The Utilization of Health Informatics Interventions in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

Abstract

On March 11, 2020, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the highly infectious virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), was characterized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic [1,2]. Due to its highly contagious nature, COVID-19 has catalyzed the introduction of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing and quarantine measures [6]. Thus, the pandemic has shifted society to become reliant on healthcare technologies. The objective of this scoping review is to establish what health informatics interventions have been applied, validated and tested globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings demonstrated a range of 12 types of health informatics interventions with various global applications and use. As evidenced by the intervention heterogeneity, the necessity to adopt a global cohesive strategy to improve human safety through the utilization of smart, efficient, and communicable technologies is vital.

Interpreting Laboratory Results with Complementary Health Information: A Human Factors Perspective

“…The desire to access personal and high-quality health information electronically is becoming more prominent not only in Canada, but globally [1][2][3]. The COVID -19 pandemic further motivated the desire and demand for telemedicine and timely access to personal health data such as online laboratory (lab) results [4,5]. Consequently, patient portals (i.e., personal health records [6]) are increasingly being viewed as technological resources that can assist citizens (e.g., caregivers, patients) in managing disease and diagnostic testing [7].…”

Humanizing Big Data and Detailing Social Determinants of Health via Information Visualizations

“…As of April 12, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 762,791,152 cases of COVID-19, which has resulted in 6,897,025 documented deaths [1]. The pandemic has been a catastrophic and unquantifiable devastation on humanity and the global healthcare sector at large [2]. Initially poised to impact global citizens homogeneously, the data reveals that racial and ethnic disparities exist with respect to the burden of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 [3].…”