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Aaron Clark
Ms. Janine Kucik
Intern/Mentor Program
3 March 2014
Android Devices within the Data
The Android just exploded, especially in the third world they tend to be very popular.
This quote was originally said by Gabriel Gorelick- Feldman, a software engineer at Johns
Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. In fact, in 2001 Google announced that the total number of
Android activations had surpassed 190 million, which was a significant increase from 135
million than the previous year. Throughout the decade, controversy has arisen over which
mobile devices should be utilized in public health which is the science and art of protecting and
improving health in local communities around the globe. Apples iPhone and iPad have always
received the respect of the fellow engineers and medical employees in this field. Yet, Android is
slowly moving past Apples glory and onto bigger things in the field of public health. John
Moore, the author of the article Android gains ground as mobile health platform, states
Phones using Googles Android operating system and applications built for that environment
are gaining ground among healthcare workers, proving that Apples iPhone and iPad arent the
only mobile platforms seeing action in the health IT marketplace (Moore). These devices are
being utilized more and have already shown to make an immediate impact in the public health
field. Android devices are more beneficial than the other technological devices for the collection
of public health data because of their accessibility, various features and tools, and their efficiency
in the field.
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Over time, the world has been affected by many illnesses and diseases. HIV/AIDS,
Malaria, Dengue Fever, Cholera, Tuberculosis, and Yellow are among the most commonly
spread diseases that are seen throughout the world today. Millions of people die from these
deadly diseases every year. Some are more contagious than others; however every disease causes
serious threats and danger to the health of the body.
Tracing the origin of a disease seems to be an overwhelming obstacle, but detecting the
disease seems to be an even harder task for medical employees, especially in the third world and
resource limited countries. In these countries, technology is very limited as are the very few
resources to which they have access to. As a result, public health officials are discovering new,
innovative ways to more easily and quickly detect these diseases easier. Before, medical
employees had to manually record data on a piece of paper along with other important
information such as patient records. Now, experts are using technological devices and
applications to help detect these diseases and keep them from spreading.
Organizations such as the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) have studied
and already conducted research on public health in other countries. In 2007, APL was funded by
AFHSC, a company affiliated with disease surveillance, to conduct a surveillance project in the
Philippines where Dengue Fever was present (Coberly). The project began in 2008 in Cebu City
where there were 1,260 cases of Dengue Fever. First, APL observed the community and
identified any patients or clients with a suspicion of dengue fever. Next, they recorded the
patients information on a Log sheet specifically just for Dengue Fever. They then sent the
information in SMS messaging, a tool that is used by the Android. Health organizations in the
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country received data typically every day overnight for about two years. The data was later
organized and analyzed by health officials. Furthermore, their efforts lead to the end of the
disease in 2009. APLs surveillance system was the first syndromic system created in the city
and was further utilized after 2009 (Coberly). This is not the only study or organization that is
continuing to make efforts to detect these diseases. Organizations around the world are teaming
up with each other to help stop these deadly diseases. Public health surveillance involves using
many tools and analyzing the various amounts of data. It is continues to benefit public health and
disease detection among third world countries and the rest of the world.
Accessibility in the public health field is hard to come by which is shown in the Apple
products, however Android devices have shown medical experts and other public health officials
otherwise. Some may ask what it is to be accessible in the public health field. Accessibility in
this field is defined as simply being able to be used or obtained easily. Although the answer to
that question is simple, some may find accessibility difficult to obtain in the field.
Additionally, the Android device has shown this trait of being accessible in the field. The
Android has shown to public health that it is easy to access not just in the U.S., but in other
countries such as the developing ones. Public health officials have experienced problems with
the Apple products that they have not seen experienced with the Android device. Unlike the
iPhone environment, Android provides more accessibility to APIs for third- party developers
(Moore). The Android device has shown public health experts that, unlike the iPhone, it is
suitable to handle the abundant amount of data and will only benefit the system opposed to
holding production back.
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The Android also contains an open source network which allows the device and their
market to be accessible across the world. Organizations who have departments who work with
public health have established a preference for the Android device mainly because of their open
source network. we picked Android for one because it is open source and since we are
targeting limited resource environments (Gorlick-Feldman 2). The open source network is quite
unique as a matter of fact. The open source network refers to the network in which there is
universal access via free license to a products design or application. No other technological
device has an open source network like Android does, so it gives the device an advantage over
all the other devices (Rai).
The Android devices capability to be utilized has also shown to be a coveted attribute in
allowing the device to be more accessible to resource limited countries than the other devices
available that could be used in the field. In developing countries, evidence has shown that the
technology we have cherished here in the U.S. is not available to these countries. Therefore,
medical and other health organizations in these countries have no choice but to record data
manually. Although functional, manual data entry collation has its disadvantages (Davidson).
By recording data manually, human error and misinterpretation of the data is highly likely to
occur. Luckily, the Android device is being further utilized in these countries to help eliminate
this problem. With the Android device, simple input of the data into the device makes manually
recording it so much complicated than it seems. The medical expert can simply enter the patient
information into the phone and store the information in an application. This saves a lot of time
for the medical employees by doing daily reporting of the data rather than the weekly and
monthly reporting that they were doing before (Adjoa 2). The Android devices easy access,
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open source network, and capability to be used all are a part of its accessibility to the field which
makes the device a more essential technological device to be used in the public health field.
Moreover, Androids unique features and other tools are beneficial in the public health
field which makes the device more essential in the field opposed to the other technological
devices. Throughout our world, security has been used for the solely purpose to protect us from
dangers that are surrounding around us. Security in public health is also important as well. In the
public health, security is important because it isolates hackers and other outsiders from gaining
access to the sensitive information that is being stored or sent out.
Recently, public health experts have found problems with the security of the data, so
many have decided to develop applications to block outsiders from getting to the data. Yet, with
the Android this is not needed. The Android carries security features unlike any other
technological device which allows for a secure environment for the applications being used on
the device (Rai). Under an Android device, public health and other medical officials do not have
to worry about the security of their information because of the Androids sheltered security,
allowing developers and processers to display their work on the phone securely without the
worry of an outside person hacking into it (Android Application Security Essentials).
Moreover, encryption among the Android device is also important. Encryption is the
conversion of data into a form, formerly called a ciphertext, which cannot be easily understood
by unauthorized people. Encryption can be loaded onto any technological device; though
technical difficulties appear within some technological devices. In fact, encryption on the
Android is quite easier to install than other technological devices may be (Essentials in Public
Health Communication). It is beneficial that the Android has good security measures because
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when the device is being used in third world and resource limited countries, hackers are
constantly trying to reveal the data and gain access to the information. The Android security is
very useful, and benefits public health because it blocks off the hackers from data and keeps the
data secure while it is being stored or sent to its original receiver.
Along with the Android devices security features and its unique connection with
encryption, its SMS message feature (the text messaging service component of the phone)
benefits public health surveillance in many ways. In resource limited countries, manual recording
of data is shown to be the only way of recording and tallying the data and information that they
receive on a day to day basis. Yet, with the continued use of the Android device in public health
surveillance, manual recording data will be a thing of the past.
The SMS messaging on the Android device is a messaging system feature on the device
which is used to send and receive text messages on the phone. The SMS messaging system
allows easy input and output of the data (Moore). Then this leads to better time efficiency with
the data and more data is able to be stored and analyzed. As a result, medical examiners and
health organizations can further examine the data and then find a cure for the disease way
quicker than they could before. Aside from Androids accessibility in resource limited countries,
and its unique features it contains, the device is even better than the other technological devices
because of its efficiency in the field.
The Androids cost low nature and ability to fit within a budget is one factor that plays a
role in its efficiency in the field. A software engineer at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics
Laboratory (JHU APL) stated, So if youre looking at almost 1,000 dollars for an Apple device,
you can get an android device for under 100 dollars so it is easier to get a working system with a
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smaller budget (Poku 2). Especially since most public health surveillance is targeting disease in
resource limited countries, Android fits well in between budgets due the lack of money and
technology that these countries have. Ironically, most of the third world countries already own
more Android devices compared any of the other technological devices on the market. The
device is becoming very popular and public health and medical officials working in the field
have seem to shown a preference over it (Rajput).
Another factor that plays a role in the Android devices efficiency in the public health
field is speed and time efficiency of the device. As stated earlier, time efficiency in this field is
critical in order to detect the disease in the community. The Android device allows for data
recording at a much faster speed by utilizing the SMS messaging system. The Android device
also has a history of continued durability over the years. The number of apps is increasing while
the number of smart phones being used in public health surveillance is increasing (Tucker). New,
innovative ideas are being produced daily and as android developers continue to improve the
Android, and dominate the market.
Finally, the Android devices impact on public health has shown through its efficiency in
the field. Studies has shown that using Android device in public health surveillance have
improved data collection through various countries throughout the world. Several projects have
already been conducted using these Android devices and there has been nothing but positive
feedback. Adjoa Poku, a software engineer at JHU APL, mentioned that when selecting a device
for projects in disease surveillance, particularly in limited resource countries, the Android is
definitely the one that should be used. She has visited many places and worked with many
organizations and other people across the globe with the Android device in public health
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surveillance. In a interview conducted in 2014, she said that the biggest impact that she had on
resource limited countries while using the Android device was increasing the feed of them
being able to collect information about the health of their community (Poku 2). In other words,
Adjoa states that the biggest impact was enhancing the efficiency of the Android device;
therefore data collection would be more useful. She clearly classifies Android devices as the best
choice for its benefits to the public health field and even predicts that its capabilities will get
better over the years.
Deadly diseases strike the citizens of many countries across the globe daily. Many of the
less fortunate countries do not have detection of prevention methods for diseases. Public health
organizations and other medical officials continue to invest a great deal of their time in search of
a solution to overcome this and many other difficulties to save individuals from dying. As a
result, professionals promote any additional device which advances the possibility of a solution.
The usage of Android devices opens doors to many possibilities which are welcomed by public
health professionals all over the world. Overall, Android devices have continued to gain its
ground within the public health officials as the best device when compared to other similar
devices. These devices remain as the better choice because of their accessibility, features/tools,
and efficiency. Furthermore, the fact that developers are addressing concerns of engineers,
medical experts, and other researchers and reinventing Android devices makes the product the
impeccable device within the public health industry.




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Works Cited
Coberly, Jacqueline S. "Dengue SMS Surveillance Project in the Philippines." PHIN Conference.
Alanta, Georgia. 1 Sept. 2009. Lecture.
Davidson, Deanna. "Public Health Surveillance In Rural Communities Via Mobile Health Data
Collection." Command Mobile. N.p., 9 June 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
<http://commandmobile.com/public-health-surveillance-in-rural-communities-via-
mobile-health-data-collection/>.
Gorelick-Feldman, Gabriel. Personal interview. 21 Nov. 2013.
Moore, John. "Android gains ground as mobile health platform." Government Health. MedTech
Media, 11 Aug. 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.govhealthit.com/news/android-
gains-ground-mobile-health-platform>.
Parvanta, Claudia, David E. Nelson, and Richard N. Harmer. Essentials of Public Health
Communication. N.p.: Jones & Bartlett Learning LLC, 2011. Print.
Poku, Adjoa. Personal interview. 8 Jan. 2014.
Rai, Pragati Ogal. Android Application Security Essentials. Birmingham: Packt Publishing Ltd,
2013. Print.
- - -. Android Application Security Essentials. Birmingham: Packt Publishing Ltd, 2013. Print.
Rajput, Zeshan. "Evaluation of an Android-based mHealth system for population surveillance in
developing countries." Medical Information Association (2012): n. pag. Print.
"Securing data: An Apple and Android security guide." Search Consumerization. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 Feb. 2014. <http://searchconsumerization.techtarget.com/guides/Securing-data-in-the-
mobile-era-An-Apple-and-Android-security-guide>.
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Tucker, Charlotte. "Public Health-Related Apps growing In Number, Popularity: Smartphones,
Tablets used For Health." The Nation's Health. American Public Health Association, 21
Oct. 2011. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
<http://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/content/41/8/1.3.full>.