INFOSHARE - An Information Sharing Tool for Public Health During the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and H1N1 Outbreak

Authors

  • Wayne Loschen Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Richard Seagraves Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Rekha Holtry Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Lang Hung Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Joseph Lombardo Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Sheri Lewis Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v2i3.3031

Abstract

The 2009 Inauguration and H1N1 outbreak called for real-time electronic information-sharing and surveillance across multiple jurisdictions to better understand the health of migrating populations. The InfoShare web application proved to be an efficient tool for users to share disease surveillance information. During both high profile events, public health users shared information within a secure access-controlled website across regions in the U.S. and among agencies. Due to its flexible design, InfoShare was quickly modified from its 2009 Inauguration interface to an interface that supports H1N1 surveillance. Through discussions and post-use surveys, a majority of InfoShare users revealed that the tool had provided a valuable and needed function. InfoShare allowed individual jurisdictions to receive timely and useful information, which, when merged with neighboring jurisdictions, significantly enhanced situational awareness for better decision-making and improved public health outcomes.

Author Biography

Wayne Loschen, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory

Wayne Loschen holds an M.S. in Computer Science from the Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois. He has worked at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as a software engineer, database administrator, and web GIS developer. He has extensive experience in the management and visualization of large databases of environmental and health-related data. His work on the ESSENCE disease surveillance project has involved the development of novel detection algorithms, user interfaces, and visualization techniques for effectively understanding complex, multi-faceted, and multi-stream temporal and spatial data.

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Published

2010-12-23

How to Cite

Loschen, W., Seagraves, R., Holtry, R., Hung, L., Lombardo, J., & Lewis, S. (2010). INFOSHARE - An Information Sharing Tool for Public Health During the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and H1N1 Outbreak. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v2i3.3031

Issue

Section

Original Articles