Integration of Information Technologies into the CareAge Project: Data Visualization and Management in the Elderly Care Sector

• Grant number: 25/08718-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science
• Principal Investigator: Ulisses Martins Dias
• Grantee: Lucas Alberto Rosa do Amaral
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Tecnologia (FT). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This Scientific Initiation project is part of the interdisciplinary initiative CareAge - A Proposal for Sustainable Care for Older Adults, officially endorsed by the University of Campinas (Unicamp) and funded as a Universal Project by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The central aim of CareAge is to understand and improve care arrangements for the elderly population by integrating research, education, and community outreach.Through home-based interviews with 461 dyads (older adult and caregiver), multidimensional data are collected on health conditions, nutritional status, depressive symptoms, cognitive decline, medication use, caregiver burden, household characteristics, access to services, and support networks. These data enable the identification of risk patterns and care provision gaps, supporting the formulation of public policies and sustainable strategies for elderly healthcare.This proposal is justified by the pressing need to design and implement an information system that consolidates the data collected by the CareAge project, ensuring data integrity, accessibility, and efficiency in information processing and analysis. The involvement of an undergraduate student in Information Systems is strategic, as the activities to be undertaken lie at the intersection of data science, software engineering, and information visualization applied to the health care sector.The planned activities include: (i) study and systematization of the data collection instruments used in the project; (ii) development of mechanisms for digitization and structuring of the database, incorporating procedures for validation, consistency, and information security; (iii) application of data preprocessing, cleaning, and standardization techniques using Python libraries such as Pandas and NumPy; (iv) creation of descriptive reports and interactive dashboards for exploratory analysis and indicator monitoring using tools such as Seaborn, Matplotlib, and Quarto; and (v) development of an internal web environment, using HTML and the Quarto framework, to provide access to reports, graphs, and metrics to the research team and partner health professionals.Furthermore, the proposal includes an assessment of the feasibility of using mobile devices for field data entry, aiming to reduce transcription errors and automate the data workflow. The system to be developed seeks to integrate the diverse dimensions of the collected data, facilitating multivariate analysis and the identification of care profiles, with potential to guide targeted interventions, territorial planning, and optimized resource allocation.Grounded in solid methodological foundations and aligned with concrete public health demands, this Scientific Initiation project will contribute to the qualification of the empirical data generated by CareAge, reinforcing the synergy between information technology, data science, and care policies for the elderly. Additionally, it will promote the scientific development of the undergraduate fellow by engaging them in an interdisciplinary research environment, with emphasis on the social application of knowledge, technical skill enhancement, and the generation of outcomes relevant to both the academic community and public health services.