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Is Big Data a Big-help or Big-head in Epidemic Preparedness?
Big Data has the potential to revolutionize public healthcare in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite facing many challenges, such as limited resources and inadequate infrastructure, LMICs are seeing the benefits of utilizing big data to improve healthcare outcomes. Here are a few unique benefits of big data in #epidemicpreparedness, especially for LMICs.
Early detection and surveillance
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Big data helps to improve public health surveillance. By analyzing data from various sources, such as electronic health records, social media, and mobile health apps, healthcare professionals can identify trends and patterns that can inform their decision-making and lead to better public health outcomes For example, researchers use social media data to detect an outbreak of epidemic weeks before its official reporting (1) Also, electronic health records analysis will identify outbreaks (2)
Predictive modeling
Machine learning: Machine learning algorithms can be trained on historical data to predict the spread of outbreaks
GIS mapping: Geographic information systems (GIS) mapping helps forecast the spread of outbreaks based on demographics, travel patterns, and other factors For example, researchers in India used machine learning and GIS to predict the spread of COVID-19 (3)
Resource allocation
Big data can also improve resource allocation in public healthcare in LMICs By analyzing data from various sources, healthcare professionals can identify areas with high healthcare needs and allocate resources accordingly
Supply chain optimization: Big data can optimize the supply chain, ensuring that medical supplies and personnel are deployed to areas of high need (4)
Real-time tracking: Big data can be used to track the spread of an outbreak in real-time For example, we can use the lessons learned from COVID-19 tracking in future epidemics (5)
Improving healthcare systems
Quality improvement: By analyzing patient data, healthcare systems can identify areas for improvement and implement quality improvement initiatives For example, researchers are working on big data to improve the quality of care for patients (6)
Precision Public Health: Big data can be used to develop clinical decision support tools, improving the accuracy of diagnoses and personalized treatment plans, popularly called ‘Precision public health ’ For example, by analyzing a patient’s genomic data, healthcare professionals can tailor treatments to their specific needs (7)
Written by, Srinivas Balusu
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