title: Cross-Disciplinary Consultancy to Enhance Predictions of Asthma Exacerbation Risk in Boston.
abstract: This paper continues an initiative conducted by the International Society for Disease Surveillance with funding from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to connect near-term analytical needs of public health practice with technical expertise from the global research community. The goal is to enhance investigation capabilities of day-to-day population health monitors. A prior paper described the formation of consultancies for requirements analysis and dialogue regarding costs and benefits of sustainable analytic tools. Each funded consultancy targets a use case of near-term concern to practitioners. The consultancy featured here focused on improving predictions of asthma exacerbation risk in demographic and geographic subdivisions of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, USA based on the combination of known risk factors for which evidence is routinely available. A cross-disciplinary group of 28 stakeholders attended the consultancy on March 30-31, 2016 at the Boston Public Health Commission. Known asthma exacerbation risk factors are upper respiratory virus transmission, particularly in school-age children, harsh or extreme weather conditions, and poor air quality. Meteorological subject matter experts described availability and usage of data sources representing these risk factors. Modelers presented multiple analytic approaches including mechanistic models, machine learning approaches, simulation techniques, and hybrids. Health department staff and local partners discussed surveillance operations, constraints, and operational system requirements. Attendees valued the direct exchange of information among public health practitioners, system designers, and modelers. Discussion finalized design of an 8-year de-identified dataset of Boston ED patient records for modeling partners who sign a standard data use agreement.
authors.affiliation: Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.affiliation: Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gunn
authors.affiliation: Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA; Boston University School of Medicine, Dept. of Pediatrics, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Snehal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eggo
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Babin
authors.affiliation: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service.
authors.forename: Ivanka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stajner
authors.affiliation: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Rice University, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Katherine B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Ensor
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Rice University, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Loren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Raun
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Public Health, Dept. of Environmental Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Jonathan I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: University of Washington School of Public Health, Dept. of Health Services, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Painter
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Phipatanakul
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: Fuyuen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.affiliation: Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Anjali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nath
authors.affiliation: International Society for Disease Surveillance, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Laura C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Streichert
authors.affiliation: International Society for Disease Surveillance, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Burkom
keywords: asthma exacerbation; asthma surveillance; environmental risk factor; predictive model