Leveraging Social Media for COVID-19 Response: Insights from a Data Competition
By Mehmet Eren Ahsen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, ahsen@illinois.edu | Ashish Khandelwal, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, ashishk@illinois.edu | Ramanath Subramanyam, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, rsubrama@illinois.edu | Anton Ivanov, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, antoniva@illinois.edu | Dmitrii Sumkin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, dsumkin@illinois.edu | Ujjal Kumar Mukherjee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, ukm@illinois.edu | Sridhar Seshadri, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, sridhar@illinois.edu
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital platforms across various sectors, notably in education and healthcare, with remote learning and social media emerging as pivotal tools for communication and crisis management. Social networks played a crucial role in disseminating critical information, combating misinformation, and fostering community engagement. Recent research underscores the significance of social media in shaping public behavior towards adopting protective measures against COVID-19, yet quantifying its precise impact remains challenging due to the complexity of social relationships and diverse information sources. Multimodal data generated by social media platforms presents opportunities for more insightful Machine Learning (ML) models, but also poses technical challenges in data integration and interpretation. Leveraging crowdsourcing, we organized a data science competition aimed at forecasting COVID-19 positivity rates and identifying factors influencing its spread using infection and social media data. The competition facilitated collaborative problem-solving and provided actionable insights for public health communication and policy-making. This study outlines the competition structure, methodologies employed by participants, key findings, and implications for future pandemics and public health crises.
Lessons from the Pandemic for Healthcare Operations
Lessons from the Pandemic for Healthcare Operations delves into the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that can be applied to the post-pandemic world to enhance efficiency, equity, and fairness in healthcare operations. It emphasizes the importance of preparedness in combating future pandemics or public health disasters, regardless of when or where they may occur. This work offers a unique perspective through which to view the evolving outlines of healthcare delivery, policy, and research. This is illustrated using several real-world experiences, empirical studies, and forward-looking insights. The contributions fall under three broad themes: the management of policies and funding in healthcare, the role of data and data-driven research, and accessible healthcare services during and after the pandemic.
Companion
Foundations and Trends® in Technology, Information and Operations Management, Volume 19, Issue 2-3 Special Issue: Lessons from the Pandemic for Healthcare Operations
See the other articles that are also part of this special issue.