You have probably heard about mobile health screening events, in which technology is deployed to the field in vans or fairs, and life-saving medical interventions can be undertaken. The smartphone may emerge as an unsung hero as a health screening and data collecting tool that has helped make a major difference during the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 has shown that screening is absolutely essential to stemming the tide of the pandemic. The infectiousness of COVID-19 is off the charts, with an infection rate far above many other illnesses. Real time data is required to make a dent in such a crisis, and mobile apps on smartphones that compile data on illness, temperature monitoring and case clusters could help when an illness rages out of control.
The use of mobile-phone apps and computer tablet programs is and was key to quickly finding patterns in the data. We need to normalize and deploy these solutions to stop future pandemics. A case study and trial that occured during the COVID-19 pandemic was the usage of smartphone apps to track and trace COVID-19 positives.
Epidemiologists may be aided by trained public health workers in the field who provide them with realtime data from smartphone apps. Pandemics in the past could not be stemmed by realtime data, and delays in information resulted in further spread. The smartphone may be a major tool we can use to fight pandemics, and may reframe them as lifesaving tools.
Originally published in my blurt account at the link below:
https://blurtter.com/blurthealth/@valiant003/the-smartphone-as-an-epidemiologists-helper-covid-19-case-study
Also published in my Steemit account at myblurtrides1.
Sources:
Picture from Pixabay.
https://www.healtheuropa.eu/covid-19-and-the-role-of-mobile-health-technology/102246/