Poppi Overdose Responder Client and Database

An application to report and track overdoses in real time - giving policymakers data to end the opioid crisis

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Inspiration

While databases that track opioid overdoses exist, they are have significant limitations. For one, these databases generally do not provide precise information on where overdoses occur, at best providing the county in which the overdose occurred. These databases also take a long time to update, meaning they cannot provide up to date information regarding overdose locations. We sought to create an application that could address both of those problems.

What it does

The Poppi Client allows first responders and police to report overdoses at the scene. This information is then sent to a central database where they are plotted on a map in real time. This will allow policymakers to determine what specific areas have large numbers of overdose, allowing them to better locate police resources and prevent deaths with Naloxone. The Poppi Client can be used nationally to gather vital data to combat the opioid crisis.

How we built it

The main front end reporting client was built using Android Studios. The database that holds overdose information was built using mySQL. Using PHP, the mySQL database can be extracted to an XML file that plots points in real time using the Google Maps API.

Challenges we ran into

All members of our team did not have experience with mobile application development. The Google Map's API was also difficult to learn and understand. Additionally, though we had a pretty even distribution of roles, our communication was slightly lacking, thus causing miscommunication.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we managed to produce a workable prototype considering our lack of experience. Additionally, we believe our project does have the potential for long term use if implemented properly and well-supported with sufficient data.

What we learned

We learned that mobile application development is harder than it looks. Databases are no joke either, especially when the cloud gets involved. The sheer amount of data is extremely spread out across the internet and hard to utilize without a properly funded team.

What's next for Poppi Data

  • UI Improvements for the reporting client
  • More interactivity with the map (ability to filter by type or region)
  • Different types of visualisation on the map, more than just points
  • Integration with other apps (police routing or exporting data)
  • Integrating existing data on opioid overdoses
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