Assistive Technologies and Preterm Birth: How Open Data Initiatives are Transforming Healthcare
Published: 2023-12-21Open Data Initiatives: Helping People and Making a Difference
Open data initiatives are changing the way we find and use information. They have the potential to improve lives and make things more transparent. Two important initiatives focus on helping people with disabilities and assessing the risk of preterm birth for pregnant women. These initiatives show how open data can give us valuable insights and help us make informed decisions about our health and well-being.
The first initiative is all about assistive technologies for people with disabilities. The 2022-2023 report on assistive technologies is special because it lets us access detailed research information on the NIHR Open Data website. By sharing this data, the report makes things more transparent. It also helps people with disabilities, healthcare professionals, and researchers find funding and development information easily. This makes it easier for people to be involved in their own healthcare decisions.
The second initiative focuses on assessing the risk of preterm birth. Experts in machine learning from all over the world have created two successful models as part of the March of Dimes DREAM Challenge. These models use data from the March of Dimes Database for Preterm Birth Research, which is a very comprehensive public database on preterm birth. By looking at a pregnant woman’s vaginal microbiome, these models can estimate the risk of preterm birth before 37 weeks and before 32 weeks. They are accurate 69% and 86% of the time, respectively. This breakthrough could lead to better prenatal care and outcomes for both mothers and babies.
These initiatives show us how open data can give us important information. By making data and statistics easy to find, they make things more transparent and help us make informed decisions. This is especially important for people with disabilities and pregnant women because it helps them be involved in their own healthcare and well-being.
As open data becomes more popular, we can expect to see more initiatives using it to make positive changes. If we embrace open data and make sure everyone can access it, we can create a society that includes everyone and knows more. These initiatives are just the start and remind us of how open data can shape a better future for everyone.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assistive-technology-research-and-development-work-2022-to-2023