scholarly journals Geospatial Analysis and Mapping Strategies for Fine-Grained and Detailed COVID-19 Data with GIS

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 602
Author(s):  
Angel Miramontes Carballada ◽  
Jose Balsa-Barreiro
Keyword(s):  
Geospatial Analysis ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
The Face ◽  
Predictive Risk ◽  
Optimal Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is showing dramatic impact across the world. Public health authorities attempt to fight against the virus while maintaining economic activity. In the face of the uncertainty derived from the virus, all the countries have adopted non-pharmaceutical interventions for limiting the mobility and maintaining social distancing. In order to support these interventions, some health authorities and governments have opted for sharing very fine-grained data related with the impact of the virus in their territories. Geographical science is playing a major role in terms of understanding how the virus spreads across regions. Location of cases allows identifying the spatial patterns traced by the virus. Understanding these patterns makes controlling the virus spread feasible, minimizes its impact in vulnerable regions, anticipates potential outbreaks, or elaborates predictive risk maps. The application of geospatial analysis to fine-grained data must be urgently adopted for optimal decision making in real and near-real time. However, some aspects related to process and map sensitive health data in emergency cases have not yet been sufficiently explored. Among them include concerns about how these datasets with sensitive information must be shown depending on aspects related to data aggregation, scaling, privacy issues, or the need to know in advance the particularities of the study area. In this paper, we introduce our experience in mapping fine-grained data related to the incidence of the COVID-19 during the first wave in the region of Galicia (NW Spain), and after that we discuss the mentioned aspects.

scholarly journals Geospatial Analysis and Mapping Strategies for Fine Grained and Detailed COVID-19 Data With Geographic Information Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
ÁNGEL MIRAMONTES CARBALLADA ◽  
JOSE BALSA-BARREIRO
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Location ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Temporal Behaviour ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Predictive Risk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The CoVID-19 pandemic is showing a dramatic impact across the world. To the tragedy of the loss of human lives, we must add the great uncertainty that the new coronavirus is causing to our lives. Governments and public health authorities must be able to respond this emergency by taking the appropriate decisions for minimizing the impact of the virus. In the absence of an immediate solution, governments have concentrated their efforts on adopting non-pharmaceutical interventions for restricting the mobility of people and reducing the social contact. Health authorities are publishing most of data for supporting their interventions and policies. The geographic location of the cases is a vital information with exceptional value for analysing the spatio-temporal behaviour of the virus, doing feasible to anticipate potential outbreaks and to elaborate predictive risk mapping. In fact, a great number of media reports, research papers, and web-browsers have presented the COVID-19 disease spreading by using maps. However, processing and visualization of this sort of data presents some aspects that must be carefully reviewed. Based on our experience with fine-grained and detailed data related to COVID-19 in a Spanish region, we present a bunch of mapping strategies and good practices using geospatial tools. The ultimate goal is create appropriate maps at any spatial scale while avoiding conflicts with data such as those related to patients’ privacy.

scholarly journals XarxaSalut, network of municipalities for health, Valencia Region (Spain): policy process evaluation

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Peiró Pérez ◽  
E Pérez Sanz ◽  
E Legaz Sanchez ◽  
J Quiles Izquierdo ◽  
Grupo XarxaSalut
Keyword(s):  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
The Impact

Abstract “XarxaSalut” started in 2017, with the municipalities that have taken the commitment to boost the Promotion of Health (HP) at the local level through community participation, intersectorality and equity perspective. The objective is to present a policy process evaluation (2'5 years) of the implementation of XarxaSalut. Different approaches have been used; a questionnaire addressed to the municipalities at the time of adhesion including data on intersectorality, participation, HP actions and open questions; description of instruments that Regional Public Health Authorities (RPHA) has mobilized and an analysis of barriers and strengths made by the coordination office. In 2017, 17 municipalities were joined, being 197 in February 2020 (70% of the population). 65% are in a process of an organizational change through the intersectoral, decision making and participative working group. 35% are doing analysis of determinants and /or health situation, assets maps and a prioritization of HP actions. The main barriers identified by municipalities are lack of economic and personal resources, and difficulties in achieve citizen participation. The main benefits were the optimization of resources, the exchange of experiences, training, or economic support from the RPHA. Some support instruments develop for RPHA are a collection of guides for community development, funds that the municipalities can apply to support actions related with training, HP action on vulnerable population, on asset maps, participation processes, vulnerable neighborhoods, etc.; Community actions have been included in the “Health Observatory” to give visibility and social support to XarxaSalut. Interdisciplinary training processes with health and municipal professionals have been made in order to develop a common language and strength the competences for HP. Lesson learned: The need to improve coordination and a common language between different types of participants and professionals Key messages The decision makers and professionals in the municipalities understand the impact in health of the policies developed at local level but needs guide and support to deal with it. The coordination between different administrations and primary health at local level and the misunderstandings about health and their determinants are the main aspect to reinforce.

scholarly journals The Impact of Covid-19 Public Health Policies on Persons with Disability and their Caregivers in Malta

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-37
Author(s):  
Andrew Camilleri ◽  
Samantha Pace Gasan ◽  
Andrew Azzopardi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Essential Services ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
The Impact

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health pandemic, due to the spread of a novel coronavirus, later named “Covid-19”. The spread of Covid-19 led to social isolation, distancing and a number of restrictive measures in Malta.  The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictive measures on persons with disability and their caregivers and families in Malta. Using thematic analysis, the study found that a variety of impacts ranging from a sense of isolation, lack of essential services being provided, additional difficulties encountered at the place of work and education and measures that were not sufficiently tailored for persons with disability issued by public health authorities. Underlying the additional difficulties brought about by Covid-19, structural difficulties to access essential services as well as ignorance from policy makers and politicians and the added “vulnerable-ization” of persons with disabilities were found to be highly impacting factors that pervade the experience of persons with disabilities and their caregivers.

The Carryover Effects of Preceding Interviewer–Respondent Interaction on Responses in Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanyu Sun ◽  
Frederick G Conrad ◽  
Frauke Kreuter
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
Carryover Effects ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
The Face ◽  
Audio Computer ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) has been widely used to collect sensitive information from respondents in face-to-face interviews. Interviewers ask questions that are not sensitive or only moderately sensitive and then allow respondents to self-administer more sensitive questions, listening to audio recordings of the questions and typically entering their responses directly into the same device that the interviewer has used. According to the conventional thinking, ACASI is taken as independent of the face-to-face interaction that almost always precedes it. Presumably as a result of this presumed independence, the respondents’ prior interaction with the interviewer is rarely considered when assessing the quality of ACASI responses. There is no body of existing research that has experimentally investigated how the preceding interviewer–respondent interaction may create sufficient social presence to affect responses in the subsequent ACASI module. The study reported here, a laboratory experiment with eight professional interviewers and 125 respondents, explores the carryover effects of preceding interactions between interviewer and respondent on responses in the subsequent ACASI. We evaluated the impact of the similarity of the live and recorded interviewer’s voice for each respondent as well as respondents’ rapport with interviewers in the preceding interview. We did not find significant main effects of vocal similarity on disclosure in ACASI. However, we found significant interaction effects between vocal similarity and respondents’ rapport ratings in the preceding interview on disclosure in ACASI. When the ACASI voice was similar to the interviewer’s voice in the preceding interaction, respondent-rated rapport led to more disclosure but, when the ACASI voice is clearly different from the interviewer’s voice, respondent-rated rapport in the prior interaction did not affect disclosure.

Model Analysis of Optimal Pollution Tax under Environment Rent Philosophy

2012 ◽  
Vol 524-527 ◽  
pp. 3411-3415
Author(s):  
Miao Sheng Chen ◽  
Hui Ling Lu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Model Analysis ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Pollution Tax ◽  
Mathematical Equations ◽  
Pollution Taxation ◽  
Optimal Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

This paper uses the concept of environment rent philosophy to explain rationale for government taxation and principles of taxation, and uses mathematical models to specifically discuss practical problems of government pollution taxation under this philosophy. The model provides mathematical equations for optimal decision-making by consumers, producers, and government and analyzes the impact of changes in taxation rates on the three parties.

scholarly journals Impact of data accuracy on the evaluation of COVID-19 mitigation policies

Data & Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Starnini ◽  
Alberto Aleta ◽  
Michele Tizzoni ◽  
Yamir Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Surveillance Data ◽  
Inaccurate Data ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Nonpharmaceutical Interventions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Extreme Care

Abstract Evaluating the effectiveness of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial to maximize the epidemic containment while minimizing the social and economic impact of these measures. However, this endeavor crucially relies on surveillance data publicly released by health authorities that can hide several limitations. In this article, we quantify the impact of inaccurate data on the estimation of the time-varying reproduction number $ R(t) $ , a pivotal quantity to gauge the variation of the transmissibility originated by the implementation of different NPIs. We focus on Italy and Spain, two European countries among the most severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. For these two countries, we highlight several biases of case-based surveillance data and temporal and spatial limitations in the data regarding the implementation of NPIs. We also demonstrate that a nonbiased estimation of $ R(t) $ could have had direct consequences on the decisions taken by the Spanish and Italian governments during the first wave of the pandemic. Our study shows that extreme care should be taken when evaluating intervention policies through publicly available epidemiological data and call for an improvement in the process of COVID-19 data collection, management, storage, and release. Better data policies will allow a more precise evaluation of the effects of containment measures, empowering public health authorities to take more informed decisions.

scholarly journals The importance of sustained compliance with physical distancing during COVID-19 vaccination rollout

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Teslya ◽  
Ganna Rozhnova ◽  
Thi Mui Pham ◽  
Daphne van Wees ◽  
Hendrik Nunner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Transmission Model ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Contact Rates ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Vaccination Campaigns ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Mass vaccination campaigns against SARS-CoV-2 are under way in many countries with the hope that increasing vaccination coverage will enable reducing current physical distancing measures. Compliance with these measures is waning, while more transmissible virus variants such as B.1.1.7 have emerged. Using SARS-CoV-2 transmission model we investigated the impact of the feedback between compliance, the incidence of infection, and vaccination coverage on the success of a vaccination programme in the population where waning of compliance depends on vaccine coverage. Our results suggest that the combination of fast waning compliance, slow vaccination rates, and more transmissible variants may result in a higher cumulative number of infections than in a situation without vaccination. These adverse effects can be alleviated if vaccinated individuals do not revert to pre-pandemic contact rates, and if non-vaccinated individuals remain compliant with physical distancing measures. Both require convincing, clear and appropriately targeted communication strategies by public health authorities.

scholarly journals Imprecise Action Selection in Substance Use Disorder: Evidence for Active Learning Impairments When Solving the Explore-Exploit Dilemma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Smith ◽  
Philipp Schwartenbeck ◽  
Jennifer Stewart ◽  
Rayus Kuplicki ◽  
Hamed Ekhtiari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Action Selection ◽  
Learning Rate ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Learning Impairments ◽  
The Face ◽  
Optimal Decision Making ◽  
Selection Mechanisms

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a major public health risk. However, mechanisms accounting for continued patterns of poor choices in the face of negative life consequences remain poorly understood. Methods: We use a computational (active inference) modeling approach, combined with multiple regression and hierarchical Bayesian group analyses, to examine how treatment-seeking individuals with one or more SUDs (alcohol, cannabis, sedatives, stimulants, hallucinogens, and/or opioids; N = 147) and healthy controls (HCs; N = 54) make choices to resolve uncertainty within a gambling task. A subset of SUDs (n = 49) and HCs (n = 51) propensity-matched on age, sex, and verbal IQ were also compared to replicate larger group findings. Results: Results indicate that: (a) SUDs show poorer task performance than HCs (p=.03, Cohen’s d = .33), with model estimates revealing less precise action selection mechanisms (p=.004, d = .43), a lower learning rate from losses (p=.02, d = .36), and a greater learning rate from gains (p=.04, d = .31); and (b) groups do not differ significantly in goal-directed information seeking. Conclusions: Findings suggest a pattern of inconsistent behavior in response to positive outcomes in SUDs combined with a tendency to attribute negative outcomes to chance. Specifically, individuals with SUDs fail to settle on a behavior strategy despite sufficient evidence of its success. These learning impairments could help account for difficulties in adjusting behavior and maintaining optimal decision making during and after treatment.

scholarly journals Optimal Decision Making in Electrical Systems Using an Asset Risk Management Framework

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4987
Author(s):  
David L. Alvarez ◽  
Diego F. Rodriguez ◽  
Alben Cardenas ◽  
F. Faria da da Silva ◽  
Claus Leth Leth Bak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Power Transformer ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Mathematical Optimization ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Health Index ◽  
Electrical Systems ◽  
Optimal Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, a methodology for optimal decision making for electrical systems is addressed. This methodology seeks to identify and to prioritize the replacement and maintenance of a power asset fleet optimizing the return of investment. It fulfills this objective by considering the risk index, the replacement and maintenance costs, and the company revenue. The risk index is estimated and predicted for each asset using both its condition records and by evaluating the consequence of its failure. The condition is quantified as the probability of failure of the asset, and the consequence is determined by the impact of the asset failure on the whole system. Failure probability is estimated using the health index as scoring of asset condition. The consequence is evaluated considering a failure impact on the objectives of reliability (energy not supplied -ENS), environment, legality, and finance using Monte Carlo simulations for an assumed period of planning. Finally, the methodology was implemented in an open-source library called PywerAPM for assessing optimal decisions, where the proposed mathematical optimization problem is solved. As a benchmark, the power transformer fleet of the New England IEEE 39 Bus System was used. Condition records were provided by a local utility to compute the health index of each transformer. Subsequently, a Monte Carlo contingency simulation was performed to estimate the energy not supplied for a period of analysis of 10 years. As a result, the fleet is ranked according to risk index, and the optimal replacement and maintenance are estimated for the entire fleet.

scholarly journals Examining trends in gun violence injuries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic across six trauma centers

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. e000801
Author(s):  
Constance McGraw ◽  
Stephanie Jarvis ◽  
Matthew Carrick ◽  
Mark Lieser ◽  
Robert M Madayag ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Trauma Centers ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Level I ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

ObjectivesThe onset of the national stay-at-home orders accompanied by a surge in firearm sales has elevated the concerns of clinicians and public health authorities. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the stay-at-home orders among gunshot wound (GSW) trauma admissions.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study at six level I trauma centers across four states. Patients admitted after the onset of COVID-19 restrictions (March 16, 2020–June 30, 2020) were compared with those admitted during the same period in 2019. We compared (1) rate of patients with GSW and (2) characteristics of patients with GSW, by period using Χ2 tests or Fisher’s exact tests, as appropriate.ResultsThere were 6996 trauma admissions across the study period; 3707 (53%) in 2019 and 3289 (47%) in 2020. From 2019 to 2020, there was a significant increase in GSW admissions (4% vs. 6%, p=0.001); 4 weeks specifically had significant increases (March 16–March 23: 4%, April 1–April 8: 5%, April 9–April 16: 6%, and May 11–May 18: 5%). Of the 334 GSWs, there were significant increases in patients with mental illness (5% vs. 11%, p=0.03), alcohol use disorder (2% vs. 10%, p=0.003), substance use disorder (11% vs. 25%, p=0.001), and a significant decrease in mortality (14% vs. 7%, p=0.03) in 2020. No other significant differences between time periods were identified.ConclusionOur data suggest that trauma centers admitted significantly more patients with GSW following the national guidelines, including an increase in those with mental illness and substance use-related disorders. This could be attributable to the stay-at-home orders.Level of evidenceLevel III, retrospective study.

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