Low-cost tools to let the public measure environmental hazards and a project to help reporters inform their communities about what works in health care are among the winners of the Knight News Challenge: Health.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will award a total of US$2.2 million to seven innovative projects that "harness the power of data and information for the health of communities, with a strong focus on civic participation and solution building," according to a release.
The latest iteration of the Knight News Challenge is a collaboration between Knight and four foundations that focus on improving health. The winners were chosen from among nearly 700 entries.
Watch a video about the winning projects:
Knight News Challenge: Health winners from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.
The winning projects are:
Camden Health Explorer will be an open source dashboard that will aggregate and display data on "real-time health care enrollment, cost and outcomes metrics to make the local health care system more efficient."
Crisis Text Line provides "free crisis counseling via text messaging, including intervention and live referral services from trained counselors."
The Homebrew Sensing Project will offer "low-cost chemical analysis tools that allow residents to track hazardous chemicals in the environment and their health impacts."
The multilingual Ohana API will connect the public "with community resources through a centralized database that aggregates information on health, human and social services, so users can quickly access targeted information through search engines, smartphones or SMS."
Open Humans Network will develop "an online portal to connect people who are willing to share their personal health information with researchers to advance medical breakthroughs."
Positive Deviance Journalism will "collaborate with newsrooms and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation to scan data sets for examples of positive health results that can lead to important stories."
- SafeUseNow will "use data to identify incidents of prescription drug abuse by tracking combinations of prescribers, patients and pharmacies that may be contributing to the problem."
Read more about the contest and winners on the Knight Foundation site.
Image: Homebrew Sensing Project's test of crude oil detection. (Screengrab from Knight Foundation video.)
Read more articles by
