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COVID-19: NC rural mental health outreach gets creative

Liora Engel-Smith

August 07, 2020 |

North Carolina Health News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Asheville, North Carolina

Mental health agencies in North Carolina have partnered with a mobile phone carrier to provide data-enabled smartphones to individuals who lack access to technology during the pandemic. Because this doesn't provide a solution to all, however, mental health experts are also meeting with patients outside in social distanced settings.

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Prison Voicemail: Messages from behind bars

Ruth Evans

August 04, 2020 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: England

Prison Voicemail is a smartphone app that lets incarcerated people in the UK stay connected to their families, improving their mental outlook while imprisoned and their chances of success once they're released. The fee-based app closes gaps left by ordinary pay phones and other means of communication by letting people communicate through recorded messages, rather than when they both happen to be available. Sound clips of families talking in this podcast drive home the profound personal impact of children and parents sharing the routine news of their lives across the barrier of prison walls.

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South Korea's Key Weapon to Stop the Pandemic? Smartphones

Dasl Yoon

July 16, 2020 |

Wall Street Journal |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: South Korea

In South Korea, the government is using smartphone technology, including various independent apps and text messaging, to implement contact tracing. This has enabled the country's economy to avoid a full shutdown. Early results comparing South Korea to other countries shows that this digital strategy is just as successful as implementing complete lockdowns.

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What Estonia could teach us about internet voting in a post-pandemic world

Chris O'Brien

June 11, 2020 |

VentureBeat |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Estonia

Estonia’s i-Voting system is currently used by 46.7% of voters and allows them to vote from home using a government-issued smart card. To vote, residents need a computer with a card reader or can have their encrypted ID linked to their cell phone SIM card. They can track their vote with a QR code and are able to change their choices any time during the 10-day voting period. Estonia is currently the only country to use this method, in part because eroding government trust has prevented the use of centralized systems that track personal information.

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Connecting With Incarcerated Parents Is Easier With Photo Patch, an App Developed By a Teen

Vikki Law

May 13, 2020 |

Teen Vogue |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

The Photo Patch Foundation helps connect children with parents who are experiencing incarceration. Using its website or mobile app, children can write letters and upload photos, which will then be printed and mailed by the organization at no cost. The Foundation, funded by donations and grants, was created by a father-daughter duo who had experienced the issue firsthand.

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Using a Mobile Phone Survey to Investigate South Sudan's Conflict

Carolyn Thompson

May 11, 2020 |

Global Investigative Journalism Network |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: South Sudan

To tell the stories of victims of forced displacement, property destruction, and occupation in South Sudan, a team of journalists devised a phone survey to gauge the extent of the problem. By surveying hard-to-reach people in refugee camps, one of many barriers to traditional reporting due to the government's repressive tactics, the reporters pinpointed areas where people had been forced off their land, many by government soldiers. The survey was recorded in six languages and was made statistically valid by consulting outside experts and transparently disclosing its limitations.

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How an Alberta text messaging program is helping people cope with COVID-19

April Hudson

April 27, 2020 |

St. Albert Today |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Alberta

An Alberta Health Services’ text messaging service called Text4Hope is giving people text messages to help them cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The texts, written by mental health therapists, use cognitive behavioral therapy, helping people disrupt the constant stream of negative thoughts that happen during traumatic times. So far, over 30,000 people have signed up.

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Israeli Phone Apps Aim to Track Coronavirus, Guard Privacy

Sarah Toth Stub

April 20, 2020 |

U.S. News & World Report |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Israel, Jerusalem

The use of mobile phone technology can aid in contact tracing and the collection of public health data. In Israel, the government’s use of GPS phone locations to trace cases of COVID-19 raised scrutiny regarding privacy and accountability. Instead, a newer, open-source app called Hamagen invites users to download and voluntarily participate in contact tracing. Other measures put in place to safeguard personal privacy concerns include parliamentary oversight of governmental tracing programs.

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Text-to-911 Saves Lives, but Data Suggests It Remains Rare

Ben Miller

April 14, 2020 |

Government Technology |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Significant growth in the availability of text-to-911 technology has meant greater safety for people whose speaking ability or dangerous surroundings prevent them from making voice calls to 911. Various states have used different methods to enable the spread of such services, with no one-size-fits-all approach. Federal data show the number of emergency texts grew from about 1,000 in 2014 to more than 188,000 in 2018. While data are incomplete, a majority of the U.S. evidently remains outside areas with 911 call centers that can receive text messages.

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At this COVID-19 test center, you're not just a number

Anne Blythe

April 11, 2020 |

North Carolina Health News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The University of North Carolina's healthcare system is utilizing virtual care centers and mobile communications to more efficiently prioritize potential COVID-19 cases and better track people after they've been tested. After someone has been tested, virtual communication continues whether or not they tested positive for the virus, which has helped mitigate concerns for patients about how to best manage the symptoms they're experiencing, regardless of the diagnosis.

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