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Big Data and Analytics for Infectious Disease Research, Operations, and Policy Proceedings of a Workshop (2016) / Chapter Skim
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2 Big Data and Global Health
Pages 3-6

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From page 3...
... In addition to the trillions of bytes of data being generated by the global health care enterprise, social media venues, and personal devices such as mobile phones and wearable devices, companies and various organizations going about their business generate a huge amount of "digital exhaust data" that is captured as a byproduct of other activities. The expanding number of analytic tools that can extract meaningful insights about the world from these enormous datasets are leading to what Dzau called a tipping point where big data will revolutionize society.
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From page 4...
... Technology and engineering alone will not be enough to make optimal use of big data, he said, but this should not come as a surprise given that, in the real world, engineers quickly learn that the best solutions require thinking about problems in a systems context and working in partnerships with other disciplines. While a disease outbreak may start with one person, he explained, it soon spreads to a community, involving multiple health care providers, hospitals, and public health systems, and it may affect law enforcement, business, schools, and transportation systems.
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From page 5...
... Internet and mobile cell phone use, for example, provide accessible data about social behavior, including the types of searches performed on the Web, information communicated to schools and social networks, tweets written by specific people, the types and sources of medicines bought by individuals, places where an individual visits or eats, if an individual is absent from school or work due to illness, and many other daily activities. If used correctly and ethically, Becerra said, this information could lead to early warning or alert systems in health care that would enable public health sectors to identify and track disease outbreaks and quickly identify clusters of food-borne illnesses, facilitating early responses.
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From page 6...
... He expressed optimism that this challenge will be met thanks to the emerging science of big data analytics, but he said he believes that a dose of reality is necessary to prevent being seduced by technology for technology's sake. Technology, he said, is a wonderful enabler, but the ultimate goal is to reduce disease.
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Key Terms

  • global health
  • disease surveillance
  • infectious disease
  • social media
  • using big

  • health surveillance
  • disease outbreaks
  • improve disease
  • data analytics
  • emerging science

  • multiple health
  • leveraging big
  • health emergency
  • health sectors
  • identify clusters

  • soon spreads
  • track disease
  • recent outbreak
  • expressed optimism
  • track outbreaks

  • solutions require
  • care enterprise
  • west africa
  • dzau called
  • actionable picture

  • novel data
  • veterinary clinics
  • enable public
  • transportation patterns
  • met thanks


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