Design and application of the emergency response mobile phone-based information system for infectious disease reporting in the Wenchuan earthquake zone

Abstract

Objective: To describe the design and application of an emergency response mobile phone-based information system for infectious disease reporting.

Methods: Software engineering and business modeling were used to design and develop the emergency response mobile phone-based information system for infectious disease reporting.

Results: Seven days after the initiation of the reporting system, the reporting rate in the earthquake zone reached the level of the same period in 2007, using the mobile phone-based information system. Surveillance of the weekly report on morbidity in the earthquake zone after the initiation of the mobile phone reporting system showed the same trend as the previous three years.

Conclusion: The emergency response mobile phone-based information system for infectious disease reporting was an effective solution to transmit urgently needed reports and manage communicable disease surveillance information. This assured the consistency of disease surveillance and facilitated sensitive, accurate, and timely disease surveillance. It is an important backup for the internet-based direct reporting system for communicable disease.