SPACE APPLICATIONS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH: CANADIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONS ACTION TEAM 6 ON IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH

摘要

Introduction: There are three broad areas of space technology with direct operational applications and possiblesignificant benefits to public health: satellite communication, global positioning systems and remote sensing spacetechnologies. Telehealth and tele-epidemiology will be presented in this paper to illustrate applications of spacetechnology to improve or enhance public health services. It will highlight the drivers and barriers in these fields and willexplore possible solutions regarding public health programs and the use of space applications. Context: Following therecommendations of UNISPACEIII (1999) on the use of space applications to improve public health services, an ActionTeam 6 (AT6) was created, co-chaired by Canada and India, to follow-up on measures to improve public health servicesfor telemedicine and for controlling infectious diseases. This paper will summarize a perspective from the CanadianAT6 workgroup, as presented in the technical report tabled during the UNCOPUOS 48th Scientific and TechnicalSubcommittee meeting. Methodology: Observations, technical considerations and experiences were collected andanalyzed to present the current state of integration and application of these areas in public health activities and to presenta way forward for further development of the inter-disciplinary field of space technology and public health. Findings: Anotable gap in the operational integration of space technologies within public health organizations is present in mostparts of the world. There are sizeable challenges of transdisciplinary collaborations among scientists and organizationswith different mandates, but also speaks directly to the need to explicitly frame the integration of space technologies intorecognized public health surveillance functions and medical care services. Further development is required in terms ofcapacity building, involvement of interested organizations in a cross-disciplinary matter and the opportunity to create aninternational committee. Conclusion: Continued development, promotion and implementation of telehealth and teleepidemiologyinitiatives are crucial to the delivery of core public health programs, for both developed and developingnations. The engagement, broad applications and direct pertinence in these cross-disciplinary fields are progressivelyleveraging global effort to break down barriers. Time has come to foster synergies amongst nations and stakeholders toimpact public health programs through capacity building, strategic frameworks and technology and data integration.