Cited by 93Human Mobility and Location-Based AnalysisTravel-related health issuesData-Driven Disease Surveillance

Measuring mobility, disease connectivity and individual risk: a review of using mobile phone data and mHealth for travel medicine

Open access
Lai, Shengjie, Farnham, Andrea, Ruktanonchai, Nick W, Tatem, Andrew J·2019·Journal of Travel Medicine

Abstract

Rationale for review: The increasing mobility of populations allows pathogens to move rapidly and far, making endemic or epidemic regions more connected to the rest of the world than at any time in history. However, the ability to measure and monitor human mobility, health risk and their changing patterns across spatial and temporal scales using traditional data sources has been limited. To facilitate a better understanding of the use of emerging mobile phone technology and data in travel medicine, we reviewed relevant work aiming at measuring human mobility, disease connectivity and health risk in travellers using mobile geopositioning data. Key findings: Despite some inherent biases of mobile phone data, analysing anonymized positions from mobile users could precisely quantify the dynamical processes associated with contemporary human movements and connectivity of infectious diseases at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Moreover, recent progress in mobile health (mHealth) technology and applications, integrating with mobile positioning data, shows great potential for innovation in travel medicine to monitor and assess real-time health risk for individuals during travel. Conclusions: Mobile phones and mHealth have become a novel and tremendously powerful source of information on measuring human movements and origin–destination-specific risks of infectious and non-infectious health issues. The high penetration rate of mobile phones across the globe provides an unprecedented opportunity to quantify human mobility and accurately estimate the health risks in travellers. Continued efforts are needed to establish the most promising uses of these data and technologies for travel health.

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  • The advantages of audio, location, and activity tracking have led to extensive research in these modalities, suggesting their potential for future large-scale population screening and monitoring.

    “These advantages have led to extensive research in these three modalities [24–26], suggesting their potential for future large-scale population screening and monitoring.”

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  1. World Tourism Organization. UNWTO Tourism Highlights (2018 Edition). https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284419876 (accessed 17 January 2019). · DOI

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Authors
Lai, S., Farnham, A., Ruktanonchai, N. W., & Tatem, A. J.
Affiliations
  • Fudan University (CN)
  • Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (CH)
  • Flowminder Foundation (SE)
Corresponding author
Lai, Shengjie
Venue
Journal of Travel Medicine
Published
2019
Volume
26
Issue
3
ISSN
  • 1195-1982 (ISSN-L)
  • 1708-8305
OpenAlex
W2921244893
Cited by
93
References
81
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 3
FWCI
2.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Travel Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
  • edoc (University of Basel) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust (204613/Z/16/Z, 106866/Z/15/Z)
  • Department for International Development
  • Clinton Health Access Initiative
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1094793, OPP1134076, 1032350, OPP1106427)
  • Program of Shanghai Academic/Technology Research Leader (18XD1400300)
  • Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2016ZX10004222-009)
  • National Natural Science Fund (81773498)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Transportation › Human Mobility and Location-Based Analysis
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Travel-related health issues
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Data-Driven Disease Surveillance
Keywords
human mobility, mobile phone data, mobile health, travel medicine, infectious disease transmission, health risk assessment, travellers
MeSH terms
Communicable Diseases, Humans, Risk Factors, Travel, Telemedicine, Cell Phone, Travel Medicine

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