Integrating Dynamics and Data into Elimination Strategy

Nick Ruktanonchai of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom will develop a web-based application to integrate currently disparate data on malaria disease risk, seasonal population dynamics, and past interventions, to identify prioritized areas for elimination efforts. Control programs are currently provided these data independently, making it difficult to know at a given time where elimination efforts would have the highest impact. They will develop the application together with a national malaria elimination program in one country in southern Africa. First, a framework will be created to integrate information on seasonal population dynamics established from mobile phone data along with malaria cases and risk. This framework will be adapted to interact directly with the existing health management systems used by health care workers to record disease incidence and treatment efforts. It will also enable prioritization to be adapted based on local operational constraints such as available personnel and infrastructure. They will also build a simple web interface for users to easily interact with the data integration and analytic framework.