Apps for Rapid Epidemiological Analysis (AREA)

Managing basis health needs in HA/DR and STTR operations is of critical importance due to the increased risk of disease and health crises stemming from ecological changes, population displacement, population density changes, or the disruption of public utilities. Despite the critical needs for rapid epidemiological surveillance, assessment, and response in the field, very few technical aids exist to support these efforts. The objectives of our proposed AREA system of handheld apps are: (1) To provide data collection that is rapid, error free, properly directed and highly effective; (2) to provide improved support for situational awareness, analysis and decision making so that field users do not have to wait to analyze data and take action; and (3) To consequently dramatically reduce delays between data collection, analysis, decision making, and actual disaster response. To accomplish this, our technical approach includes advanced in-app capabilities for data collection; machine learning and social science based data analysis to identify health risks, impending health crises, and to forecast disease progression; and collaborative decision support tools for ad hoc team formation, course of action analysis, and resource allocation. Additionally, accompanying visualizations help to facilitate greater situational awareness and user comprehension. We have a community of interested users who are motivated to work with us in Phase II, and developed a complete and effective strategy for rapidly transitioning the AREA system to end users.