"In my opinion, the great value of this very timely book is the author's ability to analyze and explain in detail the role data and information, critical success factors, leadership, and strategy have played in the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the author has done this in a very careful and honest way. I also appreciate the clear and direct writing style that makes the book's themes and conclusions easily understood by all readers from scientists, medical professional, and policy makers to the public."
- From the foreword by Dr. John R. Talburt Acxiom Chair of Information Quality at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Lead Consultant for Data Quality Management and Data Governance with Noetic Partners.
"This book
bridges the fields of health care and data to clarify how to use data to manage pandemics. Written while COVID-19 was raging, it identifies both effective practices and misfires, and is grounded in clear, research-based explanations of pandemics and data strategy. Rupa Mahanti includes a cogent summary of use cases for data analytics specific to COVID-19 that will be useful in future pandemics. She also explicates crucial instances of effective visualization of data to aid the public's understanding during a pandemic. The author has written an essential book for students and professionals in both health care and data. While serving the needs of academics and experts, the book is accessible for the general reader."
-Eileen Forrester, CEO of Forrester Leadership Group, Author of CMMI for Services, Guidelines for Superior Service
"For those of us that care about the quality of data and the ethical use of data, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised as many questions as it has answered. In contrast to our capability to respond to the 1918 influenza, when the medical profession was in its infancy and data collection about health conditions was limited, in 2020, we were rich in information and tools to combat a global pandemic. We had a better understanding of how diseases emerge and spread. And we had an incredible apparatus for collecting the data we needed to understand what was happening. Yet human factors still got in the way of the response and millions died. Rupa Mahanti explores the connections between data and the human response to the spread of disease in her new book,
How Data Can Manage Global Health Pandemics: Analysing and Understanding COVID-19. She recognizes the value of data and the kind of insight it can bring, while at the same time recognizing that using data to solve problems requires not just technology, but also leadership and courage. This is a book for people who want to better understand the role of data and people in solving human problems."
-Laura Sebastian-Coleman, author of Meeting the Challenges of Data Quality Management.
"It is great to see this book tackling the current pandemic from the data-driven perspective. As the world becomes ever more interconnected, we increase the likely spread of future pandemics, but we also improve our ability to understand, track, prevent, and mitigate their impacts. This book starts out by setting a basic foundational understanding of pandemics like COVID-19 in both the real world and the data we have available to model and understand all aspects of the pandemic. Not stopping there, it then covers the critical discussions that we all need to understand in order to better leverage data, analytics, and machine learning to improve our ability to prevent future pandemics, learn as much as we can about them, and use all available resources to create a safer world for us all to live in."
-Don Jenkins, MIrah Chief Operating Officer and Data Science Evangelist
"Dr. W. Edwards Deming once said, "In God we trust, all others bring data." Good decisions are always data driven and the author does a great job of reminding us of the advantages we have for managing global pandemics with special reference to the world-wide COVID 19 pandemic as a result of the wide availability of digital data."
-Christianna Hayes, COO VEREO / iMpact Utah
"This book embarks on an ambitious journey of showing how data and analytics can help understand and better manage pandemics in the digital age. The lessons learned not just from the current pandemic but from the analytical processes, applied to enable effective decision making at every step in a dynamic and ever evolving global ecosystem, enables decision makers with tools for the future. Dr. Mahanti expertly guides and enlightens the reader using the Covid-19 pandemic along with historical precedence to provide meaningful guidance in how data and analytics might better serve as a formidable defence in bringing future pandemics under control."
-Clint D'Souza - CEO & Director - CDZM Consulting
"This work is a welcome deep-dive into the potential for digital data to transform not only the ways we work and live, and also how we address world-wide disease propagation.
The book carefully traces the long, long history of pandemics and their origins. And in parallel shows us how new (digital) knowledge could better arm us going forward, if only we had the will and the open-mindedness.
The author is a "data person," so her perspective is especially hopeful in these confusing and troublesome times. She shows clearly what has been achieved and what remains.
I commend this work to you as a compelling example of the application of much of what we already know to an important and continuing world-wide health situation."
-Dr Stan Rifkin, Master Systems Inc.
"COVID-19 has strained our society in unexpected and disruptive ways. The management and analytics of data are no exception. Rupa Mahanti does a masterful job of presenting use cases and the relevant insights gained from COVID-19 data. The lessons in this book will be valuable far past COVID-19 as they are applicable for any infectious outbreak."
Dr. David P. Marco, President, EWSolutions & Best-Selling Data Management Author
"This book's achievements are two-fold. First, it offers an excellent introduction to the disciplines of data management and analytics and their importance in the modern world. It then overlays this understanding with a detailed analysis of the critical role that data has played in that most contemporary of challenges, the Covid-19 pandemic. Employing a wealth of evidence, Mahanti examines a fascinating array of use cases including Taiwan's success in handing the crisis using advanced analytics, the role of data played in the development of vaccines and the direct impact of mis-information on the welfare of thousands of citizens worldwide. A highly recommended read."
Guy Bradshaw, Consulting Director, Comma Group
