Population health is determined by a multitude of factors, and optimizing outcomes requires recognizing and simultaneously addressing those factors. The Health Observatory at ASU will leverage a network of internal and external stakeholders and partners to carry out its mission in five strategic areas.
In response to the deadliest heat season in Arizona to date, Governor Hobbs issued an Executive Order declaring a Heat State of Emergency. The Arizona Department of Health Services asked the Health Observatory, led by Neal Woodbury to coordinate a statewide response to part three of the Executive Order around public health data and extreme heat. ASU brought together key stakeholders at ASU, NAU, UA, state, local, and Tribal health departments, and relevant organizations to gather data on what is being done and develop innovative solutions.
ASU’s Research and Technology Office is working alongside Valleywise Health on data analysis and management and supporting cross-sector research projects using medical records.
The new research technology system is currently being used to identify patient needs and track health outcomes among over 11,000 patients seen in the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic at Valleywise.
Founded in 2020, ASU’s Substance Use and Addiction Translational Research Network is a valuable resource for efforts to reduce Opioid Use Disorder and co-occurring Substance Use Disorder across Arizona. The network disseminates cutting-edge science and evidence-based best practices to community practitioners and policy-makers; convenes the Arizona substance use disorder community to inform the research agenda; and offers seed grant funding for projects aimed at optimizing treatment and prevention.
ASU researchers are using machine learning and advanced epidemiological modeling techniques to incorporate a wide variety of factors to better understand how diseases spread.
The team is also discovering data on which public health interventions will be most effective in preventing a disease from spreading.
ASU researchers have developed a technique to identify viral diseases in household and community wastewater.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, this technique was used to analyze over 1,000 wastewater samples, and correctly identified when cases of COVID-19 were increasing, and which neighborhoods were the most affected.
ASU researchers created the first saliva-based COVID-19 test in the Western United States, called a Multiplex In-Solution Array. And established one of the four SeroNet Capacity Building Centers in the nation, the ASU Biodesign Capacity Building Center, and supported NCI SeroNet activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.