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Lessons From the Implementation of Mo-Buzz, a Mobile Pandemic Surveillance System for Dengue
May Oo Lwin1, Karthikayen Jayasundar1, Anita Sheldenkar1
1Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
|October 4, 2017
Summary
The Mo-Buzz mobile app improved dengue surveillance in Sri Lanka, with public health inspector (PHI) adoption increasing from 10% to 76%. This technology shows promise for managing infectious disease outbreaks globally.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Mobile Health (mHealth)
Background:
- Dengue fever poses a significant global health risk, affecting 128 countries and 3.9 billion people.
- Sri Lanka faces a growing dengue burden, with Colombo reporting over 30% of cases in 2016.
- Existing dengue management systems in Colombo are outdated and paper-based, hindering effective outbreak control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce Mo-Buzz, a mobile participatory system for dengue surveillance, to address limitations in traditional management methods.
- To describe the components and user adoption of the Mo-Buzz system.
- To evaluate the feasibility and impact of a mobile health intervention for dengue surveillance.
Main Methods:
- Developed two versions of the Mo-Buzz app: one for public health inspectors (PHIs) and one for the general public.
- PHI version digitizes data collection, real-time hotspot mapping via GPS, and educational material dissemination.
- Public version enables symptom reporting, image uploads of breeding sites, and location-based alerts.
Main Results:
- Initial uptake of Mo-Buzz by PHIs was low (<10%), but increased to 76% after enhanced training and incentives.
- User feedback from the general public led to app improvements, with strategies to boost uptake under review.
- The system demonstrated feasibility for dengue surveillance and potential for improving outbreak management.
Conclusions:
- Mobile health interventions like Mo-Buzz can overcome initial acceptance challenges for disease surveillance.
- Mo-Buzz shows potential for enhancing risk perception and managing infectious disease outbreaks in Asia and worldwide.
- Digital participatory systems are crucial for modernizing public health responses to vector-borne diseases.
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