COVID-19 Flow-Maps an open geographic information system on COVID-19 and human mobility for Spain.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ponce-de-Leon M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8633006 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundThe indicators of the pandemic have been based on the total number of diagnosed cases of COVID-19, the number of people hospitalized or in intensive care units, and deaths from the infection. The aim of this study is to describe the available data on diagnostic tests, health service used for the diagnosis of COVID-19, case detection and monitoring.MethodDescriptive study with review of official data available on the websites of the Spanish health councils corresponding to 17 Autonomous Communities, 2 Autonomous cities and the Ministry of Health. The variables collected refer to contact tracing, technics for diagnosis, use of health services and follow-up.Resultsall regions of Spain show data on diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. Hospitalized cases and intensive care admissions are shown in all regions except the Balearic Islands. Diagnostic tests for COVID-19 have been registered in all regions except Madrid region and Extremadura, with scarcely information on what type of test has been performed (present in 7 CCAA), requesting service and study of contacts.ConclusionsThe information available on the official websites of the Health Departments of the different regions of Spain are heterogeneous. Data from the use of health service or workload in Primary Care, Emergency department or Out of hours services are almost non-existent.
| S-EPMC9554340 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has suddenly modified the lifestyle of a large portion of the population around the world. This pandemic is also the first one in decades that has severely impacted many countries of the Global North. Governments have had to adopt wide-scope and desperate measures to face the abnormal situation and to reduce the stress of their health care systems. These measures have been based on reducing the physical-social interaction and mobility (closing schools and some economic activities, or fostering telework, among others), increasing the physical distance between people, and recommending washing hands frequently and wearing masks. Thus, the COVID-19 may change many habits of people and the ways we interact with others after the current pandemic. It would also imply changes in mobility habits. Many questions arise about the willingness and acceptability of changes, and who would have to impulse them and how. This paper aims to study and understand individuals' acceptability towards a set of generic measures related to urban mobility in Spain, one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, we conducted an online survey during the lockdown in Spring (2020). More than 75% of respondents would accept restrictions on car use after the return to normal, and more than 90% agree on increasing the space for pedestrians and cyclists on streets. Furthermore, 75% of respondents would change the primary transport mode towards a more sustainable transport mode if it would decrease the incidence or severity of the COVID-19. These results show that the respondents are overall in favor of a new urban hierarchy that gives more importance to the most sustainable modes, reducing the public space devoted to the car, which means the possibility of turning the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity to make Spanish cities more sustainable.
| S-EPMC9759421 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Africa is an urgent public health crisis. Estimated models projected over 150,000 deaths and 4,600,000 hospitalizations in the first year of the disease in the absence of adequate interventions. Therefore, electronic contact tracing and surveillance have critical roles in decreasing COVID-19 transmission; yet, if not conducted properly, these methods can rapidly become a bottleneck for synchronized data collection, case detection, and case management. While the continent is currently reporting relatively low COVID-19 cases, digitized contact tracing mechanisms and surveillance reporting are necessary for standardizing real-time reporting of new chains of infection in order to quickly reverse growing trends and halt the pandemic.ObjectiveThis paper aims to describe a COVID-19 contact tracing smartphone app that includes health facility surveillance with a real-time visualization platform. The app was developed by the AFRO (African Regional Office) GIS (geographic information system) Center, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency preparedness and response team. The app was developed through the expertise and experience gained from numerous digital apps that had been developed for polio surveillance and immunization via the WHO's polio program in the African region.MethodsWe repurposed the GIS infrastructures of the polio program and the database structure that relies on mobile data collection that is built on the Open Data Kit. We harnessed the technology for visualization of real-time COVID-19 data using dynamic dashboards built on Power BI, ArcGIS Online, and Tableau. The contact tracing app was developed with the pragmatic considerations of COVID-19 peculiarities. The app underwent testing by field surveillance colleagues to meet the requirements of linking contacts to cases and monitoring chains of transmission. The health facility surveillance app was developed from the knowledge and assessment of models of surveillance at the health facility level for other diseases of public health importance. The Integrated Supportive Supervision app was added as an appendage to the pre-existing paper-based surveillance form. These two mobile apps collected information on cases and contact tracing, alongside alert information on COVID-19 reports at the health facility level; the information was linked to visualization platforms in order to enable actionable insights.ResultsThe contact tracing app and platform were piloted between April and June 2020; they were then put to use in Zimbabwe, Benin, Cameroon, Uganda, Nigeria, and South Sudan, and their use has generated some palpable successes with respect to COVID-19 surveillance. However, the COVID-19 health facility-based surveillance app has been used more extensively, as it has been used in 27 countries in the region.ConclusionsIn light of the above information, this paper was written to give an overview of the app and visualization platform development, app and platform deployment, ease of replicability, and preliminary outcome evaluation of their use in the field. From a regional perspective, integration of contact tracing and surveillance data into one platform provides the AFRO with a more accurate method of monitoring countries' efforts in their response to COVID-19, while guiding public health decisions and the assessment of risk of COVID-19.
| S-EPMC8972111 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC9070617 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this paper, we examine whether relational mobility (RM) (the ability for individuals to voluntarily form and terminate relationships within a given social environment) on a country level related to individuals' tendencies to restrict their movement following the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic and following the issuance of stay-at-home orders in their country. We use data on geographic mobility, composed of records of geolocation information provided via mobile phones, to examine changes in geographic mobility at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We show that individuals in countries with higher RM tended to decrease their geographic mobility more than those in countries with lower RM following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar results were found for wealth gross domestic product (GDP), but were independent of RM. These results suggest that individuals in countries with higher RM were more responsive to calls to reduce geographic mobility.
| S-EPMC8502811 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Spatial epidemiology is used to evaluate geographical variations and disparities in health outcomes; however, constructing geographic statistical models requires a labor-intensive process that limits the overall utility. We developed an open-source software for spatial epidemiological analysis and demonstrated its applicability and quality. Based on standardized geocode and observational health data, the Application of Epidemiological Geographic Information System (AEGIS) provides two spatial analysis methods: disease mapping and detecting clustered medical conditions and outcomes. The AEGIS assesses the geographical distribution of incidences and health outcomes in Korea and the United States, specifically incidence of cancers and their mortality rates, endemic malarial areas, and heart diseases (only the United States). The AEGIS-generated spatial distribution of incident cancer in Korea was consistent with previous reports. The incidence of liver cancer in women with the highest Moran's I (0.44; p < 0.001) was 17.4 (10.3-26.9). The malarial endemic cluster was identified in Paju-si, Korea (p < 0.001). When the AEGIS was applied to the database of the United States, a heart disease cluster was appropriately identified (p < 0.001). As an open-source, cross-country, spatial analytics solution, AEGIS may globally assess the differences in geographical distribution of health outcomes through the use of standardized geocode and observational health databases.
| S-EPMC7663469 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite a half-century-long global eradication effort, polio continues to have a devastating impact on individuals and communities worldwide, especially in low-income countries affected by conflict or geographic barriers to immunization programs. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) employs disease surveillance and vaccination campaigns coordinated through the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) Geographic Information System (GIS) Centre. Established in 2017, the AFRO GIS Centre played a key role in the eradication of wild-type polioviruses (WPVs) in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic, emergence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses, and transmission of WPV1 from Central Asia have led to a resurgence of polio in Sub-Saharan Africa. The AFRO GIS comprises a set of mobile device or cloud-based tools for geospatial data collection, analysis, and visualization. Using tools such as Auto-Visual Acute Flaccid Paralysis Detection and Reporting, electronic surveillance, and Integrated Supportive Supervision, GIS personnel collect polio case numbers and locations, track field worker activities, follow the movements of nomadic populations vulnerable to polio and other diseases, and determine needs for further healthcare deployments. The system is location specific and operates in real time, enabling the AFRO GIS to promptly target its responses to polio, COVID-19, Ebola virus disease, and other public health crises and natural disasters. The present review describes the components of the AFRO GIS and how the AFRO GIS Centre coordinated on-the-ground polio eradication efforts to help secure Africa's certification as WPV free. It also examines current and prospective challenges regarding other disease outbreaks in the COVID-19 era and how the AFRO GIS Centre is addressing these ongoing public health needs.
| S-EPMC11326561 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundGeographic Information Systems (GIS) describe the topography and chronology of events in a defined vector space. GIS may also be used for an integrated analysis of environmental and road-related risk factors for traffic accidents.MethodsIn a retrospective study, various features of 165 road crashes were linked to a GIS-generated digital map of an area close to a national highway in India. By overlay tools, clusters of accidents were identified, and color-coded according to accident mechanisms and injury patterns.ResultsSpatial analysis revealed a cluster with a high incidence of motorbike injuries resulting in fractures. Examination of the spot demonstrated the risky combination of a speed breaker and a broken traffic light. After fixing the light, no further accidents occurred at the site.ConclusionGIS is a promising technology for geo-referencing accident data, and may be a valuable tool to identify areas of priority for injury prevention in India.
| S-EPMC2241765 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Given the increased internationalization of organizations and economies of scale concentrated in urban centers, graduates are often expected to relocate for their first job. Based on Hofstede's model and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we examine the effects of cultural dimensions (individualism-collectivism and uncertainty tolerance) as well as subjective norms (parents' and peers' attitudes towards geographic mobility) on readiness for geographic job-related mobility in samples of German and Spanish business management students ahead of graduation from university. The study involved administering a survey questionnaire to 273 third- and fourth-year business management students of two large universities (one in Germany and another in Spain). Cross-cultural measurement invariance of the measures was confirmed, allowing for comparison of scores across the groups. We found that German students had generally a larger geographical mobility, whose readiness was predicted by parents' and peers' perceived attitude and uncertainty tolerance. Readiness for geographic mobility was also higher when social or material incentives are offered, yet geographic mobility readiness for career incentives and for social incentives was predicted by vertical individualism and horizontal collectivism, respectively. This study is one of the first to examine geographic mobility readiness among undergraduate management students in the two countries, who by nature of their training are expected to be mobile. The study also shows the differential effects of sub-dimensions of the Hofstede cultural dimensions.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43545-021-00171-0.
| S-EPMC8225400 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study aimed to understand the dissemination of information relating to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its impact on nursing care in the early phase of transmission. COVID-19 has spread globally, causing an unprecedentedly large number of casualties. Nurses face challenges in dealing with patients with COVID-19 with limited information about the pathogen. This qualitative study followed the COREQ guidelines. Fifteen nurses were recruited from two university hospitals in South Korea using a snowballing technique for in-depth interviews in May 2020. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was performed on the interview data. Two themes emerged: access to COVID-19 information and the impact of information on nursing care. The categories of access to COVID-19 information were lack of nursing-specific information, limited information cascading from top management and confusion due to varying points of view. The categories of the impact of information on nursing care were unprepared management that aggravates exhaustion, lack of personal protective equipment that creates anxiety and being a nurse leader to overcome the pandemic. During a pandemic of emerging infectious diseases, nurses should have access to up-to-date information tailored to their working environment. Human resources, material resources and systematic support are needed for nurses who provide care for patients with an infectious disease. A collaborative interprofessional education system for emerging infectious diseases is needed for effective communication and consistent care during a pandemic. Nurse leaders should be prepared to deliver profession-specific information for standardised care and respond to nursing management needs by using resources and tailoring the workforce.
| S-EPMC8242378 | biostudies-literature