News & Updates
Hawai‘i Data Collaborative at the 16th Hawai‘i Book & Music Festival
Nick Redding, Executive Director of the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative (HDC), was invited to join two panels at the 16th Annual Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival.
The first panel took place on October 5th, and included experts in healthcare, public health, and data to discuss Lessons for Future Pandemics. The second panel took place on October 28th, and included data experts to discuss Big Data Visualization.
HiPHI's COVID-19 Public Health Action Webinar: Utilizing Data to Drive Re-Opening Decisions
Hawaii Data Collaborative’s Executive Director, Nick Redding, joined the Hawaii Public Health Institute (HiPHI) and other panelists to discuss how COVID-19 data is informing the City and County of Honolulu’s re-opening strategy, tier system, and other related policy decisions. Some of the main points Nick highlighted were Hawaii Data Collaborative’s mission to elevate critical data to address Hawaii’s most pressing challenges; how the coronavirus pandemic amplified the urgency of that mission; and, some of the collaborative efforts that emerged to support the state’s response. Moderating the discussion was Stephanie Moir, from the HiPHI team; other panelists included Dr. Mitchel Rosenfeld, Program Manager with the City and County of Honolulu, and Hirokazu Toiya, Director of the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management.
Making Meaningful Models Mainstream: We Are No Strangers to Informative Modeling
Sometimes events, especially unexpected and dramatic ones, can lead to a renewed perspective of what is occurring in our lives and how we view them. Hawaii’s recent brush with Hurricane Douglas was just such an event. We may not understand all that goes into a reliable weather model, but we have a gut sense of why it’s useful and valuable in saving life and property. For the average person, however, the same cannot yet be said of epidemiological models that study the spread of viruses and disease. While we experience the onset of tropical storms and hurricanes on a regular basis, we do not experience epidemics as frequently, and certainly not pandemics.
The Hawaii Variable: A Data-Based Discussion About COVID-19 in Hawaii
On July 30, 2020, Honolulu Civil Beat hosted an online event bringing together panelists for a data-based discussion around COVID-19 in Hawaii. Topics included review of basic data and epidemiology terminology, different types of indicators that inform understanding of outcomes and what lies ahead, gaps in critical data to better inform our response to the pandemic, and answers to questions from the audience.
HiPAM Launches New Daily COVID-19 Forecast Tool for Hawaii
The Hawaii Pandemic Applied Modeling (HiPAM) work group has launched a new public-facing tool that provides 14-day forecasts of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and fatalities. The tool will be updated daily (Monday through Friday) based on the most current COVID data available in the state.
Fly on the Wall: A Glimpse into Developing a COVID-19 Modeling Tool for Hawaii
During a HiPAM convening, the group discussed how to respond to requests from local decision-makers for models and metric guidelines that would help determine when to lift local and domestic travel restrictions, as well as indicators of when restrictions may need to be re-imposed. The subsequent discussion demonstrated the complex array of factors that our state officials and senior executives must consider…
Dr. Thomas Lee, HI-EMA's Lead Modeler & Forecaster, Discusses Reopening Hawaii to Travel and More
Dr. Thomas Lee, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, also an US Army Medical Officer from the 1984th US Army Hospital Pacific, 9th Mission Support Command, currently serving as lead modeler and forecaster for Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) COVID-19 Emergency Response Team, discussed how he applies modeling to forecast and advise policymakers in their decisions, the potential and efficacy of testing and screening of inbound travelers, a basic explanation of “R naught,” and more.
HiPAM Chair, Dr. Victoria Fan, on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's COVID-19 Care Conversation
Dr. Victoria Fan, Chair of the Hawaii Pandemic Applied Modeling (HiPAM) Work Group, appeared on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s COVID-19 Care Conversation to discuss the HiPAM Work Group, why modeling tools driven by Hawaii-specific data are critical, and the importance of testing visitors and contact tracing efforts as part of reopening Hawaii to inbound travelers.
A Missing Piece to Hawaii’s COVID-19 Response: The Hawaii Pandemic Applied Modeling Work Group
The Hawaii Pandemic Applied Modeling (HiPAM) Work Group originally formed out of a collective concern that our state’s decision makers lacked a Hawaii-specific, data-driven modeling tool to inform their decisions in response to COVID-19. Originally comprised primarily of academics and faculty from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, HiPAM has grown to include representatives from the Hawaii Department of Health, major local hospitals, and community nonprofits focused on Hawaii health and well-being.