Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116908

Robert Jacoby¹, John Robinette, MS², and Muhammad Rabi, PhD². (1) Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, Johns Hopkins University, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21202, (2) Center for Health Information Technology, Constella Health Sciences, 8401 Colesville Road, Suite 200, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 410.659.6300, mrabi@constellagroup.com

The tools used to store and share information and knowledge are key to the success of any public health organization.

At the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs, we have developed an integrated health intelligence toolset for the United States Agency for International Development funded Information and Knowledge for Optimal Health (INFO) Project. This toolset is built on open-source software components and enables individuals to gain access to knowledge and information, collaborate with peers, contribute new knowledge and best practices, and easily manage content for the web. With capacity building in developing countries as part of the mandate for the INFO Project, and with information technology a key enabler, we have set out to develop a broad set of tools available for general use. With the open-source license model allowing free usage, total cost of ownership can be reduced.

This session provides an overview of the tools being used, the underlying technologies employed, and how the project decided on them. The session will also describe possible extensions to the tools that others could deploy, as well as some of the best practices and benefits and pitfalls of an open-source infrastructure.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to
• evaluate the appropriateness of using open-source technologies (ICTs) for a public health program and
• understand how to move forward by leveraging existing open-source solutions.

Keywords: Internet Tools, Health Information

Related Web page: www.infoforhealth.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.