Fighting COVID-19 @ Lingnan University

Using GIS to implement Social Responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic

GIS = Geographic Information System

Professor Paulina P Y Wong, Assistant Professor, Science Unit

 

Geographic Information System

The Community Health Information System (CHIS) GIS Dashboard: https://arcg.is/0WCz9m0

 

Professor Paulina Wong spoke about her involvement in the CHIS GIS dashboard in a recent forum titled “From Mapping SARS to COVID-19: Why and How Geography Matters?” held on 9 April 2020 at the University of Hong Kong. The forum is viewable on https://youtu.be/FNiEcigDCFY.

 

 

Major Findings of the Community Health Project

 

Six days after the first reported case of COVID-19 in Hong Kong on 23 January 2020, Professor Paulina Wong, Science Unit of Lingnan University, Hong Kong, working with the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI), launched a collaborative community-based research project known as the “Community Health Project”. In view of a certain level of panic and anxiety emerging among the local communities, the project aims to better understand the public’s views on the pandemic, their stress level and urgent demand for anti-epidemic commodities. The project uses online survey tools to capture voices and opinions of the general public and it is still on-going, and expects to continue until the pandemic has ended.

 

 The online survey covers a list of time-sensitive questions, as shown below:

  1. How would you rate your chance of being infected by COVID-19 this month?
  2. How long can you rely on your current face mask reserve?
  3. How would you describe your usage of face mask in the past 7 days?
  4. Which of the following anti-epidemic materials do you need most right now?

 

The outcome of the online survey is mapped daily and visualized through the “Community Health Information System (CHIS)”, which is a web-based GIS dashboard. The CHIS GIS dashboard enables the general public access to near real-time COVID-19 information about local communities and their respective public health risks. It also serves an important resource for the NGOs, District Council members and social workers to target the high risk or deprived areas and offer immediate attention and support to local residents. Preliminary findings have indicated the average mask reserve of respondents were as low as 17.6 days in the first week, with 5% of respondents indicated they had no mask reserve at all. The mask reserve soon increased progressively to 51 days by early March (week 5 of outbreak), and up to 58. 6 days by early April (week 9 of outbreak). The most needed anti-epidemic commodities other than face masks were Hand Sanitizer (23.7%) and Ethyl Alcohol (23.1%) as of 2 March.

 

By mid-March, the project extended the survey to volunteers and social enterprises to engage and include people with limited internet access and those without a smart phone by means of manual solicitation and assistance in completing the online survey questions. These organizations have also collected a lot of donated items (i.e. face mask, health supplies) from donors. Daily updates of anti-epidemic items in need by communities as reported through the CHIS GIS dashboard have enabled volunteers and social enterprises to make informed decisions and immediately channel items in demand to those with real needs. These on-going initiatives continue to generate positive social impact to local communities of Hong Kong.