The IOM and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) of the National Academies invite college and university students to participate in an exciting, new initiative to transform health data into innovative, effective new applications (apps) and tools that take on the nation’s pressing health issues. With reams of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data and other health data newly available as part of the Health Data Initiative (HDI), students have an unprecedented opportunity to create interactive apps and other tools that engage and empower people in ways that lead to better health. The IOM and NAE believe that college students, working in interdisciplinary teams that meld technological skills with health knowledge, can generate powerful new products—the next “viral app”— to improve health for communities and individuals.
Using social networking, mobile apps, and other new technologies, how can the power of health data be unleashed to increase awareness of health problems and inspire positive action at the community level?
The Challenge
- Identify a health problem (e.g., smoking, obesity, vaccination rates, health disparities, mental health, access to care, palliative care) in your college’s or university’s surrounding community.
- Assemble an interdisciplinary student team to create an app or other product using data from the HHS Health Indicators Warehouse and other sources (e.g., including crowdsourcing methods).
- Demonstrate how your solution could engage people in your community to promote action that will improve their health and health care.
Please review the eligibility and terms, judging criteria, data resources, and prize information in the sidebar to the right, and submit your entry before the April 27, 2011 deadline (9:00pm PDT). Teams interested in taking the challenge should register by April 22, 2011 to have their eligibility confirmed and to receive the submission link.
The Go Viral to Improve Health: IOM-NAE Health Data Collegiate Challenge is being administered by Health 2.0 as a part of its Developer Challenge.
