Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Options for Local and Global Communities in Health-Related Crisis Management

Abstract

This paper discusses information and communication technology-driven options for local and global communities aimed at supporting rapid responses to public health emergencies. Our examples stem from local groups within the U.S. where recent events are spurring a dynamic response to the problem of communication and community roles in emergency scenarios. Other examples focus on local communities’ impact from international collaboration in philanthropic efforts that are geared towards using ICT for addressing training and education needs in health pandemics, such as HIV/AIDS. We introduce the case of the Infectious Disease Institute treatment and learning Center in Uganda as an example of global and local community coordination for the treatment and prevention of one of the world’s largest pandemic. Our analysis of the local and global community suggests focusing on the management of communication during public health crises to better understand the complexities and variations presented in these communities. Leveraging experiences from media-technology literature findings and emergency-response efforts, we seek to identify tools that enable effective communication among the different stakeholders that work to address public health crises. We argue that the planning and deployment of effective responses in several countries can be supported by the emerging availability of broadband communication networks both in developed and developing nations.