The Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 Dashboard: data collection process, challenges faced, and lessons learned

Ensheng Dong; Jeremy Ratcliff; Tamara D Goyea; Aaron Katz; Ryan Lau; Timothy K Ng; Beatrice Garcia; Evan Bolt; Sarah Prata; David Zhang; Reina C Murray; Mara R Blake; Hongru Du; Fardin Ganjkhanloo; Farzin Ahmadi; Jason Williams; Sayeed Choudhury; Lauren M Gardner

doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00434-0

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 Dashboard: data collection process, challenges faced, and lessons learned

Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 Dec;22(12):e370-e376. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00434-0. Epub 2022 Aug 31.

Authors

Ensheng Dong¹, Jeremy Ratcliff², Tamara D Goyea³, Aaron Katz³, Ryan Lau³, Timothy K Ng³, Beatrice Garcia³, Evan Bolt³, Sarah Prata³, David Zhang³, Reina C Murray⁴, Mara R Blake⁵, Hongru Du¹, Fardin Ganjkhanloo¹, Farzin Ahmadi¹, Jason Williams⁴, Sayeed Choudhury⁴, Lauren M Gardner⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA; Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.
⁴ Sheridan Libraries and Museums, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Sheridan Libraries and Museums, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; University Libraries, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
⁶ Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: l.gardner@jhu.edu.

Abstract

On Jan 22, 2020, a day after the USA reported its first COVID-19 case, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (JHU CSSE) launched the first global real-time coronavirus surveillance system: the JHU CSSE COVID-19 Dashboard. As of June 1, 2022, the dashboard has served the global audience for more than 30 consecutive months, totalling over 226 billion feature layer requests and 3·6 billion page views. The highest daily record was set on March 29, 2020, with more than 4·6 billion requests and over 69 million views. This Personal View reveals the fundamental technical details of the entire data system underlying the dashboard, including data collection, data fusion logic, data curation and sharing, anomaly detection, data corrections, and the human resources required to support such an effort. The Personal View also covers the challenges, ranging from data visualisation to reporting standardisation. The details presented here help develop a framework for future, large-scale public health-related data collection and reporting.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Data Collection
Humans
Public Health
Universities