News by Oresti Baños

It has been over a year since we conducted the first of two planned studies in POSTCOVID-AI. After several intense months of data exploration in the initial study, along with the incorporation of certain technical improvements in the app and data collection system, we are now prepared to commence the second study of POSTCOVID-AI, scheduled to begin in the upcoming weeks. This new study poses an even greater challenge than the previous one. While the goal remains to collect the same type of data over a similar time frame (approximately one month), this time around, we are working with a significantly larger participant group. In fact, the objective is to replicate the first study with a sample of approximately 400 people, quadrupling the number of participants from the previous study, thus representing one of the largest mobile longitudinal datasets to date. This increase primarily aims to provide stronger support for the knowledge gained from the initial study up to this point and to yield additional data for the formulation of new hypotheses.

On February 8, a briefing was held online for representatives of third sector entities, public institutions and associations. In this meeting (video available at https://projects.ugr.es/postcovid-ai/en/results/)), we had the opportunity to present the project and the POSTCOVID-AI tools, as well as establish a communication channel with these outstanding professionals who work on the front line with both the general population and vulnerable groups and people at risk of social exclusion.

For this occasion, we were fortunate to have the attendance and participation of representatives from two Spanish municipalities, who work in the social and health areas, as well as professionals from various parts of Spain who belong to organizations such as Red Cross, the Spanish Association Against Cancer, the Anti-AIDS Citizen Association or the Mental Health Federation. All participants were very cooperative and interested in the project. As concluded during the session, the main objective is to create synergies between the project team and stakeholders, trying to better understand the difficulties and needs of the work they do daily, the population they work with, and how POSTCOVID-AI can help them in this task. To this end, we propose a series of group and individual meetings that will take place in the coming weeks where the characteristics and peculiarities of each use case will be analysed.

We take this opportunity to note that any person or organization interested in the project can contact the POSTCOVID-AI team via our email: postcovid.ai@gmail.com. We will be happy to hear about your needs and interests to determine how the project can be useful to you.

In the last post, we described the main features of the first study of the POSTCOVID-AI project. After an intensive month of data collection, we can now say that the study has been successfully completed! 

The data are currently being "curated" by the project research team. In the next post, we will tell you in more detail what this process consists of and what the resulting product of this process will be. As a preview, we can say that the curation process will allow cleaning and preparing the big set of recorded data so that they can be used both by the POSTCOVID-AI platform and by any other interested researcher or entity.

The use of mobile applications to carry out observational studies based on scientific evidence is becoming increasingly common. Such apps allow the collection of data from users through a variety of sensors available on mobile devices, which can measure behavioural aspects such as activity or sleep patterns. In addition, these applications allow for quick surveys to be conducted anytime, anywhere. This, in addition to the high availability of these devices among different segments of the population, makes mobile phones an unparalleled data collection tool. Thanks to this novel way of collecting data, participation becomes more convenient and realistic, as it is carried out with minimum effort by the participants and in their most natural environment.

At POSTCOVID-AI we have developed a mobile app specially designed to collect real-time data on the social, behavioural and emotional behaviour of the population. The app will fulfil a dual function on a daily basis during the time the application is installed on the user's mobile phone. On the one hand, it will passively record data from sensors on the participant's mobile phone that will provide information about the weather, physical activity or environmental noise, among others. On the other hand, the app will facilitate the self-recording of participants' emotional experiences. To do this, the app is programmed to send notifications throughout the day, with a survey consisting of two questions: "How do you feel now" and "Since your last register, have you experienced any remarkable emotional situation?". All this data* will be combined and processed in the future with sophisticated Artificial Intelligence techniques that will allow us to infer valuable information about the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of the Spanish population.

*The data processed through the POSTCOVID-AI app are stored on a secure server of the University of Granada and comply with the Spanish Organic Law 3/2018, of 5 December, on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the European Council, of 27 April 2016.

IT'S OFFICIAL, WE'RE OFF AND RUNNING! On 1 February 2021 we officially launched POSTCOVID-AI, a project that aims to develop a novel intelligent platform for the real-time acquisition and analysis of social, behavioural and emotional data, thanks to which it will be possible to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of the Spanish population.  

The philosophy of the project is based on the combination of mobile data with artificial intelligence techniques to generate new knowledge about how the pandemic has changed our routines, social relations or emotions, and what has been, is and will be its effect on our well-being. More specifically, POSTCOVID-AI will register ubiquitous, continuous and anonymised data across each segment of the population, using smartphones. The information collected relates to demographic characteristics, COVID-19-related issues, as well as emotional, social, behavioural and wellbeing-related data. The data will be analysed using artificial intelligence to detect and predict relevant patterns.

POSTCOVID-AI is an eminently multidisciplinary project born from the collaboration of two research groups at the University of Granada. On the one hand, the technical and methodological knowledge, mainly focused on the design and development of monitoring applications, big data analysis, and the application of artificial intelligence techniques, all provided by the CITIC-UGR engineering group. On the other hand, the conceptual and theoretical basis on affect and well-being, among others, provided by the group of psychologists from CIMCYC-UGR. 

Particularly noteworthy and relevant is the collaboration proposed within this project with institutions and organisations directly and indirectly involved in the management of the pandemic and its consequences (stakeholders). POSTCOVID-AI has a social responsibility and duty, and as such, we consider pivotal the participation of stakeholders in the co-analysis of the new knowledge generated through the platform, its interpretation, and especially its use to improve the decision-making capacity and the effectiveness of the measures adopted at any given moment.

Finally, we would like to address the person reading this text. We would like to address you. You, the general public, are undoubtedly the core element of this project. We are aware that the last few months have not been easy, certainly not for anyone. We are aware of how it has changed your lives. We are aware that the new reality will probably be different from our previous way of life, but do we really know the real impact it has had, has and will have? POSTCOVID-AI aims to help respond this question, and only you have the answer. We are listening.  

JOIN US, LET'S GET STARTED!