Digital Technology and Mobile Applications Impact on Zika and Ebola Epidemics Data Sharing and Emergency Response

Abstract

Increasing diversified world, era of international power diffusion and regionalisation as the world muddles through travel and trade to climate change requires promoting a more cohesive global regime to ameliorate the deficiencies in local and global 2013-2015 and 2015-2016 Ebola and Zika virus epidemics public health emergency of international concern respectively. Zika epidemics devastating and complex complications exposed the flaws in the global surveillance architecture to deal with cross-border health pandemics prevention and containment. This paper examines trade-off between technology-based data access and dissemination, Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemics complications and digital implications in care delivery solutions in pre-, during and post epidemics response and rebuilding. Our findings showed that IT-based health informatics and mobile applications are evolving and minimum global standards to open access and sharing of relevant epidemics data and information on risk communication. Public awareness and alertness, health promotion and education, counselling and guidelines on integrated syndrome surveillance and response were the most common goals and objectives during viral epidemics reduce and avert further transmission. The uses in healthcare services delivery, management, and planning was also documented and have played a critical role in raising awareness EVD and ZIKV travel restriction and delay pregnancy to women at reproductive age, effective use of personal protective equipment and cultural practices against EVD and ZIKV infections spread. Importantly, IT-based enhanced frontline improved collaborative data sharing and communication, coordinated response and recovery. The efficiency of IT-based data and information sharing and communication practices is of critical benefits for evidence informed early warning, social mobilization, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation capabilities. Mobile-based applications innovations during Zika and Ebola epidemics were very crucial for better evidence-based local and global preparedness and solutions to prevent and control epidemics impacts, promote shared benefits and economic growth.

Re-defining the Problem in Technology Aided Epidemic Prevention: from contact tracing to behavioral design

“…In the early 2010s, as mobile phones became increasingly common globally, several outbreaks and epidemics occurred around the world where the possibilities of utilizing mobile phones within infectious disease contexts gained increased attention. For example, the Zika virus epidemic in South America, the cholera outbreak in Haiti, and the Ebola epidemic starting in West Africa 2013-2016 (Bates, 2017;Bengtsson et al, 2011;Tambo et al, 2017). As the proliferation of mobile phones, and eventually smartphones, has increased, ideas and discussions have grown around how to use mobile phones to support information gathering and dissemination, disease monitoring, and contact tracing, where applications for patients or the public have grown in interest (D'Aloisio et al, 2019;Freifeld et al, 2010).…”

“…There are examples from previous epidemic outbreaks where mobile technologies have been used in track-trace strategies. But they also faced complexities (Danquah et al, 2019;Tambo et al, 2017;Tom-Aba et al, 2018).…”