Proactive health computing

Abstract

In an analysis departing from the global health situation, the foundation for a change of paradigm in health informatics based on socially embedded information infrastructures and technologies is identified and discussed. It is shown how an increasing computing and data transmitting capacity can be employed for proactive health computing. As a foundation for ubiquituos health promotion and prevention of disease and injury, proactive health systems use data from multiple sources to supply individuals and communities evidence-based information on means to improve their state of health and avoid health risks. The systems are characterised by:being profusely connected to the world around them, using perceptual interfaces, sensors and actuators;responding to external stimuli at faster than human speeds;networked feed-back loops; andhumans remaining in control, while being left outside the primary computing loop.The extended scientific mission of this new partnership between computer science, electrical engineering and social medicine is suggested to be the investigation of how the dissemination of information and communication technology on democratic grounds can be made even more important for global health than sanitation and urban planning became a century ago. Copyright © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V.