Health Threats Challenge by OpenIDEO

Health Threats Challenge How might we combat health threats like Zika, SARS, Ebola and Malaria in bold, imaginative ways? Our goal is ...

Health Threats Challenge

Our goal is to develop solutions that tackle a number of critical issues related to preventing, detecting and responding to the spread of Zika and future health threats.

Solutions should focus on:

  • Personal, Household and Community Protection (Common techniques, like mosquito repellent, require frequent reapplication and emit unpleasant odors. Many homes also lack screens. Urban communities have challenges eliminating (or covering) standing water. An even bigger challenge with the mosquitoes that transmit Zika is that they can live in urban environments and are active during the daytime. How might we better repel mosquitoes, prevent their spread and keep them out of our homes, schools and workplaces?)
  • Surveillance (Identifying and tracking the spread of Zika is critical to tackling the outbreak, but we currently lack user-friendly or accurate tools to quickly estimate mosquito populations or detect the occurrence of disease in mosquito vectors. The ability to share data rapidly also is essential to containing the outbreak and preventing it from becoming an epidemic. How might we create user-friendly field tools to quickly and accurately uncover and quantify the presence of mosquito vectors, particularly those that are infected, as well as better understand disease transmission?)
  • Community Engagement (The beliefs and behaviors of communities can strongly affect our ability to respond to outbreaks. When communities are recognized, mobilized and incentivized the right way, they are more likely to participate in surveillance activities, assist with the deployment of vector control tools (ex. protective clothing, repellents, screens, etc.) and focus on effective personal and household protection. On the other hand, a lack of meaningful community engagement might lead to misinformation, distrust of the health system, and an unwillingness to adopt behaviors that might prevent further spread of disease. How might we engage communities in powerful ways to take an active role in protecting themselves, their families and their communities from Zika?)

  • Prevention (Vector-borne diseases, like Zika, Malaria, and West Nile, pose increasing challenges as these insects become more resistant to insecticides and standard vector control approaches. The potential spillover of diseases from animals to humans creates additional risk of diseases that we have never seen before emerging. How might we make novel, sustainable and environmentally neutral tools to prevent the spillover and spread of vector-borne diseases like the Zika virus?)
  • Vector control (Help find novel, sustainable and environment-neutral approaches for reducing or eliminating populations of disease vectors)
  • Personal, Household and Community Protection (Help uncover how might we design new tools and approaches to help individuals, households and communities reduce their indoor and outdoor exposure – especially solutions that are rapidly deployable, affordable, scalable and socially acceptable.)
  • Healthcare Worker Safety (How might we protect healthcare workers to address the shortcomings of today’s standard equipment with practical solutions – and by filling gaps where solutions do not yet exist with bold, imaginative, forward-thinking new ideas?)

  • Detection (Few easy-to-use, field-based tools for rapid, early and accurate identification of disease vectors and infection exist. Potential disease threats often go undetected until an outbreak erupts. In addition, many clinics and laboratories lack the basic systems needed to ensure the provision of quality care or to adequately transport samples, and quality laboratory testing and existing diagnostics for infectious diseases are highly specialized rendering them unsustainable over time. How might we develop practical, appropriate tools and approaches that help detect threats early and ensure they are reported quickly?)

  • Surveillance (Help us uncover how might we make it easier to detect threats early – especially those that start with animals and insects – with tools and approaches that ensure they’re not only reported quickly, but that also facilitate analysis and better data-driven decision-making?)
  • Clinic & Laboratory Systems (We are seeking solutions to better understand how we might better equip clinics and labs to provide quality care – both on a routine and emergency basis – and ensure they are well-prepared to respond in times of crisis.)
  • Diagnostics (There is a large need for cutting-edge, low-cost diagnostic platforms and technologies that can lead to better detection and surveillance. Diagnostic tools for infectious disease are often highly specialized, rely on electricity or a temperature-controlled supply chain, are not designed to operate in many settings where they are needed most, and are difficult to interpret by healthcare staff who are often untrained to use them. We are seeking solutions to better understand how might we improve these tools to more rapidly, accurately and easily identify emerging infectious diseases like Zika in patients.)
  • Sample Transport (How might we improve transport, tracking and storage of samples to ensure more efficient and accurate surveillance and diagnosis of infectious diseases?)

  • Response (On the frontlines of a disease outbreak, healthcare workers must be swift and precise to save lives and prevent further spread of disease. Yet in environments where electricity is intermittent, infrastructure is weak, essential medicines are in short supply, and both human and financial resources are often scarce, even performing routine care can be challenging. How might we help equip healthcare workers with the necessary tools to more effectively respond to outbreaks in resource constrained communities? In addition, community actions can make or break a disease outbreak response. When effectively recognized, mobilized and incentivized, communities can and will participate eagerly in activities around surveillance as well as personal, household and community protection. How might we develop out-of-the-box approaches that inform, empower, and motivate communities to prevent disease outbreaks and to identify, report, and control outbreaks when they occur?)
  • Community Engagement (How might we better inform, empower and motivate communities to prevent outbreaks, identify, report and control outbreaks when they occur, and support the health system response to outbreaks – including the speedy dissemination of critical information)
  • Healthcare Worker Tools (Help us find how we might design new tools and approaches that tackle these system-wide problems and enable healthcare workers to do their jobs better, faster, and cheaper.)

Solutions should be:

  • Innovative
  • Low-cost and appropriate for various developing country settings, particularly those lacking a consistent supply of electricity and facing frequent power outages  
  • Environmentally-friendly with minimal generation of excess waste material
  • Able to be scaled rapidly  
  • Likely to achieve a substantial impact  

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