Iltifat Husain MD

Abbreviated Abstract:

Background: In the absence of vaccines and established treatments, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are fundamental tools to control coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission. NPIs require public interest to be successful. In the United States, there is a lack of published research on the factors that influence public interest in COVID-19. Using Google Trends, we examined the US level of public interest in COVID-19 and how it correlated to testing and with… Show more

Abbreviated Abstract:

Background: In the absence of vaccines and established treatments, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are fundamental tools to control coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission. NPIs require public interest to be successful. In the United States, there is a lack of published research on the factors that influence public interest in COVID-19. Using Google Trends, we examined the US level of public interest in COVID-19 and how it correlated to testing and with other countries.

Results: Throughout January and February 2020, there was limited search interest in COVID-19 within the United States. Interest declined for the first 21 days of February. A similar decline was seen in geographical regions that were later found to be experiencing undetected community transmission in February. Between March 9 and March 12, 2020, there was a rapid rise in search interest. This rise in search interest was positively correlated with the rise of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 (6.3, 95% CI -2.9 to 9.7; P<.001). Within the United States, it took 52 days for search interest to rise substantially after the first positive case; in countries with more successful outbreak control, search interest rose in less than 15 days.

Conclusions: Containment and mitigation strategies require public interest to be successful. The initial level of COVID-19 public interest in the United States was limited and even decreased during a time when containment and mitigation strategies were being established. A lack of public interest in COVID-19 existed in the United States when containment and mitigation policies were in place. Based on our analysis, it is clear that US policy makers need to develop novel methods of communicating COVID-19 public health initiatives.
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A discussion I co-authored in the British Medical Journal about health apps and their utility for "healthy" people.

Mobile apps are increasingly being used at the bedside as a part of clinical care. With almost 300 Emergency Medicine-related apps available in the Apple App Store, it can be overwhelming deciding which are most useful for Emergency Department providers. A Top 10 list of apps is highlighted which illustrate the many ways that quality apps can positively impact the care of Emergency Department patients.

Background
There are thousands of medical applications for mobile devices targeting use by healthcare professionals. However, several factors related to the structure of the existing market for medical applications create significant barriers preventing practitioners from effectively identifying mobile medical applications for individual professional use.

Aims
To define existing market factors relevant to selection of medical applications and describe a framework to empower… Show more

Background
There are thousands of medical applications for mobile devices targeting use by healthcare professionals. However, several factors related to the structure of the existing market for medical applications create significant barriers preventing practitioners from effectively identifying mobile medical applications for individual professional use.

Aims
To define existing market factors relevant to selection of medical applications and describe a framework to empower clinicians to identify, assess and utilise mobile medical applications in their own practice.

Materials and Methods
Resources available on the Internet regarding mobile medical applications, guidelines and published research on mobile medical applications.

Results
Mobile application stores (e.g. iTunes, Google Play) are not effective means of identifying mobile medical applications. Users of mobile devices that desire to implement mobile medical applications into practice need to carefully assess individual applications prior to utilisation.

Discussion
Searching and identifying mobile medical applications requires clinicians to utilise multiple references to determine what application is best for their individual practice methods. This can be done with a cursory exploration of mobile application stores and then moving onto other available resources published in the literature or through Internet resources (e.g. blogs, medical websites, social media). Clinicians must also take steps to ensure that an identified mobile application can be integrated into practice after carefully reviewing it themselves.

Conclusion
Clinicians seeking to identify mobile medical application for use in their individual practice should use a combination of app stores, published literature, web-based resources, and personal review to ensure safe and appropriate use. Show less

I have authored over 200 articles on mobile medical technology on iMedicalApps.com