Big data and innovative monitoring – FuturiZe thought leader round table

Big data refers to extensive datasets in terms of volume, variety, velocity, and variability, that require scalable storage, manipulation and analysis, which are not collected for a specific study. Technology already enables us to collect enormous amounts of information; the actual impact of big data now depends on our ability to design efficient data collection systems to get the right information and analytics programmes to transform raw data into useful indicators. Mobile Health is one of the most promising developments in big data which can feed data on digital interactions and remote sensed data into public health monitoring. Regarding addictions, big data technology has allowed for more precise treatment and prevention in Hepatitis C, HIV, injectable drug use, overdose prevention, opioid medication misuse, and smokeless tobacco.

This major session showcases examples of the relevance and application of big data methodology in public health policy and practice, such as: Combining multiple data sources to explain addiction phenomena; smartphones - the monitoring and treatment device we carry around all day; social media big data to understand behavioural patterns; and Citizen science and the power of civil society networks in a trans-European mobile application.