Social media in public health: an analysis of national health authorities and leading causes of death in Spanish-speaking Latin American and Caribbean countries

Background: Information and communications technologies, like social media, have the potential to reduce some barriers in disease prevention and control in the Americas. National health authorities can use these technologies to provide access to reliable and quality health information. A study was conducted to analyze availability of information about the leading causes of death on social media channels of national health authorities in 18 Spanish-speaking Latin American and Caribbean countries. Methods: We gathered data of national health authorities's institutional presence in social media. Exploratory-descriptive research was useful for analysis and interpretation of the data collected. An analysis was carried out for 6 months, from April 1 to September 30, 2015. Results: Sixteen of the 18 countries studied have institutional presences on social media. National health authorities have a presence in an average of almost three platforms (2.8%). An average of 1% of the populations with Internet access across the 18 countries in this study follows national health authorities on social media (approximately, an average of 0. 3% of the total population of the countries under study). On average, information on 3.2 of the 10 leading causes of death was posted on the national health authorities' Facebook pages, and information on 2.9 of the 10 leading causes of death was posted on their Twitter profiles. Additionally, regarding public health expenditures and the possibility of retrieving information on the leading causes of death, an apparent negative correlation exists in the case of Facebook, r(13) = -.54, P = .03 and a weak negative correlation in the case of Twitter, r(14) = -.26, P = .31, for the countries with presences in those networks

eHealth and knowledge management: new medical care settings for an excellent health system

The present and the future of health information are based on eHealth and knowledge management. Some aspects of this future were discussed at the High Level Ministerial Conference on eHealth, held in Barcelona in March 2010, where eHealth was seen as a tool for integration in European politics. The problem of access to health information on the internet and knowledge management policies as an effective tool in the improvement of clinical practice and the search for an excellent health system are also analyzed in this article

Acceso a información y uso de redes sociales en salud pública: un análisis de las autoridades nacionales de salud y de las causas principales de defunción en Latinoamérica

En Latinoamérica existen 23 causas principales de defunción, siendo algunas de ellas evitables. Por ejemplo, la diabetes o el VIH/SIDA pueden ser prevenibles y, en estos casos como en otros, el acceso a información fiable y de calidad sobre salud y el asesoramiento médico adecuado, pueden contribuir a la reducción de las cifras de mortalidad en estos países. En relación al acceso a información sobre salud, en un contexto en el que existen numerosos productores de contenido con diferentes intereses, un exceso de información disponible –en ocasiones de dudosa calidad-, y diferentes métodos de acceso (medios de comunicación, motores de búsqueda en Internet, redes sociales, etc.), los gobiernos deben ser una de las fuentes de información de referencia para la ciudadanía. La presente tesis doctoral se enmarca en el contexto del acceso a información y uso de redes sociales en salud pública para Latinoamérica. Partiendo del estudio de algunas características de los sitios web de las autoridades nacionales de salud –incluyendo un análisis del posicionamiento web- y de la presencia y actividad institucional en las redes sociales, este trabajo revisa algunas de las funcionalidades relacionadas con los sitios web así como la actividad institucional en las redes sociales. A partir de una observación directa estructurada y de un análisis comparativo sobre recuperación de información, este estudio pretende analizar la disponibilidad de la información sobre las diez causas principales de defunción por parte de las autoridades nacionales de salud en 18 países de Latinoamérica, tanto en sus sitios web como en sus perfiles institucionales en las principales redes sociales.In Latin America, there are more than 23 leading causes of death, some of which are preventable. For example, diabetes or HIV/AIDS can be prevented and, in this case like in others, access to reliable and high-quality health information and proper medical advice can contribute to reducing mortality rates in these countries. In a world where there are numerous content producers with different intentions, there is too much information –sometimes of questionable quality–, and there are different ways to access the information (media, search engines, social media, etc.), governments should be one of the reference sources of information for citizens. This doctoral thesis is framed in the context of access to information and use of social media in public health in Latin America. Based on the study of some characteristics of the websites of the national health authorities, including an analysis of web ranking, and the study of their presence and institutional activity on social media, this study reviews some of the features related to websites and institutional activity on social media. Based on direct and structured observation and a comparative analysis of information retrieval, this thesis aims to analyze the availability of information about the ten leading causes of death by national health authorities in 18 countries in Latin America, both in their websites and their institutional profiles on the major social media platforms.Programa Oficial de Posgrado en Documentación: archivos y bibliotecas en el entorno digitalPresidente: Mercedes Caridad Sebastián.- Secretario: María Fernanda Peset Mancebo.- Vocal: Francesc Saigí Rubi

The role of digital health in supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

PAHO, Dept Evidence & Intelligence Act Hlth, Washington, DC USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Oberta Catalunya, Fac Hlth Sci, Barcelona, SpainUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Artificial intelligence and its impact on the domains of universal health coverage, health emergencies and health promotion: An overview of systematic reviews

[EN] Background: Artificial intelligence is fueling a new revolution in medicine and in the healthcare sector. Despite the growing evidence on the benefits of artificial intelligence there are several aspects that limit the measure of its impact in people & rsquo;s health. It is necessary to assess the current status on the application of AI towards the improvement of people's health in the domains defined by WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13) and the European Programme of Work (EPW), to inform about trends, gaps, opportunities, and challenges. Objective: To perform a systematic overview of systematic reviews on the application of artificial intelligence in the people's health domains as defined in the GPW13 and provide a comprehensive and updated map on the application specialties of artificial intelligence in terms of methodologies, algorithms, data sources, outcomes, predictors, performance, and methodological quality. Methods: A systematic search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and IEEEXplore was conducted between January 2015 and June 2021 to collect systematic reviews using a combination of keywords related to the domains of universal health coverage, health emergencies protection, and better health and wellbeing as defined by the WHO's PGW13 and EPW. Eligibility criteria was based on methodological quality and the inclusion of practical implementation of artificial intelligence. Records were classified and labeled using ICD-11 categories into the domains of the GPW13. Descriptors related to the area of implementation, type of modeling, data entities, outcomes and implementation on care delivery were extracted using a structured form and methodological aspects of the included reviews studies was assessed using the AMSTAR checklist. Results: The search strategy resulted in the screening of 815 systematic reviews from which 203 were assessed for eligibility and 129 were included in the review. The most predominant domain for artificial intelligence applications was Universal Health Coverage (N=98) followed by Health Emergencies (N=16) and Better Health and Wellbeing (N=15). Neoplasms area on Universal Health Coverage was the disease area featuring most of the applications (21.7%, N=28). The reviews featured analytics primarily over both public and private data sources (67.44%, N=87). The most used type of data was medical imaging (31.8%, N=41) and predictors based on regions of interest and clinical data. The most prominent subdomain of Artificial Intelligence was Machine Learning (43.4%, N=56), in which Support Vector Machine method was predominant (20.9%, N=27). Regarding the purpose, the application of Artificial Intelligence I is focused on the prediction of the diseases (36.4%, N=47). (...)Martinez-Millana, A.; Saez-Saez, A.; Tornero-Costa, R.; Azzopardi-Muscat, N.; Traver Salcedo, V.; Novillo-Ortiz, D. (2022). Artificial intelligence and its impact on the domains of universal health coverage, health emergencies and health promotion: An overview of systematic reviews. International Journal of Medical Informatics. 166:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.10485511216

Data and Digital Solutions to Support Surveillance Strategies in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: In order to prevent spread and improve control of infectious diseases, public health experts need to closely monitor human and animal populations. Infectious disease surveillance is an established, routine data collection process essential for early warning, rapid response, and disease control. The quantity of data potentially useful for early warning and surveillance has increased exponentially due to social media and other big data streams. Digital epidemiology is a novel discipline that includes harvesting, analysing, and interpreting data that were not initially collected for healthcare needs to enhance traditional surveillance. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of digital epidemiology complementing traditional public health approaches has been highlighted. Objective: The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview for the application of data and digital solutions to support surveillance strategies and draw implications for surveillance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed databases. Articles published between January 2005 and May 2020 on the use of digital solutions to support surveillance strategies in pandemic settings and health emergencies were evaluated. Results: In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of digital epidemiology, available data sources, and components of 21st-century digital surveillance, early warning and response, outbreak management and control, and digital interventions. Conclusions: Our main purpose was to highlight the plausible use of new surveillance strategies, with implications for the COVID-19 pandemic strategies and then to identify opportunities and challenges for the successful development and implementation of digital solutions during non-emergency times of routine surveillance, with readiness for early-warning and response for future pandemics. The enhancement of traditional surveillance systems with novel digital surveillance methods opens a direction for the most effective framework for preparedness and response to future pandemics

Digital health reimbursement strategies of 8 European countries and Israel: scoping review and policy mapping

Background: The adoption of digital health care within health systems is determined by various factors, including pricing and reimbursement. The reimbursement landscape for digital health in Europe remains underresearched. Although various emergency reimbursement decisions were made during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable health care delivery through videoconferencing and asynchronous care (eg, digital apps), research so far has primarily focused on the policy innovations that facilitated this outside of Europe. Objective: This study examines the digital health reimbursement strategies in 8 European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Israel. Methods: We mapped available digital health reimbursement strategies using a scoping review and policy mapping framework. We reviewed the literature on the MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, and Web of Science databases. Supplementary records were identified through Google Scholar and country experts. Results: Our search strategy yielded a total of 1559 records, of which 40 (2.57%) were ultimately included in this study. As of August 2023, digital health solutions are reimbursable to some extent in all studied countries except Poland, although the mechanism of reimbursement differs significantly across countries. At the time of writing, the pricing of digital health solutions was mostly determined through discussions between national or regional committees and the manufacturers of digital health solutions in the absence of value-based assessment mechanisms. Financing digital health solutions outside traditional reimbursement schemes was possible in all studied countries except Poland and typically occurs via health innovation or digital health-specific funding schemes. European countries have value-based pricing frameworks that range from nonexistent to embryonic. Conclusions: Studied countries show divergent approaches to the reimbursement of digital health solutions. These differences may complicate the ability of patients to seek cross-country health care in another country, even if a digital health app is available in both countries. Furthermore, the fragmented environment will present challenges for developers of such solutions, as they look to expand their impact across countries and health systems. An increased emphasis on developing a clear conceptualization of digital health, as well as value-based pricing and reimbursement mechanisms, is needed for the sustainable integration of digital health. This study can therein serve as a basis for further, more detailed research as the field of digital health reimbursement evolves

The experiences of 33 national COVID-19 dashboard teams during the first year of the pandemic in the World Health Organization European Region: A qualitative study

Background: Governments across the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region have prioritised dashboards for reporting COVID-19 data. The ubiquitous use of dashboards for public reporting is a novel phenomenon. Objective: This study explores the development of COVID-19 dashboards during the first year of the pandemic and identifies common barriers, enablers and lessons from the experiences of teams responsible for their development. Methods: We applied multiple methods to identify and recruit COVID-19 dashboard teams, using a purposive, quota sampling approach. Semi-structured group interviews were conducted from April to June 2021. Using elaborative coding and thematic analysis, we derived descriptive and explanatory themes from the interview data. A validation workshop was held with study participants in June 2021. Results: Eighty informants participated, representing 33 national COVID-19 dashboard teams across the WHO European Region. Most dashboards were launched swiftly during the first months of the pandemic, February to May 2020. The urgency, intense workload, limited human resources, data and privacy constraints and public scrutiny were common challenges in the initial development stage. Themes related to barriers or enablers were identified, pertaining to the pre-pandemic context, pandemic itself, people and processes and software, data and users. Lessons emerged around the themes of simplicity, trust, partnership, software and data and change. Conclusions: COVID-19 dashboards were developed in a learning-by-doing approach. The experiences of teams reveal that initial underpreparedness was offset by high-level political endorsement, the professionalism of teams, accelerated data improvements and immediate support with commercial software solutions. To leverage the full potential of dashboards for health data reporting, investments are needed at the team, national and pan-European levels