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. 2020;25(6):615-620.
doi: 10.1080/14659891.2020.1753833. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Feasibility of a Citizen-driven Hackathon to Increase Public Engagement and Solutions to Address the Opioid Crisis

Stephanie Soliz  1 , Sean D Young  1
Affiliations

Feasibility of a Citizen-driven Hackathon to Increase Public Engagement and Solutions to Address the Opioid Crisis

Stephanie Soliz et al. J Subst Use. 2020.

Abstract

Background: Interdisciplinary approaches are needed to address complex societal problems, such as the opioid crisis. We sought to explore the feasibility and potential issues encountered in planning and implementing a 24-hour hackathon competition to bring together teams from law enforcement, public health, and data science to develop solutions to the opioid epidemic.

Methods: We enlisted an advisory board and planning committee, including key stakeholders (e.g., high-level representatives from government agencies) to plan the event. Teams completed an online registration form with questions about team composition. Each team captain completed a survey at the event describing prior experiences with their team, knowledge and interest around the opioid epidemic, and hackathon expectations.

Results: Twenty-nine teams (108 individuals) registered. 76% had a technical/engineering background. Participants were from industry (55%), academia (30%), public health/medicine (9%), and government/public policy (6%). Nineteen teams attended the event. Team captains were primarily 18-29 years of age, had moderate experience and interest in the opioid crisis, and had never attended an opioid-related event.

Conclusions: It is feasible to implement a 24-hour opioid-focused hackathon and recruit teams/participants from a broad range of disciplines. We discuss the solutions developed, barriers encountered, and insights gained throughout the planning and implementation process.

Keywords: hackathons; interdisciplinary; opioids; technology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

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