Prepared by Joshua Tan
Scope of Analysis
A drug epidemic has hit America. According to the CDC, 78 Americans die from an opiod overdose every day, and more people have died due to drug overdoses in 2014 than any year on record. Deaths from prescription opiods—including methadone, oxycodone, and hydrocodone—have quadrupled since 1999. New England, especially, has become an epicenter of the epidemic. Many of these overdoses take place in public and civic spaces—parks, hospitals, libraries, plazas, churches, parking lots, on public transit, and especially in public restrooms. Aside from deaths from overdose, there are additional public health concerns. After using, drug abusers often leave behind dirty needles, which become a vector for infectious diseases. For businesses, restrooms used by drug abusers can become health hazards and legal liabilities.
Technological interventions are possible. For example, in response to drug abuse inside public restrooms and at a nearby church in Harvard Square, the City of Cambridge installed a kiosk called the Portland Loo which was designed specifically to discourage drug use. Further, quick detection of drug overdose, as through automatic sensing of slumping or prone behavior in a public restroom, can lead to a life-saving emergency response.
In this study, we will study the ways in which public spaces can be designed to help prevent drug abuse and overdose. We will begin by collating data on drug abuse in Boston in order to create a predictive geographic model of drug abuse and drug overdoses. We will then integrate this model with sensor data collected in Downtown Crossing, in order to test different ways of detecting drug abuse in real-time; by supplementing infrared cameras with data from chemical, heat, and biometric sensors, we will explore new ways to achieve fast detection of drug abuse and overdose.
This is a pilot study meant to understand the potential for technological solutions, as opposed to the solution itself. The end result of the study will be a proposal to the City of Boston suggesting a list of “smart” public health interventions, and experiments related to those interventions.
[mc4wp_form id=”466″]
Data Sources
- Police and emergency responder data sets on drug abuse in Boston
- Pedestrian traffic from PlaceMeter
- Camera application from CSAIL to capture pulse data
- Temperature cameras commonly used in emergency rooms
- Infrared thermometers
- All sensors
Possible Outcomes
- An data set of overdose activity in and around Boston (with a focus on Downtown Crossing)
- A list of “smart” public health interventions
- Experiments related to those interventions
References
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/us/heroin-epidemic-increasingly-seeps-into-public-view.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/19/us/heroin-in-new-england-more-abundant-and-deadly.html