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Application of Big Data Analysis to Health Risk Assessment

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2025 | Viewed by 1736

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
The Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa
Interests: biostatistics; epidemiology; public health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Big data analysis is becoming an integral aspect of healthcare advancement. Nowadays, big data are becoming available in large volume. However, the proper use of big data raises a number of unanswered questions and thorny issues.

On the one hand, there are great research opportunities, mostly led by recent technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, data mining and machine learning. On the other hand, the application of big data analysis raises questions about a number of methodological aspects regarding the use of specific algorithms. Another open issue of big data analysis is the proper use of the scientific evidence, in addition to a number of open questions about the ethical use of these data and the protection of the participants’ identity. 

Nevertheless, it is important to correctly address the use of big data in health research as the advantages of such a revolution by far outweigh the disadvantages.

The information from large sets of data and the opportunity to merge data from numerous different sources is the way to holistic inference from the population to the individuals. This inference will answer a number of open scientific questions for health prevention and better healthcare.

For this Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, we invite high-quality manuscripts about cutting-edge technologies, methodologies, challenges and scientific evidence about the use of big data for health risk assessment.

Dr. Cristian Ricci
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • big data
  • risk assessment
  • health care
  • epidemiology
  • public health
  • health system
  • information technology
  • data mining
  • machine learning
  • AI applications

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 1134 KiB  
Article
Developing Problematic Performance Value Scores: Binding Routine Activity Performance, Environmental Barriers, and Health Conditions
by Jimin Choi and JiYoung Park
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(6), 764; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21060764 - 13 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1172
Abstract
Background: Community design features, such as sidewalks and street crossings, present significant challenges for individuals with disabilities, hindering their physical performance and social integration. However, limited research has been conducted on the application of Universal Design (UD) to address these challenges, particularly concerning [...] Read more.
Background: Community design features, such as sidewalks and street crossings, present significant challenges for individuals with disabilities, hindering their physical performance and social integration. However, limited research has been conducted on the application of Universal Design (UD) to address these challenges, particularly concerning specific demographic groups and population cohorts. Understanding the influence of environmental features on physical performance is crucial for developing inclusive solutions like UD, which can enhance usability and social integration across diverse populations. Objective: This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the complex relationships between environmental barriers, health conditions, and routine activity performance. An index was developed to evaluate users’ UD performance based on functional capacity, providing scientifically rigorous and objectively measured evidence of UD effectiveness in creating inclusive built environments. Method: Using data from the Problematic Activities Survey (PAS) conducted in the U.S., Canada, and Australia and targeting individuals with and without functional limitations, multinomial logit models were employed to estimate the probabilities of encountering performance problems. This analysis led to the development of the Problematic Performance Value (PPV) score. Results: The results demonstrated significant disparities in PPVs across various health conditions, particularly concerning curb ramps. Individuals facing mobility issues in their legs/feet, arms/hands, or back/neck encounter more pronounced challenges, especially when curb ramps lack proper design elements. Similarly, individuals with vision impairments face heightened difficulties with traffic signals, particularly due to issues with audible signal systems. These findings underscore the importance of addressing micro-level environmental challenges to accommodate individuals with varying functional capacities effectively. Conclusions: By providing insights into the most problematic daily activities encountered by diverse populations, the PPV score serves as a valuable indicator for guiding environmental design improvements and promoting equitable space usage. This can be used to guide improved UD solutions and decide areas of concentration by providing generalized information on specific environmental features that contribute to user performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Big Data Analysis to Health Risk Assessment)
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