The Lyme and Tickborne Disease Dashboard: A map-based resource to promote public health awareness and research collaboration
Frank C. Curriero, Cara Wychgram, Alison W. Rebman, Anne E. Corrigan, Anton Kvit, Timothy Shields, John N. Aucott
Abstract
With the incidence of Lyme and other tickborne diseases on the rise in the US and globally, there is a critical need for data-driven tools that communicate the magnitude of this problem and help guide public health responses. We present the Johns Hopkins Lyme and Tickborne Disease Dashboard (https://www.hopkinslymetracker.org/), a new tool that harnesses the power of geography to raise awareness and fuel research and scientific collaboration. The dashboard is unique in applying a geographic lens to tickborne diseases, aiming not only to become a global tracker of tickborne diseases but also to contextualize their complicated geography with a comprehensive set of maps and spatial data sets representing a One Health approach. We share our experience designing and implementing the dashboard, describe the main features, and discuss current limitations and future directions.