Synergies Between Technology, Participation, and Citizen Science in a Community-Based Dengue Prevention Program

Parra, Cristhian; Cernuzzi, Luca; Rojas, Ricardo; Denis, Delsy; Rivas, Sofia; Paciello, Julio; Coloma, Joséfina; Holston, James

doi:10.1177/0002764220952113

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Also, in the same program, households received feedback to take specific actions to manage mosquito breeding sites (Suwanbamrung et al, 2018). Also, facilitated engagement between citizens and scientists was reported in different programs and countries (Lwin 2017;Parra et al 2020;Craig et al 2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodological Diversity in Citizen Science Mosquito Surveillance: A Scoping Review

Sousa

Craig

Chitkara

et al. 2022

CSTP

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Global concern regarding mosquito-borne disease emergence and re-emergence has driven the development of citizen science mosquito surveillance initiatives. Although these initiatives have shown great potential to assist local health authorities, ensuring outcomes are translatable to improved public health policy and practice remains challenging. Here we present a summary of citizen science mosquito surveillance programs worldwide, their focus, strategies, and outcomes, with a view to how best to apply this approach in their local areas. A scoping review of studies and reports was conducted through systematic search on electronic databases (Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar), grey literature, and other documents listed in the references of selected articles. A total of 33 citizen science studies included in this review described 29 citizen science mosquito surveillance projects operating in 16 countries, besides three programs with wide geographic coverage. The selected programs focused on different strategies and methods according to their local and national contextual needs. The majority of the programs reported being free or low in cost, and amenable to participants. Also, citizen scientists valued the opportunity to actively contribute to a scientific activity in which they saw value. Local and national programs have been successful in involving the broader public and yielding data on mosquito populations. However, to ensure the best public health outcomes, sustainability, and scalability, there is a need to continue engaging with stakeholders, including community members, researchers, public health agents, industry, and policymakers, and to bridge existing collaborations across different sectors.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodological Diversity in Citizen Science Mosquito Surveillance: A Scoping Review

Sousa

Craig

Chitkara

et al. 2022

CSTP

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“…The identification of trends in dengue cases can be used to support local public health policies and actions. Pre-planning of emergency mosquito control measures can help reduce the risk of a dengue outbreak [42,43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dengue Transmission Mapping with Weather-Based Predictive Model in Three Southernmost Provinces of Thailand

2021

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This study aimed to show maps and analyses that display dengue cases and weather-related factors on dengue transmission in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand, namely Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces. Data on the number of dengue cases and weather variables including rainfall, rainy day, mean temperature, min temperature, max temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure for the period from January 2015 to December 2019 were obtained from the Bureau of Epidemiology, Ministry of Public Health and the Meteorological Department of Southern Thailand, respectively. Spearman rank correlation test was performed at lags from zero to two months and the predictive modeling used time series Poisson regression analysis. The distribution of dengue cases showed that in Pattani and Yala provinces the most dengue cases occurred in June. Narathiwat province had the most dengue cases occurring in August. The air pressure, relative humidity, rainfall, rainy day, and min temperature are the main predictors in Pattani province, while air pressure, rainy day, and max/mean temperature seem to play important roles in the number of dengue cases in Yala and Narathiwat provinces. The goodness-of-fit analyses reveal that the model fits the data reasonably well. The results provide scientific information for creating effective dengue control programs in the community, and the predictive model can support decision making in public health organizations and for management of the environmental risk area.

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“…However, we have since developed an app and deployed it during the Asunci on, Paraguay study. 32 Although laborious, the manual collection and reporting of the data remained viable, reliable, and systematic throughout the Managua study. The protocol mobilized residents for face-to-face interactions and for using the software, both of which engaged them with evidence, education, and documentation.…”

Section: Community-based Arbovirus Vector Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since then, several of the intervention neighborhoods in Managua continue to use it systematically to reduce dengue infestation. In addition, its use for dengue control has expanded to Asunci on, Paraguay (2017-2019), 32 and it is used for Zika control in Nicaragua (2017-2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DengueChat: A Social and Software Platform for Community-based Arbovirus Vector Control

Holston

Suazo-Laguna

Harris

et al. 2021

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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The mosquito Aedes aegypti transmits arboviral diseases at extraordinary rates. Dengue alone afflicts 50 to 100 million people each year, with more than 3 billion at risk globally. This indicates that current approaches to prevention and control are inadequate, and that a paradigm shift from one that largely promotes vertical chemical-based control and vaccine development to one that also concentrates on eliminating the mosquito through actions by the communities it plagues is necessary. We have developed a new social and software platform, DengueChat (denguechat.org), to advance community interventions in arbovirus vector control. It is an interactive platform combining open-source digital communication technologies with face-to-face assemblies. It promotes resident participation in evidence collection, reporting, and analysis, and it incorporates pedagogic information, key messaging, and game concepts to motivate communities to implement vector reduction strategies. Using DengueChat, we conducted a 19-month pilot study in five neighborhoods of Managua, Nicaragua. The results strongly suggest that using the software produced value-added features that enhance community engagement. We measured the entomological and behavioral impacts at different time points and relative risk reduction of entomological indices at the end of the study. The entomological results showed significant risk reductions in disease transmission: Ae. aegypti larvae and pupae indices were reduced by approximately 44% in neighborhoods using DengueChat during one epidemic year, whereas control neighborhoods experienced an increase of more than 500%. A cluster permutation test determined that the probability of household positivity was significantly reduced in neighborhoods that participated in DengueChat compared with the reference neighborhoods (P = 0.0265). Therefore, DengueChat is a promising resource for vector control.

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Synergies Between Technology, Participation, and Citizen Science in a Community-Based Dengue Prevention Program

Cited by 11 publications

References 16 publications

Methodological Diversity in Citizen Science Mosquito Surveillance: A Scoping Review

Methodological Diversity in Citizen Science Mosquito Surveillance: A Scoping Review

Dengue Transmission Mapping with Weather-Based Predictive Model in Three Southernmost Provinces of Thailand

DengueChat: A Social and Software Platform for Community-based Arbovirus Vector Control

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