Next Big Thing | Using Big Data to Gain Insight to the Spread of Diseases

8/13/2019 Next Big Thing | Using Big Data to Gain Insight to the Spread of Diseases

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I N G R I D P A T I N O

Using Big Data to Understand

The Spread of Diseases


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Cell Phone Usage in Africa

Of the 6 billion mobile phone subscriptions in theworld, 5 billion of them are in developing nations.

In Africa, seven in ten own their own mobile phones.

Access is universal in countries like Algeria andSenegal.

In contrast, Madagascar and Burundi fall below the50% mark of cell phone users.


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Harvard Epidemiologists Use Mobile Phone Datato predict disease spread

Epidemiologist Caroline Buckeeuses data on populationmovements- gleaned frommobile phones- to build precisetools for disease prevention

She specifically looks at a townin Kenya called Kericho. Usingcell phone towers, Buckeeconcluded in her research thatpeople in Kericho were making16 times more trips to an areanorth of Lake Victoria, which isknown as a malaria hotspot.


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What does this data mean?

Buckee also discovered people traveled to a teaplantation full of migrant workers north of Lake

Victoria and flagged it as a probable area wheremalaria is spread from.

Before, it was understood this area was a malariahotspot but data detailing human movement wasnot that available: where people where going,

where did they come from, how long they stayedthere. This information was made possible by cellphone data.


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Outreach

Since then, Buckee and her colleagues have helpedpublic health officials tailor their findings by usingreal time targeted text message systems that alerttravelers entering Kerichoscell phone towers to usepreventive measures such as a bed net or stock up onmedicine.

It has also been important in helping where to focus

mosquito control areas. This helps contain thespread and minimizes wasted effort.


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Complications of the Innovation

Data mining is no stranger to the conflict of privacy.While the data that Buckee collects is solely locationtracking, business and other entities have datamined for purchasing information which crosses a

boundary of privacy

If this innovation is to be successful, it has to respectthe boundaries of privacy while only using location

tracking info.


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Will it succeed?

Its very difficult to measure theeffectiveness of a social marketingcampaign in general. BUT, usingthis data helps make socialmarketing campaigns about

malaria prevention more targeted. This can definitely increase

awareness and impact the rate ofadoption. People are more likelyto adopt the preventive measuresas a result of this marketingcampaign because of its moreperceptive to real time locations.

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Next Big Thing | Using Big Data to Gain Insight to the Spread of Diseases