The Kabarak University Center for Health Informatics held a three-day Health Data Science Hackathon from Friday, February 17th to Sunday, February 18th, 2023. The event attracted a total of 60 students, organized into 13 teams, with the aim of developing data products using de-identified and anonymized data from the Child Protection Management System (CPIMS), the Kenya Health information system (KHIS), and HIV/AIDS data collection.

Participants at the event were expected to demonstrate critical data science skills such as data acquisition, exploratory data analysis (EDA), data cleaning, feature engineering, data storytelling, data engineering, model selection and development, and model deployment. These skills were crucial in developing the data products that emerged from the hackathon.

Some of the key outputs of the event included a User Support Virtual Assistant for the CPIMS, a malaria commodity demand prediction model for KHIS, and a classification model to advise on the indicator (new or old) to use during the transition from old to new HIV data collection tools. These outputs were a testament to the impressive data science skills demonstrated by the participants.

The hackathon was supported by the USAID HealthIT project as part of the County-proximate University engagement at Kabarak University. This support helped to ensure that the event was a resounding success and that the participants had access to the necessary resources and support throughout the hackathon.

The hackathon outputs can be accessed on the HealthIT Kabarak GitHub page – https://github.com/HealthIT-Kabarak. This provides an opportunity for interested parties to explore the developed products and learn from the impressive data science skills demonstrated by the participants.

In conclusion, the Kabarak University Center for Health Informatics Health Data Science Hackathon was a resounding success, with impressive outputs that demonstrated the skills and potential of the participating students. The event was supported by the USAID HealthIT project, which ensured that the necessary resources and support were available to the participants. The hackathon outputs are available on the HealthIT Kabarak GitHub page for interested parties to explore and learn from.