EpiHack Rio Photo Essay

WHAT HAPPENS WHENYOU BRING
TOGETHER PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERS
ANDTECHNOLOGISTSTO PREVENT
THE SPREAD OF DISEASE?
EPIHACK RIO PHOTO ESSAY
BY JOSEPH AGOADA

At
the
Epihack
Rio,
tech
and
health

professionals
were
asked
to
think-‐
up
and
prototype
new
innovations

that
will
help
slow
the
spread
of

disease
and
prevent
deadly

outbreaks.

On
the
opening
day
of
the
EpiHack

all
participants
are
welcomed
to

the
event
and
put
in
the

innovation
mindset
through

introductory
talks
and

presentations.

Dr.
Mark
Smolinski,
Director
of
the

Skoll
Global
Threats
Fund
speaks

to
the
EpiHackers
on
the
opening

day
about
the
goals
and
intended

outcomes
of
the
week.

Each
EpiHack
has
a
particular
health
“theme”
which
allows
the
participants
to

focus
in
on
the
prototypes
they
will
create.
For
EpiHack
Rio
the
theme
was
“Mass

Gatherings”,
chosen
due
to
the
the
many
“Eventos
De
Massa
No
Brasil”
(Mass

Gatherings
in
Brazil),
which
includes
the
upcoming
2016
Olympics.

To
increase
their
understanding
and
appreciation
for
the
mass
gathering
theme,
all

of
the
EpiHack
Rio
participants
visited
the
Maracanã
stadium
for
an
evening

football
match.
The
stadium
will
play
host
to
the
opening
and
closing
of
the

Olympic
Games
and
has
a
seating
capacity
of
over
78,000.

To
discover
innovative
solutions,
the
early
stage
of
the
EpiHack
include
debate
and

conversation
on
the
most
urgent
needs
and
opportunities
for
innovation
are
critical

elements
of
the
EpiHack.
Participants
bring
perspectives
of
health
and
technology
from

diﬀerent
countries
and
contexts.
This
dialogue
leads
to
a
cross-‐fertilization
of
ideas
and

validation
on
what
is
feasible
and
most
appropriate.

Tina
Endricks
(right),
a
public
health
oﬃcial
from
England
who
worked
on
the
health

team
at
the
2012
Olympic
Games
answers
a
question
with
the
help
of
Manickam

Ponnaiah
(left)
an
epidemiologist
from
the
National
Institute
of
Epidemiology
in

Chennai
India.

During
the
EpiHack,
participants
help
shape
the
agenda
and
position
themselves

on
teams
working
on
prototype
ideas
that
best
ﬁt
their
interest
and
expertise.

Post-‐it
notes
help
individuals
place
themselves
into
prototype
groups.
This
is
a

ﬂuid
process
during
the
EpiHack
event.
Prototype
ideas
evolve
and
change
just

as
small
teams
disassemble
and
then
reform
throughout
the
event.

Teams
are
always
composed
of
both
epidemiologists
and
technologists.

Together
they
take
on
a
specific
design
challenge
or
prototype
idea.
At
EpiHack

Rio,
one
team
focused
on
creating
a
“self-‐reporting”
mobile
application
which

would
easily
allow
individuals
to
track
their
health
and
inform
local
officials
of

potential
outbreaks.
Early
versions
of
prototypes
are
often
drawn
on
large
flip

charts.

After
creating
consensus
on
a
concept
for
an
innovative
prototype,
the
potential

technology
solution
begins
to
form.
It
is
then
up
to
the
developers
and

technologists
at
the
event
to
make
prototypes
from
inspiration
to
something

tangible
for
the
audience
at
the
ﬁnal
presentation
to
conisder.

Onicio
Leal
(left)
founder
of
the
Brazilian
organization
EpiTrack,
and
Polawat

Phetra
(right)
of
the
Thai
organization
Open
Dream,
were
two
of
the
lead

developers
that
put
in
combined
hundreds
of
hours
to
code
and
design
time
to

assemble
the
ﬁnal
prototypes.

As
the
technologists
assemble
the

prototypes,
it
is
up
to
the

epidemiologists

like
Dr.
Megha

Khobragade
of
the
Ministry
of

Health
and
Family
Welfare
in
India,

to
keep
a
critical
eye
and
ensure

that
the
tools
are
appropriate
for

use
in
a
real-‐world
setting.

EpiHacks
feature
long
working
hours
and
stretches
of
intense
work
and
debate.

EpiHack
Rio
was
no
exception
for
that
trend,
but
that
work
is
balanced
with
fun

and
energizing
team
and
cultural
activities.
During
a
break
in
the
action,

participants
were
given
a
demonstration
and
interactive
lesson
on
Capoiera,
a

Brazilian
martial
art
that
combines
elements
of
dance,
acrobatics
and
music.

In
the
final
stages
of
the
event,
“Hacking
for
Health”
intensifies
as
participants

spend
late
nights
finalizing
their
prototypes
for
presentation.
At
EpiHack
Rio
the

prototypes
included
a
health
self-‐reporting
mobile
application,
a
dashboard
for

data
visualization
of
health
information
and
an
automated
health
app
generator

for
mass
gatherings.

The
final
presentation
brings
all
of
the
EpiHackers
together
for
one
final
look
at

the
ideas
that
were
developed
through
the
event.
At
the
EpiHack
Rio

presentation,
public
health
officials
from
Brazil
and
members
of
the
Olympic

Committee
attended
to
give
their
feedback
on
the
promise
of
the
solution
for

upcoming
mass
gatherings
in
Brazil.

At
the
close
of
EpiHack
Rio,
participants
had
gained
an
expanded
network
to

exchange
knowledge
and
insights.
The
critical
connections
formed
will
help

further
develop
innovations
that
allow
health
oﬃcials
to
be
one
step
ahead
of

outbreaks
at
mass
gatherings.

For
more
information,
visit:

www.epihack.org

EpiHack Rio Photo Essay

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