sadia Islam Sami
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Trishal, Mymensingh 2224, Bangladesh
| | - Ashik Uzzaman
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Trishal, Mymensingh 2224, Bangladesh
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Saheb T, Sabour E, Qanbary F, Saheb T. Delineating privacy aspects of COVID tracing applications embedded with proximity measurement technologies & digital technologies. Technol Soc 2022; 69:101968. [PMID: 35342210 PMCID: PMC8934188 DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
As the COVID-19 pandemic expanded over the globe, governments implemented a series of technological measures to prevent the disease's spread. The development of the COVID Tracing Application (CTA) was one of these measures. In this study, we employed bibliometric and topic-based content analysis to determine the most significant entities and research topics. Additionally, we identified significant privacy concerns posed by CTAs, which gather, store, and analyze data in partnership with large technology corporations using proximity measurement technologies, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. We examined a series of key privacy threats identified in our study. These privacy risks include anti-democratic and discriminatory behaviors, politicization of care, derogation of human rights, techno governance, citizen distrust and refusal to adopt, citizen surveillance, and mandatory legislation of the apps' installation. Finally, sixteen research gaps were identified. Then, based on the identified theoretical gaps, we recommended fourteen prospective study strands. Theoretically, this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge about the privacy of mobile health applications that are embedded with cutting-edge technologies and are employed during global pandemics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tahereh Saheb
- Tarbiat Modares University, Management Studies Center, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Al Ahmad, Tehran, Iran
| | - Elham Sabour
- Tarbiat Modares University, Information Technology Management- Business Intelligence, Iran
| | - Fatimah Qanbary
- Tarbiat Modares University, Information Technology Management- Business Intelligence, Iran
| | | |
Collapse
|
28
|
Aruleba RT, Adekiya TA, Ayawei N, Obaido G, Aruleba K, Mienye ID, Aruleba I, Ogbuokiri B. COVID-19 Diagnosis: A Review of Rapid Antigen, RT-PCR and Artificial Intelligence Methods. Bioengineering (Basel) 2022; 9:153. [PMID: 35447713 PMCID: PMC9024895 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9040153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
As of 27 December 2021, SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 278 million persons and caused 5.3 million deaths. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, different methods, from medical to artificial intelligence, have been used for its detection, diagnosis, and surveillance. Meanwhile, fast and efficient point-of-care (POC) testing and self-testing kits have become necessary in the fight against COVID-19 and to assist healthcare personnel and governments curb the spread of the virus. This paper presents a review of the various types of COVID-19 detection methods, diagnostic technologies, and surveillance approaches that have been used or proposed. The review provided in this article should be beneficial to researchers in this field and health policymakers at large.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Taiwo Aruleba
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa;
| | - Tayo Alex Adekiya
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutic Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 7 York Road, Parktown 2193, South Africa;
| | - Nimibofa Ayawei
- Department of Chemistry, Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa PMB 178, Bayelsa State, Nigeria;
| | - George Obaido
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0404, USA
| | - Kehinde Aruleba
- School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Ibomoiye Domor Mienye
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa; (I.D.M.); (I.A.)
| | - Idowu Aruleba
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa; (I.D.M.); (I.A.)
| | - Blessing Ogbuokiri
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada;
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Anand S, Sharma V, Pourush R, Jaiswal S. A comprehensive survey on the biomedical signal processing methods for the detection of COVID-19. Ann Med Surg (Lond) 2022; 76:103519. [PMID: 35401978 PMCID: PMC8975609 DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The novel coronavirus, renamed SARS-CoV-2 and most commonly referred to as COVID-19, has infected nearly 44.83 million people in 224 countries and has been designated SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we used ‘web of Science’, ‘Scopus’ and ‘goggle scholar’ with the keywords of “SARS-CoV-2 detection” or “coronavirus 2019 detection” or “COVID 2019 detection” or “COVID 19 detection” “corona virus techniques for detection of COVID-19”, “audio techniques for detection of COVID-19”, “speech techniques for detection of COVID-19”, for period of 2019–2021. Some COVID-19 instances have an impact on speech production, which suggests that researchers should look for signs of disease detection in speech utilising audio and speech recognition signals from humans to better understand the condition. It is presented in this review that an overview of human audio signals is presented using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) model to diagnose, spread awareness, and monitor COVID-19, employing bio and non-obtrusive signals that communicated human speech and non-speech audio information is presented. Development of accurate and rapid screening techniques that permit testing at a reasonable cost is critical in the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis, according to the World Health Organization. In this context, certain existing investigations have shown potential in the detection of COVID 19 diagnostic signals from relevant auditory noises, which is a promising development. According to authors, it is not a single “perfect” COVID-19 test that is required, but rather a combination of rapid and affordable tests, non-clinic pre-screening tools, and tools from a variety of supply chains and technologies that will allow us to safely return to our normal lives while we await the completion of the hassle free COVID-19 vaccination process for all ages. This review was able to gather information on biomedical signal processing in the detection of speech, coughing sounds, and breathing signals for the purpose of diagnosing and screening the COVID-19 virus. This is a comprehensive review of published work for the detection of COVID-19. Previously conducted studies on audio, voice, cough sound, breathing and signal processing methods in order to address COVID-19-related health conditions. Analyzing and diagnosing COVID-19 using audio, speech and Signal Processing. Diagnosing and Screening of COVID-19 are studied using Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning. An overall these Signal Processing, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning techniques were seen to have satisfactory results for the detection of COVID-19.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Satyajit Anand
- Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mody University of Science and Technology, India
| | - Vikrant Sharma
- Mechanical Engineering, Mody University of Science and Technology, India
| | - Rajeev Pourush
- Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mody University of Science and Technology, India
| | - Sandeep Jaiswal
- Biomedical Engineering, Mody University of Science and Technology, India
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Gaobotse G, Mbunge E, Batani J, Muchemwa B. The future of smart implants towards personalized and pervasive healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities, barriers and policy recommendations. Sensors International 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sintl.2022.100173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
|
31
|
Mbunge E, Batani J, Gaobotse G, Muchemwa B. Virtual healthcare services and digital health technologies deployed during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in South Africa: a systematic review. Global Health Journal 2022; 6:102-113. [PMID: 35282399 PMCID: PMC8897959 DOI: 10.1016/j.glohj.2022.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Aims To identify virtual healthcare services and digital health technologies deployed in South Africa during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the challenges associated with their use. Methods To determine the status of digital health utilization during COVID-19 in South Africa, the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses model was used to perform a systematic and in-depth critical analysis of previously published studies in well-known and trusted online electronic databases using specific search keywords words that are relevant to this study. We selected published peer-reviewed articles available from the onset of COVID-19 to July 2021. Results Total of 24 articles were included into this study. This study revealed that South Africa adopted digital technologies such as SMS-based solutions, mobile health applications, telemedicine and telehealth, WhatsApp-based systems, artificial intelligence and chatbots and robotics to provide healthcare services during COVID-19 pandemic. These innovative technologies have been used for various purposes including screening infectious and non-infectious diseases, disease surveillance and monitoring, medication and treatment compliance, creating awareness and communication. The study also revealed that teleconsultation and e-prescription, telelaboratory and telepharmacy, teleeducation and teletraining, teledermatology, teleradiology, telecardiology, teleophthalmology, teleneurology, telerehabilitation, teleoncology and telepsychiatry are among virtual healthcare services delivered through digital health technologies during COVID-19 in South Africa. However, these smart digital health technologies face several impediments such as infrastructural and technological barriers, organization and financial barriers, policy and regulatory barriers as well as cultural barriers. Conclusion Although COVID-19 has invigorated the use of digital health technologies, there are still some shortcomings. The outbreak of pandemics like COVID-19 in the future is not inevitable. Therefore, we recommend increasing community networks in rural areas to bridge the digital divide and the modification of mHealth policy to advocate for the effective use of innovative technologies in healthcare and the development of sustainable strategies for resources mobilization through private-public partnerships as well as joining available international initiatives advocating for smart digital health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elliot Mbunge
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Eswatini, Kwaluseni, Manzini, Eswatini
- Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, Durban University of Technology, South Africa
| | - John Batani
- Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Botho University, Lesotho
| | - Goabaone Gaobotse
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Botswana
| | - Benhildah Muchemwa
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Eswatini, Kwaluseni, Manzini, Eswatini
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Asadzadeh A, Mohammadzadeh Z, Fathifar Z, Jahangiri-Mirshekarlou S, Rezaei-Hachesu P. A framework for information technology-based management against COVID-19 in Iran. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:402. [PMID: 35219292 PMCID: PMC8881940 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-12781-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global concern. Iran is one of the countries affected most by the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. As a result, the use of information technology (IT) has a variety of applications for pandemic management. The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual framework for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic via IT management, based on extensive literature review and expert knowledge. Methods The conceptual framework is developed in three stages: (1) a literature review to gather practical experience with IT applications for managing the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) a study of Iranian documents and papers that present Iran’s practical experience with COVID-19, and (3) developing a conceptual framework based on the previous steps and validating it through a Delphi approach in two rounds, and by 13 experts. Results The proposed conceptual framework demonstrates that during pandemics, 22 different types of technologies were used for various purposes, including virtual education, early warning, rapid screening and diagnosis of infected individuals, and data management. These objectives were classified into six categories, with the following applications highlighted: (1) Prevention (M-health, Internet search queries, telehealth, robotics, Internet of things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, Virtual Reality (VR), social media); (2) Diagnosis (M-health, drones, telehealth, IoT, Robotics, AI, Decision Support System (DSS), Electronic Health Record (EHR)); (3) Treatment (Telehealth, M-health, AI, Robotic, VR, IoT); (4) Follow-up (Telehealth, M-health, VR), (5) Management & planning (Geographic information system, M-health, IoT, blockchain), and (6) Protection (IoT, AI, Robotic and automatic vehicles, Augmented Reality (AR)). In Iran, the use of IT for prevention has been emphasized through M-health, internet search queries, social media, video conferencing, management and planning objectives using databases, health information systems, dashboards, surveillance systems, and vaccine coverage. Conclusions IT capabilities were critical during the COVID-19 outbreak. Practical experience demonstrates that various aspects of information technologies were overlooked. To combat this pandemic, the government and decision-makers of this country should consider strategic planning that incorporates successful experiences against COVID-19 and the most advanced IT capabilities.
Collapse
|
33
|
Salih KOM, Rashid TA, Radovanovic D, Bacanin N. A Comprehensive Survey on the Internet of Things with the Industrial Marketplace. Sensors (Basel) 2022; 22:s22030730. [PMID: 35161476 PMCID: PMC8840330 DOI: 10.3390/s22030730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 01/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
There is no doubt that new technology has become one of the crucial parts of most people's lives around the world. By and large, in this era, the Internet and the Internet of Things (IoT) have become the most indispensable parts of our lives. Recently, IoT technologies have been regarded as the most broadly used tools among other technologies. The tools and the facilities of IoT technologies within the marketplace are part of Industry 4.0. The marketplace is too regarded as a new area that can be used with IoT technologies. One of the main purposes of this paper is to highlight using IoT technologies in Industry 4.0, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is another feature revised. This paper focuses on the value of the IoT in the industrial domain in general; it reviews the IoT and focuses on its benefits and drawbacks, and presents some of the IoT applications, such as in transportation and healthcare. In addition, the trends and facts that are related to the IoT technologies on the marketplace are reviewed. Finally, the role of IoT in telemedicine and healthcare and the benefits of IoT technologies for COVID-19 are presented as well.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tarik A. Rashid
- Computer Science and Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, University of Kurdistan Hewler, Erbil 44001, KRG, Iraq
- Correspondence: (T.A.R.); (N.B.)
| | - Dalibor Radovanovic
- Departman of Informatics and Computing, Faculty of Informatics and Computing, Singidunum University, Danijelova 32, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia;
| | - Nebojsa Bacanin
- Departman of Informatics and Computing, Faculty of Informatics and Computing, Singidunum University, Danijelova 32, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia;
- Correspondence: (T.A.R.); (N.B.)
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Ahmad K, Alam F, Qadir J, Qolomany B, Khan I, Khan T, Suleman M, Said N, Hassan SZ, Gul A, Househ M, Al-Fuqaha A. Global User-Level Perception of COVID-19 Contact Tracing Applications: A Data-Driven Approach Using Natural Language Processing (Preprint). JMIR Form Res 2022; 6:e36238. [PMID: 35389357 PMCID: PMC9097863 DOI: 10.2196/36238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Contact tracing has been globally adopted in the fight to control the infection rate of COVID-19. To this aim, several mobile apps have been developed. However, there are ever-growing concerns over the working mechanism and performance of these applications. The literature already provides some interesting exploratory studies on the community’s response to the applications by analyzing information from different sources, such as news and users’ reviews of the applications. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no existing solution that automatically analyzes users’ reviews and extracts the evoked sentiments. We believe such solutions combined with a user-friendly interface can be used as a rapid surveillance tool to monitor how effective an application is and to make immediate changes without going through an intense participatory design method. Objective In this paper, we aim to analyze the efficacy of AI and NLP techniques for automatically extracting and classifying the polarity of users’ sentiments by proposing a sentiment analysis framework to automatically analyze users’ reviews on COVID-19 contact tracing mobile apps. We also aim to provide a large-scale annotated benchmark data set to facilitate future research in the domain. As a proof of concept, we also developed a web application based on the proposed solutions, which is expected to help the community quickly analyze the potential of an application in the domain. Methods We propose a pipeline starting from manual annotation via a crowd-sourcing study and concluding with the development and training of artificial intelligence (AI) models for automatic sentiment analysis of users’ reviews. In detail, we collected and annotated a large-scale data set of user reviews on COVID-19 contact tracing applications. We used both classical and deep learning methods for classification experiments. Results We used 8 different methods on 3 different tasks, achieving up to an average F1 score of 94.8%, indicating the feasibility of the proposed solution. The crowd-sourcing activity resulted in a large-scale benchmark data set composed of 34,534 manually annotated reviews. Conclusions The existing literature mostly relies on the manual or exploratory analysis of users’ reviews on applications, which is tedious and time-consuming. In existing studies, generally, data from fewer applications are analyzed. In this work, we showed that AI and natural language processing techniques provide good results for analyzing and classifying users’ sentiments’ polarity and that automatic sentiment analysis can help to analyze users’ responses more accurately and quickly. We also provided a large-scale benchmark data set. We believe the presented analysis, data set, and proposed solutions combined with a user-friendly interface can be used as a rapid surveillance tool to analyze and monitor mobile apps deployed in emergency situations leading to rapid changes in the applications without going through an intense participatory design method.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kashif Ahmad
- Information and Computing Technology Division, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Firoj Alam
- Qatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Junaid Qadir
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Basheer Qolomany
- Department of Cyber Systems, University of Nebraska, Kearney, NE, United States
| | - Imran Khan
- Department of Computer Systems Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Talhat Khan
- Department of Computer Systems Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Suleman
- Department of Computer Systems Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Naina Said
- Department of Computer Systems Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | | | - Asma Gul
- Department of Statistics, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Mowafa Househ
- Information and Computing Technology Division, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ala Al-Fuqaha
- Information and Computing Technology Division, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Alshawi A, Al-Razgan M, AlKallas FH, Bin Suhaim RA, Al-Tamimi R, Alharbi N, AlSaif SO. Data privacy during pandemics: a systematic literature review of COVID-19 smartphone applications. PeerJ Comput Sci 2022; 8:e826. [PMID: 35111915 PMCID: PMC8771796 DOI: 10.7717/peerj-cs.826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND On January 8, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially announced a new virus in Wuhan, China. The first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) case was discovered on December 1, 2019, implying that the disease was spreading quietly and quickly in the community before reaching the rest of the world. To deal with the virus' wide spread, countries have deployed contact tracing mobile applications to control viral transmission. Such applications collect users' information and inform them if they were in contact with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19. However, these applications might have affected human rights by breaching users' privacy. METHODOLOGY This systematic literature review followed a comprehensive methodology to highlight current research discussing such privacy issues. First, it used a search strategy to obtain 808 relevant papers published in 2020 from well-established digital libraries. Second, inclusion/exclusion criteria and the snowballing technique were applied to produce more comprehensive results. Finally, by the application of a quality assessment procedure, 40 studies were chosen. RESULTS This review highlights privacy issues, discusses centralized and decentralized models and the different technologies affecting users' privacy, and identifies solutions to improve data privacy from three perspectives: public, law, and health considerations. CONCLUSIONS Governments need to address the privacy issues related to contact tracing apps. This can be done through enforcing special policies to guarantee users privacy. Additionally, it is important to be transparent and let users know what data is being collected and how it is being used.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amany Alshawi
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
36
|
Wong ZSY, Rigby M. Identifying and addressing digital health risks associated with emergency pandemic response: Problem identification, scoping review, and directions toward evidence-based evaluation. Int J Med Inform 2022; 157:104639. [PMID: 34768031 PMCID: PMC8572581 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital health applications in multifaceted disease management dimensions. This study aims (1) to identify risk issues relating to the rapid development and redeployment of COVID-19 related e-health systems, in primary care, and in the health ecosystems interacting with it and (2) to suggest evidence-based evaluation directions under emergency response. METHOD After initial brainstorming of digital health risks posed in this pandemic, a scoping review method was adopted to collect evidence across databases of PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE. Peer-review publications, reports, news sources, and websites that credibly identified the challenges relating digital health scaled for COVID-19 were scrutinized. Additional supporting materials were obtained through snowball sampling and the authors' global digital health networks. Studies satisfying the selection criteria were charted based on their study design, primary care focus, and coverage of e-health areas of risk. RESULTS Fifty-eight studies were mapped for qualitative synthesis. Five identified digital health risk areas associated with the pandemic were governance, system design and coordination, information access, service provision, and user (professional and public) reception. We observed that rapid digital health responses may embed challenges in health system thinking, the long-term development of digital health ecosystems, and interoperability of health IT infrastructure, with concomitant weaknesses in existing evaluation theories. CONCLUSION Through identifying digital health risks posed during the pandemic, this paper discussed potential directions for next-generation informatics evaluation development, to better prepare for the post-COVID-19 era, a new future epidemic, or other unforeseen global health emergencies. An updated evidence-based approach to health informatics is essential to gain public confidence in digital health across primary and other health sectors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zoie Shui-Yee Wong
- Graduate School of Public Health, St. Luke's International University, Japan.
| | - Michael Rigby
- School of Social, Political and Global Studies, and School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University, UK
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Alkhaldi AN. Digital Exclusion During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Electronic Government Research 2022. [DOI: 10.4018/ijegr.306231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the reliance on digital services increased in most developed countries leaving many communities who are digitally excluded cut-off from vital services such as health and social care. Globally, digital exclusion is proposed to be one of the largest issues on discrimination within countries where smart cities and digital-by-default policies have been promoted, preventing certain groups of society from having access to public services. Addressing why people are being digitally excluded is important in improving the access people have to healthcare and other services that improve a person’s quality of life. Through a focused review of literature and publicly available secondary information, this paper examines the impact of Covid-19 on digital exclusion in Europe, Scandinavia, North America and Asia Pacific region and the methods that have been successful in limiting digital exclusion. Results show that while some countries handled the COVID 19 pandemic well, other countries’ attempts widened the gap with more people becoming digitally excluded.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Afnan N. Alkhaldi
- International University of Science and Technology in Kuwait, Kuwait
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Franch-pardo I, Barea-navarro I, Sturdivant E. Spatial analysis tools to address the geographic dimension of COVID-19. Sensing Tools and Techniques for COVID-19 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-90280-9.00014-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
39
|
Čolaković A, Avdagić-Golub E, Begović M, Memić B, Hasković-Džubur A. Application of machine learning in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic: A review. Acta fac medic Naissensis 2022. [DOI: 10.5937/afmnai39-38354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Machine learning (ML) plays a significant role in the fight against the COVID-19 (officially known as SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. ML techniques enable the rapid detection of patterns and trends in large datasets. Therefore, ML provides efficient methods to generate knowledge from structured and unstructured data. This potential is particularly significant when the pandemic affects all aspects of human life. It is necessary to collect a large amount of data to identify methods to prevent the spread of infection, early detection, reduction of consequences, and finding appropriate medicine. Modern information and communication technologies (ICT) such as the Internet of Things (IoT) allow the collection of large amounts of data from various sources. Thus, we can create predictive ML-based models for assessments, predictions, and decisions. Methods: This is a review article based on previous studies and scientifically proven knowledge. In this paper, bibliometric data from authoritative databases of research publications (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed) are combined for bibliometric analyses in the context of ML applications for COVID-19. Aim: This paper reviews some ML-based applications used for mitigating COVID-19. We aimed to identify and review ML potentials and solutions for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to present some of the most commonly used ML techniques, algorithms, and datasets applied in the context of COVID-19. Also, we provided some insights into specific emerging ideas and open issues to facilitate future research. Conclusion: ML is an effective tool for diagnosing and early detection of symptoms, predicting the spread of a pandemic, developing medicines and vaccines, etc.
Collapse
|
40
|
Mbunge E, Jiyane S, Muchemwa B. Towards emotive sensory Web in virtual health care: Trends, technologies, challenges and ethical issues. Sensors International 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sintl.2021.100134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
|
41
|
Boluwaji A. Akinnuwesi, Faith-Michael E. Uzoka, Stephen G. Fashoto, Elliot Mbunge, Adedoyin Odumabo, Oluwaseun O. Amusa, Moses Okpeku, Olumide Owolabi. A modified UTAUT model for the acceptance and use of digital technology for tackling COVID-19. Sustainable Operations and Computers 2022; 3. [ DOI: 10.1016/j.susoc.2021.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic expedites the development of digital technologies to tackle the spread of the virus. Several digital interventions have been deployed to reduce the catastrophic impact of the pandemic and observe preventive measures. However, the adoption and utilization of these technologies by the affected populace has been a daunting task. Therefore, this study carried out exploratory investigation of the factors influencing the behavioural intention (BI) of people to accept COVID-19 digital tackling technologies (CDTT) using the UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) framework. The study applied principal components analysis and multiple regression analysis for hypotheses testing. The study revealed that performance expectancy (PE), facilitating conditions (FC) and social influence (SI) are the best predictors of people's BI to accept CDTT. Also, organizational influence and benefit (OIB) and government expectancy and benefits (GEB) influence the people's BI. However, variables such as age, gender and voluntariness to use CDTT have no significance to influence BI because the CDTT is still nascent and not easily accessible. The results show that the decision-makers and regulators should consider inciting variables such as PE, FC, SI, OIB and GEB, that motivate the acceptance and use of CDTT. Furthermore, the populace must be sensitized to the availability and use of CDTT in all communities. Also, the path diagram and hypothesis testing results for CDTT acceptance and use, will help government and private organizations in planning and responding to the digitalization of COVID-19 protective measures and hence revise the COVID-19 health protection regulation.
Collapse
|
42
|
Alo UR, Nkwo FO, Nweke HF, Achi II, Okemiri HA. Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions against COVID-19 Pandemic: Review of Contact Tracing and Social Distancing Technologies, Protocols, Apps, Security and Open Research Directions. Sensors (Basel) 2021; 22:280. [PMID: 35009822 PMCID: PMC8749862 DOI: 10.3390/s22010280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 Pandemic has punched a devastating blow on the majority of the world's population. Millions of people have been infected while hundreds of thousands have died of the disease throwing many families into mourning and other psychological torments. It has also crippled the economy of many countries of the world leading to job losses, high inflation, and dwindling Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The duo of social distancing and contact tracing are the major technological-based non-pharmaceutical public health intervention strategies adopted for combating the dreaded disease. These technologies have been deployed by different countries around the world to achieve effective and efficient means of maintaining appropriate distance and tracking the transmission pattern of the diseases or identifying those at high risk of infecting others. This paper aims to synthesize the research efforts on contact tracing and social distancing to minimize the spread of COVID-19. The paper critically and comprehensively reviews contact tracing technologies, protocols, and mobile applications (apps) that were recently developed and deployed against the coronavirus disease. Furthermore, the paper discusses social distancing technologies, appropriate methods to maintain distances, regulations, isolation/quarantine, and interaction strategies. In addition, the paper highlights different security/privacy vulnerabilities identified in contact tracing and social distancing technologies and solutions against these vulnerabilities. We also x-rayed the strengths and weaknesses of the various technologies concerning their application in contact tracing and social distancing. Finally, the paper proposed insightful recommendations and open research directions in contact tracing and social distancing that could assist researchers, developers, and governments in implementing new technological methods to combat the menace of COVID-19.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Uzoma Rita Alo
- Department of Computer Science and Informatics, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo P.M.B 1010, Abakaliki 480211, Ebonyi State, Nigeria; (F.O.N.); (I.I.A.); (H.A.O.)
| | - Friday Onwe Nkwo
- Department of Computer Science and Informatics, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo P.M.B 1010, Abakaliki 480211, Ebonyi State, Nigeria; (F.O.N.); (I.I.A.); (H.A.O.)
| | - Henry Friday Nweke
- Centre for Research in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Network Systems, Computer Science Department, Ebonyi State University, P.M.B 053, Abakaliki 480211, Ebonyi State, Nigeria;
| | - Ifeanyi Isaiah Achi
- Department of Computer Science and Informatics, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo P.M.B 1010, Abakaliki 480211, Ebonyi State, Nigeria; (F.O.N.); (I.I.A.); (H.A.O.)
| | - Henry Anayo Okemiri
- Department of Computer Science and Informatics, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo P.M.B 1010, Abakaliki 480211, Ebonyi State, Nigeria; (F.O.N.); (I.I.A.); (H.A.O.)
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Khan M, Mehran MT, Haq ZU, Ullah Z, Naqvi SR, Ihsan M, Abbass H. Applications of artificial intelligence in COVID-19 pandemic: A comprehensive review. Expert Syst Appl 2021; 185:115695. [PMID: 34400854 PMCID: PMC8359727 DOI: 10.1016/j.eswa.2021.115695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
During the current global public health emergency caused by novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), researchers and medical experts started working day and night to search for new technologies to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent studies have shown that artificial intelligence (AI) has been successfully employed in the health sector for various healthcare procedures. This study comprehensively reviewed the research and development on state-of-the-art applications of artificial intelligence for combating the COVID-19 pandemic. In the process of literature retrieval, the relevant literature from citation databases including ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Preprints from arXiv, medRxiv, and bioRxiv was selected. Recent advances in the field of AI-based technologies are critically reviewed and summarized. Various challenges associated with the use of these technologies are highlighted and based on updated studies and critical analysis, research gaps and future recommendations are identified and discussed. The comparison between various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) methods, the dominant AI-based technique, mostly used ML and DL methods for COVID-19 detection, diagnosis, screening, classification, drug repurposing, prediction, and forecasting, and insights about where the current research is heading are highlighted. Recent research and development in the field of artificial intelligence has greatly improved the COVID-19 screening, diagnostics, and prediction and results in better scale-up, timely response, most reliable, and efficient outcomes, and sometimes outperforms humans in certain healthcare tasks. This review article will help researchers, healthcare institutes and organizations, government officials, and policymakers with new insights into how AI can control the COVID-19 pandemic and drive more research and studies for mitigating the COVID-19 outbreak.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Muzammil Khan
- School of Chemical & Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences & Technology, H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Taqi Mehran
- School of Chemical & Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences & Technology, H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Zeeshan Ul Haq
- School of Chemical & Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences & Technology, H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Zahid Ullah
- School of Chemical & Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences & Technology, H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Salman Raza Naqvi
- School of Chemical & Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences & Technology, H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Mehreen Ihsan
- Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 25000, Pakistan
| | - Haider Abbass
- National Cyber Security Auditing and Evaluation LAb, National University of Sciences & Technology, MCS Campus, Rawalpindi 43600, Pakistan
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Adil M, Khan MK. Emerging IoT Applications in Sustainable Smart Cities for COVID-19: Network Security and Data Preservation Challenges with Future Directions. Sustain Cities Soc 2021; 75:103311. [PMID: 34540568 PMCID: PMC8434888 DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 is a global infectious disease that can be easily spread by the contiguity of infected people. To prevent from COVID-19 and reduce its impact in sustainable smart cities, the global research communities are working relentlessly by harnessing the emerging technologies to develop the safest diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment procedures, and Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the pioneers among them. IoT can perform a pivotal role to diminish its immense contagious rate by suitable utilization in emerging healthcare IoT applications in sustainable smart cities. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to outline a survey of the emerging healthcare IoT applications practiced in the perspective of COVID-19 pandemic in terms of network architecture security, trustworthiness, authentication, and data preservation followed by identifying existing challenges to set the future research directions. The salient contributions of this work deal with the accomplishment of a detailed and comprehensive literature review of COVID-19 starting from 2019 through 2021 in the context of emerging healthcare IoT technology. In addition, we extend the correlated contributions of this work by highlighting the weak aspects of the existing emerging healthcare IoT applications, security of different network layers and secure communication environment followed by some associated requirements to address these challenges. Moreover, we also identify future research directions in sustainable smart cities for emerging healthcare IoT utilization in the context of COVID-19 with the most productive results and least network implementation costs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Adil
- Department of Computer Science, Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore, Pakistan
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida, USA
| | - Muhammad Khurram Khan
- Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Mbunge E, Muchemwa B, Jiyane S, Batani J. Sensors and healthcare 5.0: transformative shift in virtual care through emerging digital health technologies. Global Health Journal 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.glohj.2021.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
|
46
|
Yang A, Yang J, Yang D, Xu R, He Y, Aragon A, Qiu H. Human Mobility to Parks Under the COVID-19 Pandemic and Wildfire Seasons in the Western and Central United States. Geohealth 2021; 5:e2021GH000494. [PMID: 34859167 PMCID: PMC8617567 DOI: 10.1029/2021gh000494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In 2020, people's health suffered a great crisis under the dual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extensive, severe wildfires in the western and central United States. Parks, including city, national, and cultural parks, offer a unique opportunity for people to maintain their recreation behaviors following the social distancing protocols during the pandemic. However, massive forest wildfires in western and central US, producing harmful toxic gases and smoke, pose significant threats to human health and affect their recreation behaviors and mobility to parks. In this study, we employed the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) Models to investigate how COVID-19 and wildfires jointly shaped human mobility to parks, regarding the number of visits per capita, dwell time, and travel distance to parks, during June - September 2020. We detected strong correlations between visitations and COVID-19 incidence in southern Montana, western Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah before August. However, the pattern was weakened over time, indicating the decreasing trend of the degree of concern regarding the pandemic. Moreover, more park visits and lower dwell time were found in parks further away from wildfires and less air pollution in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, and New Mexico, during the wildfire season, suggesting the potential avoidance of wildfires when visiting parks. This study provides important insights on people's responses in recreation and social behaviors when facing multiple severe crises that impact their health and wellbeing, which could support the preparation and mitigation of the health impacts from future pandemics and natural hazards.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anni Yang
- Department of Geography and Environmental SustainabilityUniversity of OklahomaNormanOKUSA
| | - Jue Yang
- Department of GeographyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGAUSA
| | - Di Yang
- Wyoming Geographic Information CenterUniversity of WyomingLaramieWYUSA
| | - Rongting Xu
- Forest Ecosystems and SocietyOregon State UniversityCorvallisORUSA
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences DivisionLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Yaqian He
- Department of GeographyUniversity of Central ArkansasConwayARUSA
| | - Amanda Aragon
- Department of GeographyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGAUSA
| | - Han Qiu
- Department of Forest and Wildlife EcologyUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWIUSA
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Javaid M, Haleem A, Pratap Singh R, Suman R. Pedagogy and innovative care tenets in COVID-19 pandemic: An enhancive way through Dentistry 4.0. Sens Int 2021; 2:100118. [PMID: 34766061 PMCID: PMC8302480 DOI: 10.1016/j.sintl.2021.100118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The global oral healthcare sector has now woken to implement Dentistry 4.0. The implementation of this revolution is feasible with extensive digital and advanced technologies applications and the adoption of new sets of processes in dentistry & its support areas. COVID-19 has bought new challenges to dental professionals and patients towards their customised requirements, regular dental health checkups, fast-paced and safe procedures. People are not visiting the dentist even for mild cases as they fear COVID-19 infection. We see that this set of technologies will help improve health education and treatment process and materials and minimise the infection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to understand the possible impact of Dentistry 4.0 for education and innovative care. This paper discusses the significant benefits of Dentistry 4.0 technologies for the smart education platform and dentistry treatment. Finally, this article identifies twenty significant enhancements in dental education and effective care platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic by employing Dentistry 4.0 technologies. Thus, proper implementation of these technologies will improve the process efficiency in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dentistry 4.0 technologies drive innovations to improve the quality of internet-connected healthcare devices. It creates automation and exchanges data to make a smart health care system. Therefore, helps better healthcare services, planning, monitoring, teaching, learning, treatment, and innovation capability. These technologies moved to smart transportation systems in the hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Modern manufacturing technologies create digital transformation in manufacturing, optimises the operational processes and enhances productivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Javaid
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
| | - Abid Haleem
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
| | - Ravi Pratap Singh
- Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
| | - Rajiv Suman
- Department of Industrial & Production Engineering, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Chitungo I, Mhango M, Mbunge E, Dzobo M, Musuka G, Dzinamarira T. Utility of telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. A rapid review. Hum Behav Emerg Technol 2021; 3:843-853. [PMID: 34901772 PMCID: PMC8653215 DOI: 10.1002/hbe2.297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Telemedicine is the use of technology to achieve remote care. This review looks at the utility of telemedicine during the pandemic, period March 2020 to February 2021. Eleven articles met inclusion criteria. There was moderate use of telemedicine in sub‐Sahara Africa during the pandemic, however, there were also some limitations. Benefits of telemedicine include continuing medical service provision, connecting relatives with loved ones in quarantine, education, and awareness of mental health issues, and toxicovigilance and infection control. Challenges to the implementation of telemedicine on the continent were lack of supporting telemedicine framework and policies, digital barriers, and patient and healthcare personnel biases. To address these challenges, this article proposes the development of policy frameworks that fosters telemedicine use by all stakeholders, including medical insurance organizations, the introduction of telemedicine training of medical workers, educational awareness programs for the public, and improvement of digital platforms access and affordability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Itai Chitungo
- Department of Laboratory Diagnostics and Investigative Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Zimbabwe Harare Zimbabwe
| | - Malizgani Mhango
- School of Public Health University of Western Cape Cape Town South Africa
| | - Elliot Mbunge
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Kwaluseni Eswatini
| | - Mathias Dzobo
- Department of Laboratory Diagnostics and Investigative Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Zimbabwe Harare Zimbabwe
| | | | - Tafadzwa Dzinamarira
- ICAP at Columbia University Harare Zimbabwe.,School of Health Systems & Public Health University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Zhao IY, Ma YX, Yu MWC, Liu J, Dong WN, Pang Q, Lu XQ, Molassiotis A, Holroyd E, Wong CWW. Ethics, Integrity, and Retributions of Digital Detection Surveillance Systems for Infectious Diseases: Systematic Literature Review. J Med Internet Res 2021; 23:e32328. [PMID: 34543228 PMCID: PMC8530254 DOI: 10.2196/32328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the importance of the deployment of digital detection surveillance systems to support early warning and monitoring of infectious diseases. These opportunities create a “double-edge sword,” as the ethical governance of such approaches often lags behind technological achievements. Objective The aim was to investigate ethical issues identified from utilizing artificial intelligence–augmented surveillance or early warning systems to monitor and detect common or novel infectious disease outbreaks. Methods In a number of databases, we searched relevant articles that addressed ethical issues of using artificial intelligence, digital surveillance systems, early warning systems, and/or big data analytics technology for detecting, monitoring, or tracing infectious diseases according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, and further identified and analyzed them with a theoretical framework. Results This systematic review identified 29 articles presented in 6 major themes clustered under individual, organizational, and societal levels, including awareness of implementing digital surveillance, digital integrity, trust, privacy and confidentiality, civil rights, and governance. While these measures were understandable during a pandemic, the public had concerns about receiving inadequate information; unclear governance frameworks; and lack of privacy protection, data integrity, and autonomy when utilizing infectious disease digital surveillance. The barriers to engagement could widen existing health care disparities or digital divides by underrepresenting vulnerable and at-risk populations, and patients’ highly sensitive data, such as their movements and contacts, could be exposed to outside sources, impinging significantly upon basic human and civil rights. Conclusions Our findings inform ethical considerations for service delivery models for medical practitioners and policymakers involved in the use of digital surveillance for infectious disease spread, and provide a basis for a global governance structure. Trial Registration PROSPERO CRD42021259180; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=259180
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivy Y Zhao
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ye Xuan Ma
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Man Wai Cecilia Yu
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wei Nan Dong
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Qin Pang
- Department of Information Technology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiao Qin Lu
- School of General Practice and Continuing Education, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Alex Molassiotis
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Eleanor Holroyd
- School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Chi Wai William Wong
- Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has widely spread with an increasing infection rate through more than 200 countries. The governments of the world need to record the confirmed infectious, recovered, and death cases for the present state and predict the cases. In favor of future case prediction, governments can impose opening and closing procedures to save human lives by slowing down the pandemic progression spread. There are several forecasting models for pandemic time series based on statistical processing and machine learning algorithms. Deep learning has been proven as an excellent tool for time series forecasting problems. This paper proposes a deep learning time-series prediction model to forecast the confirmed, recovered, and death cases. Our proposed network is based on an encoding–decoding deep learning network. Moreover, we optimize the selection of our proposed network hyper-parameters. Our proposed forecasting model was applied in Saudi Arabia. Then, we applied the proposed model to other countries. Our study covers two categories of countries that have witnessed different spread waves this year. During our experiments, we compared our proposed model and the other time-series forecasting models, which totaled fifteen prediction models: three statistical models, three deep learning models, seven machine learning models, and one prophet model. Our proposed forecasting model accuracy was assessed using several statistical evaluation criteria. It achieved the lowest error values and achieved the highest R-squared value of 0.99. Our proposed model may help policymakers to improve the pandemic spread control, and our method can be generalized for other time series forecasting tasks.
Collapse
|