Developing and evaluating digital surveillance technologies to enable precision public health – The PopHR project

Abstract

Rapid increases in data availability and computing capacity are creating new opportunities for public health surveillance to guide effective action. In this presentation I will describe the Population Health Record (PopHR), which is a ‘Big Data’ platform that uses artificial intelligence to integrate data from multiples sources and present indicators to users in manner consistent with public health theory and tailored to public health practice. I will review progress in developing new indicators from digital food purchasing data and in enabling the combination of population health information and evidence to guide public health decisions. In close collaboration with our public health partners, we are in the process of implementing this platform in the province of Quebec and will soon be evaluating the uptake and use of the PopHR within public health departments.