Epiconcept

What is the story behind Wepi? EpiConcept has been creating customized database systems for public health since 1996. At that time, the PC-based application used by many epidemiologists was EpiInfo. There was a clear need to have this application translated for the Francophone community, so we did just that. We also developed training courses for i... t and became the defacto source of help for the francophone community needing to use EpiInfo. Although EpiInfo was what the epidemiologists needed for their type of work, it was restricted to a single PC as a non-connected installed application. All data entry had to happen on the computer it was installed on. With the advent of interactive web sites in the early 2000s, EpiConcept created its own on-line Information system creation tool called Voozanoo. A simple module for epidemiologists, called Voozanoo 123 was then created. This allowed not just epidemiologists, but other health professionals to create on-line questionnaires. This meant that filled-out paper questionnaires didn't need to be entered into one single computer anymore. Multiple teams based anywhere in the world could enter records into one single data base and the owner could then review or download all the data, at anytime, for analysis. Realizing the need for a collaborative environment, this next generation tool, called Wepi (Web epidemiology) incorporates a collaborative work environment allowing professionals in different parts of the world to work on the same project and collect and view data records in real time. Wepi also gained a new simplified user interface and more functions as compared to Voozanoo 123. What is Wepi's future? EpiConcept believes that this simple tool for health professionals and epidemiologists will fill their needs for creating multicentric studies but yet have centralized results. For this, the Internet platform is clearly the solution. The plan is to keep Wepi simple and user-friendly but let it evolve through the specific needs of epidemiologists and public health ...Read More