Data Impact in Public Health Accuracy: A Healthcare Expert's Quest to Educate the Public with Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most disturbing times for the entire world, and although we were all trapped in our homes during the lockdown, healthcare experts worked around the clock to protect human lives. When the vaccination news broke, a lot of individuals had mixed feelings: some were delighted and felt that they had beaten COVID, while others were terrified.

While healthcare workers worked around the clock to combat covid and protect the community, they also had to develop and implement a way to combat the disease. The introduction of vaccination was just a partial victory; the main objective was to educate people about it.

Nura Ikhalea, a highly driven and committed healthcare expert with over 8 years of experience, was working nonstop to make sure that the people of the United States were fully educated on vaccines.

Together with healthcare experts, big data plays an important part in increasing awareness about the vaccination campaign. One of the key priorities for public health is to employ data science and information technology to measure and monitor public health. The main advantage of employing big data is that it allows for near-real-time illness surveillance and the streaming of enormous amounts of data in real-time, allowing for improved tracking and identification of afflicted individuals. In today's environment, when people move quicker and further apart, real-time data tracking is essential.

Big Data Technology- An Asset in Times of COVID

Precision Public Health is a new field that anticipates and analyses public health outcomes and tailors treatments for various communities. Big data has continuously aided in the achievement of predicted public health objectives. It enables effective ways to infection surveillance and early disease identification. The technologies give accurate information on infectious pathogens and eliminate the need for costly and time-consuming diagnosis methods. The data can also be used to target preventative efforts such as public education on topics such as the necessity of remaining at home, using surgical masks, and maintaining a physical distance.

In certain areas, big data are also being used to track resting heart rates on activity trackers and anticipate future heartaches. Early detection could very well result in the early deployment of treatments, increasing their effectiveness. Data in public health can be used to assess the effectiveness of a program, monitor performance, and pinpoint immediate health in the community.

During the COVID pandemic in the United States, the reliability of public health statistics had a significant effect on the number of officially recorded deaths. Most hospital resources were overburdened due to a lack of precision in the number of daily fatalities, resulting in unanticipated changes in health monitoring, management, strategic planning, policy-making, and professional choices.

Awareness of Vaccination Campaigns—A Necessity

Vaccination education initiatives are essential, particularly for US residents living in low-income areas, because they significantly prevent massive infections among this group. People in these communities will obtain the proper information about the availability of vaccinations for illnesses that might cause long-term health concerns, including deaths in other situations such as COVID, via vaccination programs. The public can then collaborate with healthcare practitioners to raise awareness and avoid the virus from spreading.

When questioned about keeping up with vaccination initiatives, Nura replied, “Individuals can protect themselves and keep their loved ones safe by getting vaccinated.”

“It is believed that the capacity to create and use the vaccination will determine the future health of the public,” Nura continues. “Keeping up with vaccinations by developing efficient and reliable vaccines on a continuous basis substantially decreases the prevalence of several infectious illnesses. It is important to let people know that, in the past, the efficacy of such vaccinations has wiped out illnesses like polio and smallpox, which were formerly fatal. COVID works similarly.”

Contribution of the Government Towards the Development of Vaccination Education Programs

Nura believes that while the creation of vaccinations is vital, it is as important to earn and sustain public confidence.

“To properly execute an efficient vaccination campaign, the government must maintain regular communication with the public,” says Nura.

“Creating a vaccination education campaign for citizens who are apprehensive to take the vaccine actively involves them in the vaccine's methods and achievements through regular dissemination of information. The awareness campaign also involves the community in a straightforward and cohesive manner, reducing the possibility of misrepresentations”, Nura quotes.

Lately, the US government has increased its efforts to raise public awareness of the Covid-19 vaccination. As a result, the CDC as well as other governmental and non-governmental partners have launched a variety of educational initiatives. The goal of education is to provide professionals with both the knowledge and skills needed to store, manage, and deliver the Covid-19 vaccine to instill trust in the public. The main objective of the various initiatives is to encourage and strengthen people's confidence, influencing them to be vaccinated.