Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 161 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

An Algorithm Is Helping a Community Detect Lead Pipes

Sidney Fussell

January 14, 2021 |

Wired |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Flint, Michigan

BlueConduit, an analytics startup, applies statistical models to identify neighborhoods and households that might have lead pipes. The models include dozens of factors, such as the age of the home and proximity of other homes where lead has been found, to help predict likely locations of lead pipes and create a ranking by likelihood that cities can use to prioritize which pipes to examine. In Flint, MI, about 70% of the homes identified using the models had lead pipes, compared to about 15% of homes where excavations did not use the model. The company is working with organizations in dozens of other cities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Three countries have pulled far ahead of the rest of the world in distributing Covid-19 vaccines

Annabelle Timsit

January 11, 2021 |

Quartz |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Israel

Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have each "vaccinated a higher proportion of their populations than the rest of the world" due to strategies that included early approval of the vaccine, centralized and digitized health care data management, and cross-sector information campaigns. Although it's yet to be seen how these efforts will fare when the vaccine is released to the general public, they have proven to be successful for distribution to vulnerable people and communities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
This California city just ended chronic homelessness

Adele Peters

January 06, 2021 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Bakersfield, California

The city of Bakersfield, California, was able to functionally end homelessness even with the onset of the pandemic, after implementing a data-driven strategy led by “Built for Zero.” The initiative focuses on frequent data collection which is then used to create a master command center that all agencies, shelters, and nonprofits work on in conjunction. Pooling resources and working together leads to clearer insight into where the most pressing need is and prevents unhoused people from falling through the cracks.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Newest Weapon Against Covid-19: AI That Speed-Reads Faxes

Tom Simonite

December 22, 2020 |

Wired |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Contra Costa County, California

Researchers from Stanford University have developed a software that uses machine-learning algorithms to identify and flag urgent faxes about COVID-19 cases. While the project doesn't have complete accuracy, it has helped overwhelmed and overburdened health care workers at the health department in Contra Costa County, California work more efficiently.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Can an Algorithm Prevent Suicide?

Benedict Carey

November 23, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Veterans Affairs' Reach Vet program uses an algorithm weighing 61 factors to flag veterans deemed at highest risk of suicide. While its results have not been shown to affect the suicide rate, it has more than doubled high-risk veterans' uses of V.A. services and been associated with a lower overall mortality rate. Built on an analysis of thousands of previous suicides in the V.A.'s system, Reach Vet assesses scores of facts from medical records, including some that are not obvious to humans trying to spot problems. Doctors then intervene and ensure the veteran has a suicide safety plan in place.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The ambitious effort to piece together America's fragmented health data

Nicole Wetsman

October 19, 2020 |

The Verge |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and the health impacts it may have for different people prompted doctors from across the U.S. to create a national patient database to better study and understand how the virus interacts with other underlying conditions. Although the database itself is adaptable and researchers hope it can also be used in the face of future pandemics, they also say "five years from now, the greatest value of this data set won’t be the data. It’ll have been the methods that we learned trying to get it working."

Read More
Go to Original Story
Hope, the Senegalese app that saves lives by optimizing blood donations

Morgane le Cam

August 30, 2020 |

Heidi.news |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Senegal, Thies

An app developed by a two telecommunications design engineers in Senegal is helping to connect hospitals with blood donors. The app alerts donors in nearby areas when blood is needed and sends "messages of thanks and donation reminders," which has helped to decrease the regional stigma about donating blood. Although the technology has not achieved widespread adoption, where it has been used, blood donations have significantly increased.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How Many Coronavirus Cases Are Happening In Schools? This Tracker Keeps Count

Simone Popperl Bo Hamby Steve Inskeep

August 28, 2020 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas

The National Education Association has launched a school-focused COVID-19 case tracker in the U.S., all thank to the efforts of a Kansas theater teacher. Alisha Morris started with an excel sheet and took to online searches to start logging the number of positive cases, first around her state, and later was tracking 48 U.S. states. By the time she handed off the data to the NEA, Morris, along with various volunteers "had logged over nearly 4,300 cases at more than 1,000 schools."

Read More
Go to Original Story
The young people fighting the worst smog in Europe

Jessica Bateman

July 01, 2020 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: North Macedonia, Skopje

To measure the level of air quality in Skopje – one of the most polluted cities in Europe – an engineering student developed an app that alerts residents of the pollution levels. The app has raised the awareness of the severity of the city's pollution problem and has helped to kickstart initiatives aimed to address it.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How police forces in western Canada are working to speed up ballistic imaging to solve gun crimes quicker

Marsha McLeod

May 27, 2020 |

The Globe and Mail |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Edmonton, Alberta

As Canada sees an increase in gun violence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are increasing their capacity to do ballistic imaging – an analysis that is able to potentially connect multiple crimes. Across the country, individual police agencies are developing their own way of conducting this analysis or working with the RCMP, which has access to an integrated network of crime information, to expedite the process.

Read More
Go to Original Story