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Healthcare IT

Thai Red Cross uses analytics tool to reduce HIV infections

By Thanya Kunakornpaiboonsiri | 18 June 2012 | Views: 1355

Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre (TRCARC) in Thailand recently announced the deployment of business analytics to provide effective intervention strategies and outreach actions to help end the spread of the HIV/AIDS.

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The initiative is in response to “Getting to Zero,” a global campaign initiated by UNAIDS to stop new HIV infections, discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS-related deaths by 2015. The TRCARC aimed to make Bangkok the world’s first city to achieve “Zero New HIV Infection”.

“HIV infection is one of the most serious public health threats Thailand is facing. The country currently has about 500,000 people infected with HIV. It is estimated that there are new 16,000 new HIV infection cases per year. Unfortunately, only 40 per cent of the HIV infected population knows they are living with the HIV or AIDS and gets access to antiretroviral treatment services. This situation results in continuing spread of the life-threatening virus and new infections are rising every year,” said TRCARC Director Prof Emeritus Dr Praphan Phanuphak.

The project is in collaboration with IBM. The TRCARC uses IBM’s Business Analytics to tap into all types of related information and share outputs with its alliance agencies such as the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, to strengthen this HIV prevention effort.

“A database will be developed to manage behavioral records of people with high risk of HIV infection, and enable our researchers to make better decisions on more proactive and preventive measures against transmission of HIV. On top of that, it helps foster a comprehensive platform for technical knowledge transfer and skill development among our staffs,” said Dr Phanuphak.

According to him, business analytics will help the TRCARC make decisions based on real-time information for strategic planning and actualising more proactive HIV prevention programs, including immediate actions to promote HIV education and behavioral change in the right target. Moreover, it enables the TRCARC to use collected information to generate comprehensive progress, or to attract funding to expand prevention efforts and for research projects from major Thai and international funders.

IBM contributed THB 5 million (US$ 159,242) worth of software licenses and technical team to:

• Create an online behavioral survey that can be applied among people with high risk of HIV infection. To answer questions, respondents can access to this survey at www.adamslove.org, a website that provides useful physical and mental health information and at the TRCARC’s Anonymous Clinic.

• Design and develop a database that systematically stores data from the online behavioral survey. Data retrieval time is significantly reduced from two months to five minutes.

• Develop advanced, fully automated reporting that enables better analytics and reporting of behavioral records associated with people with high risk of infection. The software also provides improvements in managing information concerning the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV. This information can be presented in the forms of tables and maps in particular, enabling the TRCARC to make better decisions and efficiently identify the best possible strategies to fight against HIV transmission based on real-time analysis.

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