Advancing adoptability and sustainability of digital prediction tools for climate-sensitive infectious disease prevention and control

Abstract

Few forecasting models have been translated into digital prediction tools for prevention and control of climate-sensitive infectious diseases. We propose a 3-U (useful, usable, and used) research framework for advancing the adoptability and sustainability of these tools. We make recommendations for 1) developing a tool with a high level of accuracy and sufficient lead time to permit effective proactive interventions (useful); 2) conducting a needs assessment to ensure that a tool meets the needs of end-users (usable); and 3) demonstrating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a tool to secure its adoption into routine surveillance and response systems (used).