Building Back Progress towards Meeting Sustainable Development Goal 3 by 2030: Applications of AI and Digital Solutions

  • 5,912

    Total downloads

  • 32k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

The devastating toll and reach of COVID-19 have wiped out hard-won gains in global development over the last 25 years in just 25 weeks as highlighted in the 2020 Goalkeepers Report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the reallocation of available resources, including those of healthcare, to mitigate its catastrophic impact by many countries while many individuals have stopped seeking and receiving healthcare due to closure of healthcare facilities, disruptions to healthcare provision, or in fear of exposure to the disease.

In the context of healthcare, the WHO reported that vaccine coverage in 2020 dropped to levels unseen in over 25 years (1). Covid-19-related disruptions to essential and life-saving health service provisions in many, including high-income, countries could result in sharp rise in disease burden worldwide due to increases in other infectious diseases as well as non-communicable diseases (2). For example, more than half of the reporting countries reported moderate-to-severe disruptions or a total suspension of immunization services during 2020 leaving the real possibility of outbreaks of preventable diseases in multiple countries. A spike in illness and deaths from other communicable diseases such as AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other neglected tropical diseases, and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease may also be expected due to such disruptions, for example, delayed diagnosis and poor management of existing conditions.

The unprecedentedly rapid and successful development and, albeit uneven, rollouts of multiple safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines coupled with an increasing knowledgebase of viable treatment options bring new hope to an increasingly effective control of the pandemic this year. The world now faces a question on how we can start building back progress towards meeting these Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and to ensure that these setbacks do not become permanent.

In this Research Topic, we will be focusing on SDG Goal 3 ‘Good Health and Well-Being’, to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. We will be exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and digital innovations to help stamp development regression and reignite global progress towards SDG Goal 3. In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of AI in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the designing of health interventions, and modelling and predicting epidemics and chronic diseases. This Research Topic will be a timely contribution to the international efforts in mitigating the devastating impact of Covid-19 on global health.

Exemplars and advances along this theme deserve to be widely disseminated to the research and policy communities at large who are in urgent need to reverse the negative trends over numerous development indicators, with focus on the SDG 3 target indicators. Research in AI and digital solutions relating to the following applications are welcomed:
• Use of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) in health applications including improving or restoring essential health service and product delivery and achieving universal health coverage;
• AI in medical devices and wearables in early detection of diseases;
• The role of Big Data in diagnosis and treatment of diseases as well as for early warning of management of national and global health risks;
• Supporting clinical decision-making including triaging in low-resource settings;
• The use of robotics in clinical treatment.

References:
1.           World Health Organization. WHO and UNICEF warn of a decline in vaccinations during COVID-19. July 15, 2020 2020 (accessed Mar 10 2021).
2.           United Nations. SDG3 - Good Health and Well-Being. 2021. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/goal-03/ (accessed Mar 10 2021).

Keywords: sustainable development goals, SDG 3, AI, digital solutions, digital public health, artificial intelligence, big data

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Impact

  • 32kTopic views
  • 25kArticle views
  • 5,912Article downloads
View impact