We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
ARAB HEALTH - INFORMA

Download Mobile App




DIY Contact Tracing Helps Stymie COVID-19 Spread

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 03 Nov 2020
Print article
Image: A cognitive tool aids contact tracing efforts (Photo courtesy of FIU)
Image: A cognitive tool aids contact tracing efforts (Photo courtesy of FIU)
A new study shows how a web-based interview tool can improve a person’s ability to remember more events during the contact tracing process.

Developed at Florida International University (FIU; Miami, USA) and Iowa State University (Ames, USA), CogTracer applies cognitive psychology and an understanding of how memory works to help people recall and retrace their interactions, contacts, and activities. It is not intended to replace the official contact tracing interviews conducted by health departments and other organizations, but rather to empower people to quickly take personal responsibility for their contacts and communities by providing a tool to prompt their memory.

For example, CogTracer asks users to visualize themselves in certain places or times and provides clues or association words, such as “baby,” “exercise,” “rest,” and “uncomfortable” to help people list more contact names. CogTracer then asks them to write down a list of names, which they are encouraged to share with local health officials. CogTracer relies heavily on cognitive interview techniques, which help dive deeper into memory. For example, the interviewee might be asked to close their eyes to improve concentration, as well as to mentally place themselves back in a particular time and place.

“We developed this tool based on recent research we've conducted on the best ways to conduct contact tracing interviews,” said psychologist and jurist Professor Deborah Goldfarb, JD, PhD, who helped create CogTracer. “We think of it as a DIY contact tracing tool, because it allows you to do your own contact tracing on your own time from the privacy of your home.”

Contact tracing is a method used in the management of infectious disease outbreaks, which aims to interrupt chains of infection transmission (through quarantining contacts), and has formed part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries. It involves a person recalling recent close contacts and activities. Individuals who are deemed to be at risk of infection are then contacted and advised to take action to reduce onward transmission by self-quarantine for a specified time period.

Related Links:
Florida International University
Iowa State University


Gold Member
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Sample-To-Answer Test
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Cartridge (CE-IVD)
Gold Member
POC Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile Prime Plus
New
Vertebral Body Replacement System
Hydrolift
New
Transducer Covers
Surgi Intraoperative Covers

Print article

Channels

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: (Left) An image of a 3D-printed material implanted in vivo for 4 weeks. (Right) A photo of coral (Photo courtesy of Dr Zhidao Xia and Jesus Cobaleda)

Revolutionary Coral-Inspired Material for Bone Repair Promotes Faster Healing

Bone defects caused by fractures, tumors, and non-healing injuries are major contributors to disability worldwide. Traditionally, doctors have used either a patient’s own bone (autograft) or donor bone... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The portable biosensor platform uses printed electrochemical sensors for the rapid, selective detection of Staphylococcus aureus (Photo courtesy of AIMPLAS)

Portable Biosensor Platform to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections

Approximately 4 million patients in the European Union acquire healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) or nosocomial infections each year, with around 37,000 deaths directly resulting from these infections,... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The acoustic pipette uses sound waves to test for biomarkers in blood (Photo courtesy of Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)

Handheld, Sound-Based Diagnostic System Delivers Bedside Blood Test Results in An Hour

Patients who go to a doctor for a blood test often have to contend with a needle and syringe, followed by a long wait—sometimes hours or even days—for lab results. Scientists have been working hard to... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.