WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BRING TOGETHER PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERS AND TECHNOLOGISTS TO PREVENT

THE SPREAD OF DISEASE?

EPIHACK RIO PHOTO ESSAYBY JOSEPH AGOADA

At  the  Epihack  Rio,  tech  and  health  

professionals  were  asked  to  think-­‐up  and  prototype  new  innovations  that  will  help  slow  the  spread  of  disease  and  prevent  deadly  outbreaks.

On  the  opening  day  of  the  EpiHack  

all  participants  are  welcomed  to  the  event  and  put  in  the  innovation  mindset  through  introductory  talks  and  presentations.  

Dr.  Mark  Smolinski,  Director  of  the  Skoll  Global  Threats  Fund  speaks  to  the  EpiHackers  on  the  opening  day  about  the  goals  and  intended  outcomes  of  the  week.

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Each  EpiHack  has  a  particular  health  “theme”  which  allows  the  participants  to  

focus  in  on  the  prototypes  they  will  create.  For  EpiHack  Rio  the  theme  was  “Mass  Gatherings”,  chosen  due  to  the  the  many  “Eventos  De  Massa  No  Brasil”  (Mass  Gatherings  in  Brazil),  which  includes  the  upcoming  2016  Olympics.

To  increase  their  understanding  and  appreciation  for  the  mass  gathering  theme,  all  

of  the  EpiHack  Rio  participants  visited  the  Maracanã  stadium  for  an  evening  football  match.  The  stadium  will  play  host  to  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  Olympic  Games  and  has  a  seating  capacity  of  over  78,000.

To  discover  innovative  solutions,  the  early  stage  of  the  EpiHack  include  debate  and  conversation  on  the  most  urgent  needs  and  opportunities  for  innovation  are  critical  elements  of  the  EpiHack.  Participants  bring  perspectives  of  health  and  technology  from  different  countries  and  contexts.  This  dialogue  leads  to  a  cross-­‐fertilization  of  ideas  and  validation  on  what  is  feasible  and  most  appropriate.  

Tina  Endricks  (right),  a  public  health  official  from  England  who  worked  on  the  health  team  at  the  2012  Olympic  Games  answers  a  question  with  the  help  of  Manickam  Ponnaiah  (left)  an  epidemiologist  from  the  National  Institute  of  Epidemiology  in  Chennai  India.

During  the  EpiHack,  participants  help  shape  the  agenda  and  position  themselves  

on  teams  working  on  prototype  ideas  that  best  fit  their  interest  and  expertise.  Post-­‐it  notes  help  individuals  place  themselves  into  prototype  groups.  This  is  a  fluid  process  during  the  EpiHack  event.  Prototype  ideas  evolve  and  change  just  as  small  teams  disassemble  and  then  reform  throughout  the  event.

Teams  are  always  composed  of  both  epidemiologists  and  technologists.  

Together  they  take  on  a  specific  design  challenge  or  prototype  idea.  At  EpiHack  Rio,  one  team  focused  on  creating  a  “self-­‐reporting”  mobile  application  which  would  easily  allow  individuals  to  track  their  health  and  inform  local  officials  of  potential  outbreaks.  Early  versions  of  prototypes  are  often  drawn  on  large  flip  charts.

After  creating  consensus  on  a  concept  for  an  innovative  prototype,  the  potential  

technology  solution  begins  to  form.  It  is  then  up  to  the  developers  and  technologists  at  the  event  to  make  prototypes  from  inspiration  to  something  tangible  for  the  audience  at  the  final  presentation  to  conisder.  

Onicio  Leal  (left)  founder  of  the  Brazilian  organization  EpiTrack,  and  Polawat  Phetra  (right)  of  the  Thai  organization  Open  Dream,  were  two  of  the  lead  

developers  that  put  in  combined  hundreds  of  hours  to  code  and  design  time  to  assemble  the  final  prototypes.

As  the  technologists  assemble  the  

prototypes,  it  is  up  to  the  epidemiologists    like  Dr.  Megha  Khobragade  of  the  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  in  India,  to  keep  a  critical  eye  and  ensure  

that  the  tools  are  appropriate  for  use  in  a  real-­‐world  setting.

EpiHacks  feature  long  working  hours  and  stretches  of  intense  work  and  debate.  

EpiHack  Rio  was  no  exception  for  that  trend,  but  that  work  is  balanced  with  fun  and  energizing  team  and  cultural  activities.  During  a  break  in  the  action,  participants  were  given  a  demonstration  and  interactive  lesson  on  Capoiera,  a  Brazilian  martial  art  that  combines  elements  of  dance,  acrobatics  and  music.

In  the  final  stages  of  the  event,  “Hacking  for  Health”  intensifies  as  participants  

spend  late  nights  finalizing  their  prototypes  for  presentation.  At  EpiHack  Rio  the  prototypes  included  a  health  self-­‐reporting  mobile  application,  a  dashboard  for  data  visualization  of  health  information  and  an  automated  health  app  generator  for  mass  gatherings.  

The  final  presentation  brings  all  of  the  EpiHackers  together  for  one  final  look  at  

the  ideas  that  were  developed  through  the  event.  At  the  EpiHack  Rio  presentation,  public  health  officials  from  Brazil  and  members  of  the  Olympic  Committee  attended  to  give  their  feedback  on  the  promise  of  the  solution  for  upcoming  mass  gatherings  in  Brazil.

At  the  close  of  EpiHack  Rio,  participants  had  gained  an  expanded  network  to  

exchange  knowledge  and  insights.  The  critical  connections  formed  will  help  further  develop  innovations  that  allow  health  officials  to  be  one  step  ahead  of  outbreaks  at  mass  gatherings.

For  more  information,  visit:  www.epihack.org