Politics & Government

County Hosts Contest to Develop Program or App to Improve Public Health Info

A two-day contest to develop a computer program or mobile application that will improve the dissemination of health information will began Saturday in Kearny Mesa.

The "Code-a-Thon," hosted by the county of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, will award a total of $20,000 to the top six teams or individuals. The California HealthCare Foundation and Health 2.0 are co-hosting the event.

The idea is to design a program or app to make health data accessible and meaningful to policy makers and residents, county officials said.

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"There is a lot of data about health-related issues we make available to the public now," said HHSA Director Nick Macchione. "But our challenge to participants is to take that available data and develop a tool or application that inspires action, from policy development to personal lifestyle choices."

Educating residents to make healthy choices is one of the primary goals of the county's "Live Well San Diego" campaign, an initiative to improve the health and safety of residents.

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The first-place winner will receive $9,000, second place will receive $5,000, third place will receive $3,000 and three runners-up will receive $1,000 each, according to the county.

The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The location is the Campus Center Chambers and Commons Cafe at the County Operations Center, 5520 Overland Drive.

—City News Service


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