Tag archive for ‘public health’ at bioneural.net

Tag archive for 'public health'

Swine flu apps pervert free informatics

Published by Bruce on May 24, 2009 in Informatics. 2 responses

Information wants to be exploited—and that's generally a good thing. Exploitation has downsides too and these seem to be manifest when you look at the growing epidemic of iPhone apps pertaining to swine (novel, Mexican, or H1N1) influenza that you can pay to download from Apple's iTunes for use on your iPhone. As of today I count nineteen paid apps (in the UK store) and thirteen provided free-of-charge (although these may include paid advertisements). Do we need so much choice? Do we need flu updates on mobile devices at all? What are the risks associated with this expeditious development?
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A return to academia

Published by Bruce on October 6, 2008 in Musings. 2 responses

With introductory week and the first week of lectures behind me it seems like an opportune time to reflect on my initial experiences upon returning to campus. I'm hoping to relearn some of what I thought I knew about "health", gaining a perspective somewhat removed from my erstwhile clinical observation of individuals. To do this I need to study new subjects, fully engage with a new learning environment, take on the new adventure of commuting by public transport, and consider utilizing opportunities for extracurricular learning and activities.
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Transitions

Published by Bruce on September 20, 2008 in Musings. 3 responses

When I met with Professor Crampton from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago in Wellington last year, I was concerned about the difficulty I might face in making a transition from general practice (focussing on the problems of individuals) to public health (focussing on the problems of communities). The Prof. helpfully drew a graph on his whiteboard that I duly jotted down, illustrating three other crucial aspects of a career transition to be aware of aside from a shift in mindset.
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Last post from New Zealand

Published by Bruce + Simone on September 5, 2007 in Project Koru. 5 responses

We've left Wellington and will shortly leave New Zealand and begin our journey back to the UK via Australia. Project Koru, our "year out" from life in the UK, has essentially run its course.
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Google maps and public health surveillance

Published by Bruce on April 21, 2007 in Informatics. 2 responses

Public health doctors are apparently "hopeless" at using traditional media (BMJ 2003;327(7422):1056); it's probable that their use of new media is even worse. WhoIsSick have come up with the idea to use Google Maps to track illnesses in local communities. Perhaps this is something that public health physicians should explore as a means to both inform populations about disease patterns and for encouraging their participation in reporting?
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