Epidemic investigations within an arm’s reach – role of google maps during an epidemic outbreak

Epidemics such as novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) can be contained and the rate of infection reduced by public health measures such as epidemiologic inquiries and social distancing. Epidemiologic inquiry requires resources and time which may not be available or reduced when the outbreak is excessive. We evaluated the use of Google Maps Timeline (GMTL) for creating spatial epidemiologic timelines. The study compares locations, routes, and means of transport between GMTL and user recall for 17 suitable users who were recruited during March 2020. They were interviewed about their timeline using the Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) method which was then compared to their GMTL and discrepancies between both methods were addressed. Interviewer conclusions were divided into categories: (1) participant recalled, (2) no recall (until shown). Categories were subdivided by GMTL accuracy: [a] GMTL accurate, [b] GMTL inaccurate, [c] GMTL data missing. A total of 362 locations were compared. Participants recalled 322 (88.95% SD = 8.55) locations compared with 40 (11.05%, SD = 2.05) locations not recalled. There were 304 locations found accurate on GMTL (83.98%, SD = 9.49), 29 (8.01%, SD = 1.11) inaccurate locations, and 29 (8.01%, SD = 0.54) missing locations. The total discrepancy between GMTL and TLFB recall was 95 cases (26.24%, SD = 3.25). Despite variations between users, Google Maps with GMTL technology may be useful in identifying potentially exposed individuals in a pandemic. It is especially useful when resources are limited. Further research is required with a larger number of users who are undergoing a real epidemiologic investigation to corroborate findings and establish further recommendations.