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Ryan M, Brindal E, Roberts M, Hickson RI. A behaviour and disease transmission model: incorporating the Health Belief Model for human behaviour into a simple transmission model. J R Soc Interface 2024; 21:20240038. [PMID: 38835247 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2024.0038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The health and economic impacts of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 affect all levels of a community from the individual to the governing bodies. However, the spread of an infectious disease is intricately linked to the behaviour of the people within a community since crowd behaviour affects individual human behaviour, while human behaviour affects infection spread, and infection spread affects human behaviour. Capturing these feedback loops of behaviour and infection is a well-known challenge in infectious disease modelling. Here, we investigate the interface of behavioural science theory and infectious disease modelling to explore behaviour and disease (BaD) transmission models. Specifically, we incorporate a visible protective behaviour into the susceptible-infectious-recovered-susceptible (SIRS) transmission model using the socio-psychological Health Belief Model to motivate behavioural uptake and abandonment. We characterize the mathematical thresholds for BaD emergence in the BaD SIRS model and the feasible steady states. We also explore, under different infectious disease scenarios, the effects of a fully protective behaviour on long-term disease prevalence in a community, and describe how BaD modelling can investigate non-pharmaceutical interventions that target-specific components of the Health Belief Model. This transdisciplinary BaD modelling approach may reduce the health and economic impacts of future epidemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Ryan
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) , Adelaide, Australia
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University , Townsville, Australia
| | - Emily Brindal
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) , Adelaide, Australia
| | - Mick Roberts
- New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, Massey University , Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Roslyn I Hickson
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) , Adelaide, Australia
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University , Townsville, Australia
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2
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Hammond RA, Barkin S. Making evidence go further: Advancing synergy between agent-based modeling and randomized control trials. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314993121. [PMID: 38748574 PMCID: PMC11126991 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314993121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ross A. Hammond
- Public Health, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO63130
- Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC20036
- The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM87501
| | - Shari Barkin
- Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richmond, VA23298
- Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, Richmond, VA23298
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3
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Manna A, Koltai J, Karsai M. Importance of social inequalities to contact patterns, vaccine uptake, and epidemic dynamics. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4137. [PMID: 38755162 PMCID: PMC11099065 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48332-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals' socio-demographic and economic characteristics crucially shape the spread of an epidemic by largely determining the exposure level to the virus and the severity of the disease for those who got infected. While the complex interplay between individual characteristics and epidemic dynamics is widely recognised, traditional mathematical models often overlook these factors. In this study, we examine two important aspects of human behaviour relevant to epidemics: contact patterns and vaccination uptake. Using data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary, we first identify the dimensions along which individuals exhibit the greatest variation in their contact patterns and vaccination uptake. We find that generally higher socio-economic groups of the population have a higher number of contacts and a higher vaccination uptake with respect to disadvantaged groups. Subsequently, we propose a data-driven epidemiological model that incorporates these behavioural differences. Finally, we apply our model to analyse the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Hungary, providing valuable insights into real-world scenarios. By bridging the gap between individual characteristics and epidemic spread, our research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of disease dynamics and informs effective public health strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Manna
- Department of Network and Data Science, Central European University, Quellenstraße 51, Vienna, 1100, Austria
| | - Júlia Koltai
- National Laboratory for Health Security, HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, Tóth Kálmán utca 4, Budapest, 1097, Hungary
- Department of Social Research Methodology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
| | - Márton Karsai
- Department of Network and Data Science, Central European University, Quellenstraße 51, Vienna, 1100, Austria.
- National Laboratory for Health Security, HUN-REN Rényi Institute of Mathematics, Reáltanoda utca 13-15, Budapest, 1053, Hungary.
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4
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Zozmann H, Schüler L, Fu X, Gawel E. Autonomous and policy-induced behavior change during the COVID-19 pandemic: Towards understanding and modeling the interplay of behavioral adaptation. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0296145. [PMID: 38696526 PMCID: PMC11065316 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Changes in human behaviors, such as reductions of physical contacts and the adoption of preventive measures, impact the transmission of infectious diseases considerably. Behavioral adaptations may be the result of individuals aiming to protect themselves or mere responses to public containment measures, or a combination of both. What drives autonomous and policy-induced adaptation, how they are related and change over time is insufficiently understood. Here, we develop a framework for more precise analysis of behavioral adaptation, focusing on confluence, interactions and time variance of autonomous and policy-induced adaptation. We carry out an empirical analysis of Germany during the fall of 2020 and beyond. Subsequently, we discuss how behavioral adaptation processes can be better represented in behavioral-epidemiological models. We find that our framework is useful to understand the interplay of autonomous and policy-induced adaptation as a "moving target". Our empirical analysis suggests that mobility patterns in Germany changed significantly due to both autonomous and policy-induced adaption, with potentially weaker effects over time due to decreasing risk signals, diminishing risk perceptions and an erosion of trust in the government. We find that while a number of simulation and prediction models have made great efforts to represent behavioral adaptation, the interplay of autonomous and policy-induced adaption needs to be better understood to construct convincing counterfactual scenarios for policy analysis. The insights presented here are of interest to modelers and policy makers aiming to understand and account for behaviors during a pandemic response more accurately.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heinrich Zozmann
- Department Economics, UFZ–Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lennart Schüler
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Görlitz, Germany
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden, Germany
- Research Data Management—RDM, UFZ–Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Monitoring and Exploration Technologies, UFZ–Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Xiaoming Fu
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Görlitz, Germany
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden, Germany
| | - Erik Gawel
- Department Economics, UFZ–Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Infrastructure and Resources Management, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
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5
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Freedman AS, Sheen JK, Tsai S, Yao J, Lifshitz E, Adinaro D, Levin SA, Grenfell BT, Metcalf CJE. Inferring COVID-19 testing and vaccination behavior from New Jersey testing data. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314357121. [PMID: 38630720 PMCID: PMC11047110 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314357121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Characterizing the relationship between disease testing behaviors and infectious disease dynamics is of great importance for public health. Tests for both current and past infection can influence disease-related behaviors at the individual level, while population-level knowledge of an epidemic's course may feed back to affect one's likelihood of taking a test. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated testing data on an unprecedented scale for tests detecting both current infection (PCR, antigen) and past infection (serology); this opens the way to characterizing the complex relationship between testing behavior and infection dynamics. Leveraging a rich database of individualized COVID-19 testing histories in New Jersey, we analyze the behavioral relationships between PCR and serology tests, infection, and vaccination. We quantify interactions between individuals' test-taking tendencies and their past testing and infection histories, finding that PCR tests were disproportionately taken by people currently infected, and serology tests were disproportionately taken by people with past infection or vaccination. The effects of previous positive test results on testing behavior are less consistent, as individuals with past PCR positives were more likely to take subsequent PCR and serology tests at some periods of the epidemic time course and less likely at others. Lastly, we fit a model to the titer values collected from serology tests to infer vaccination trends, finding a marked decrease in vaccination rates among individuals who had previously received a positive PCR test. These results exemplify the utility of individualized testing histories in uncovering hidden behavioral variables affecting testing and vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ari S. Freedman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Justin K. Sheen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Stella Tsai
- New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, NJ08625
| | - Jihong Yao
- New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, NJ08625
| | | | | | - Simon A. Levin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Bryan T. Grenfell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - C. Jessica E. Metcalf
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
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Das P, Igoe M, Lacy A, Farthing T, Timsina A, Lanzas C, Lenhart S, Odoi A, Lloyd AL. Modeling county level COVID-19 transmission in the greater St. Louis area: Challenges of uncertainty and identifiability when fitting mechanistic models to time-varying processes. Math Biosci 2024; 371:109181. [PMID: 38537734 DOI: 10.1016/j.mbs.2024.109181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
We use a compartmental model with a time-varying transmission parameter to describe county level COVID-19 transmission in the greater St. Louis area of Missouri and investigate the challenges in fitting such a model to time-varying processes. We fit this model to synthetic and real confirmed case and hospital discharge data from May to December 2020 and calculate uncertainties in the resulting parameter estimates. We also explore non-identifiability within the estimated parameter set. We find that the death rate of infectious non-hospitalized individuals, the testing parameter and the initial number of exposed individuals are not identifiable based on an investigation of correlation coefficients between pairs of parameter estimates. We also explore how this non-identifiability ties back into uncertainties in the estimated parameters and find that it inflates uncertainty in the estimates of our time-varying transmission parameter. However, we do find that R0 is not highly affected by non-identifiability of its constituent components and the uncertainties associated with the quantity are smaller than those of the estimated parameters. Parameter values estimated from data will always be associated with some uncertainty and our work highlights the importance of conducting these analyses when fitting such models to real data. Exploring identifiability and uncertainty is crucial in revealing how much we can trust the parameter estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Praachi Das
- Biomathematics Graduate Program, Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Morganne Igoe
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Alexanderia Lacy
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Trevor Farthing
- Department of Population Health and Pathobiology and Comparative Medicine Institute, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Archana Timsina
- Department of Population Health and Pathobiology and Comparative Medicine Institute, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Cristina Lanzas
- Department of Population Health and Pathobiology and Comparative Medicine Institute, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Suzanne Lenhart
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Agricola Odoi
- Department of Biomedical and Diagnostics Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Alun L Lloyd
- Biomathematics Graduate Program, Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
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7
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Osi A, Ghaffarzadegan N. Parameter estimation in behavioral epidemic models with endogenous societal risk-response. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011992. [PMID: 38551972 PMCID: PMC11006122 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Behavioral epidemic models incorporating endogenous societal risk-response, where changes in risk perceptions prompt adjustments in contact rates, are crucial for predicting pandemic trajectories. Accurate parameter estimation in these models is vital for validation and precise projections. However, few studies have examined the problem of identifiability in models where disease and behavior parameters must be jointly estimated. To address this gap, we conduct simulation experiments to assess the effect on parameter estimation accuracy of a) delayed risk response, b) neglecting behavioral response in model structure, and c) integrating disease and public behavior data. Our findings reveal systematic biases in estimating behavior parameters even with comprehensive and accurate disease data and a well-structured simulation model when data are limited to the first wave. This is due to the significant delay between evolving risks and societal reactions, corresponding to the duration of a pandemic wave. Moreover, we demonstrate that conventional SEIR models, which disregard behavioral changes, may fit well in the early stages of a pandemic but exhibit significant errors after the initial peak. Furthermore, early on, relatively small data samples of public behavior, such as mobility, can significantly improve estimation accuracy. However, the marginal benefits decline as the pandemic progresses. These results highlight the challenges associated with the joint estimation of disease and behavior parameters in a behavioral epidemic model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann Osi
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Navid Ghaffarzadegan
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
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8
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Cabezas H, Štefančić H. Some insights on the COVID-19 pandemic from Fisher information. Heliyon 2024; 10:e26707. [PMID: 38434010 PMCID: PMC10906310 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
We explored the application of Fisher information to the study of pandemics and illustrated the insights that can be gained using the COVID-19 pandemic, as a test case. To do so, we applied the Fisher information theory previously applied to periodic systems, to non-periodic dynamic systems. The resulting mathematical machinery was then used to compute the Fisher information measure, as the amount of information extracted from the time series for COVID-19 confirmed infections and deaths. The analysis was performed for the World as a whole and five nation-states: India, USA, Japan, Germany, and Chile. Several insights resulted from the study: (1) the information content of the time series varied widely for different time periods, over the course of the pandemic, (2) it is advisable not to fit model parameters or make policy decisions based on data from time periods with low Fisher information, (3) the most information about a wave of infections comes towards the end of the wave where the time series data has the most information about the dynamics of the pandemic, and (4) the quality of the time series data significantly affects the Fisher information value, and, therefore, what can be learned from studying the time series.
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9
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Pisaneschi G, Tarani M, Di Donato G, Landi A, Laurino M, Manfredi P. Optimal social distancing in epidemic control: cost prioritization, adherence and insights into preparedness principles. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4365. [PMID: 38388727 PMCID: PMC10883963 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54955-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic experience has highlighted the importance of developing general control principles to inform future pandemic preparedness based on the tension between the different control options, ranging from elimination to mitigation, and related costs. Similarly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing has been confirmed to be the critical response tool until vaccines become available. Open-loop optimal control of a transmission model for COVID-19 in one of its most aggressive outbreaks is used to identify the best social distancing policies aimed at balancing the direct epidemiological costs of a threatening epidemic with its indirect (i.e., societal level) costs arising from enduring control measures. In particular, we analyse how optimal social distancing varies according to three key policy factors, namely, the degree of prioritization of indirect costs, the adherence to control measures, and the timeliness of intervention. As the prioritization of indirect costs increases, (i) the corresponding optimal distancing policy suddenly switches from elimination to suppression and, finally, to mitigation; (ii) the "effective" mitigation region-where hospitals' overwhelming is prevented-is dramatically narrow and shows multiple control waves; and (iii) a delicate balance emerges, whereby low adherence and lack of timeliness inevitably force ineffective mitigation as the only accessible policy option. The present results show the importance of open-loop optimal control, which is traditionally absent in public health preparedness, for studying the suppression-mitigation trade-off and supplying robust preparedness guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Pisaneschi
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Matteo Tarani
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Alberto Landi
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Laurino
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
| | - Piero Manfredi
- Department of Economics and Management, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
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10
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Martin-Lapoirie D, McColl K, Gallopel-Morvan K, Arwidson P, Raude J. Health protective behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic: Risk adaptation or habituation? Soc Sci Med 2024; 342:116531. [PMID: 38194726 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Many epidemiological works show that human behaviours play a fundamental role in the spread of infectious diseases. However, we still do not know much about how people modify their Health Protective Behaviours (HPB), such as hygiene or social distancing measures, over time in response to the health threat during an epidemic. In this study, we examined the role of the epidemiological context in engagement in HPB through two possible mechanisms highlighted by research into decision-making under risk: risk adaptation and risk habituation. These two different mechanisms were assumed to explain to a large extent the temporal variations in the public's responsiveness to the health threat during the COVID-19 pandemic. To test them, we used self-reported data collected through a series of 25 cross-sectional surveys conducted in France among representative samples of the adult population, from March 2020 to September 2021 (N = 50,019). Interestingly, we found that both mechanisms accounted relatively well for the temporal variation in the adoption of social distancing during the pandemic, which is remarkable given their different assumptions about the underlying social cognitive processes involved in response to a health threat. These results suggest that strengthening the incentives to encourage people to maintain health protective behaviours and to counter risk habituation effects is crucial to disease control and prevention over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Martin-Lapoirie
- Centre d'Économie de la Sorbonne, CNRS, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France.
| | - Kathleen McColl
- EHESP, CNRS, Inserm, Arènes - UMR 6051, RSMS (Recherche sur les Services et Management en Santé) - U 1309, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France.
| | - Karine Gallopel-Morvan
- EHESP, CNRS, Inserm, Arènes - UMR 6051, RSMS (Recherche sur les Services et Management en Santé) - U 1309, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France.
| | - Pierre Arwidson
- Direction de la Prévention de la Santé, Santé Publique France, Saint-Maurice, France.
| | - Jocelyn Raude
- EHESP, CNRS, Inserm, Arènes - UMR 6051, RSMS (Recherche sur les Services et Management en Santé) - U 1309, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France.
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Pangallo M, Aleta A, Del Rio-Chanona RM, Pichler A, Martín-Corral D, Chinazzi M, Lafond F, Ajelli M, Moro E, Moreno Y, Vespignani A, Farmer JD. The unequal effects of the health-economy trade-off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:264-275. [PMID: 37973827 PMCID: PMC10896714 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01747-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Despite the global impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the question of whether mandated interventions have similar economic and public health effects as spontaneous behavioural change remains unresolved. Addressing this question, and understanding differential effects across socioeconomic groups, requires building quantitative and fine-grained mechanistic models. Here we introduce a data-driven, granular, agent-based model that simulates epidemic and economic outcomes across industries, occupations and income levels. We validate the model by reproducing key outcomes of the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 in the New York metropolitan area. The key mechanism coupling the epidemic and economic modules is the reduction in consumption due to fear of infection. In counterfactual experiments, we show that a similar trade-off between epidemic and economic outcomes exists both when individuals change their behaviour due to fear of infection and when non-pharmaceutical interventions are imposed. Low-income workers, who perform in-person occupations in customer-facing industries, face the strongest trade-off.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alberto Aleta
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems and Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | | | - David Martín-Corral
- Department of Mathematics and GISC, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganes, Spain
| | - Matteo Chinazzi
- MOBS Lab, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
- The Roux Institute, Northeastern University, Portland, ME, USA
| | - François Lafond
- Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, and Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Marco Ajelli
- Laboratory for Computational Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Esteban Moro
- Department of Mathematics and GISC, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganes, Spain
- Connection Science, Institute for Data Science and Society, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yamir Moreno
- CENTAI Institute, Turin, Italy
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems and Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Complexity Science Hub, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - J Doyne Farmer
- Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, and Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
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12
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Althouse BM, Wallace B, Case BKM, Scarpino SV, Allard A, Berdahl AM, White ER, Hébert-Dufresne L. The unintended consequences of inconsistent closure policies and mobility restrictions during epidemics. BMC GLOBAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 1:28. [PMID: 38798822 PMCID: PMC11116187 DOI: 10.1186/s44263-023-00028-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Background Controlling the spread of infectious diseases-even when safe, transmission-blocking vaccines are available-may require the effective use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), e.g., mask wearing, testing, limits on group sizes, venue closure. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many countries implemented NPIs inconsistently in space and time. This inconsistency was especially pronounced for policies in the United States of America (US) related to venue closure. Methods Here, we investigate the impact of inconsistent policies associated with venue closure using mathematical modeling and high-resolution human mobility, Google search, and county-level SARS-CoV-2 incidence data from the USA. Specifically, we look at high-resolution location data and perform a US-county-level analysis of nearly 8 million SARS-CoV-2 cases and 150 million location visits, including 120 million church visitors across 184,677 churches, 14 million grocery visitors across 7662 grocery stores, and 13.5 million gym visitors across 5483 gyms. Results Analyzing the interaction between venue closure and changing mobility using a mathematical model shows that, across a broad range of model parameters, inconsistent or partial closure can be worse in terms of disease transmission as compared to scenarios with no closures at all. Importantly, changes in mobility patterns due to epidemic control measures can lead to increase in the future number of cases. In the most severe cases, individuals traveling to neighboring jurisdictions with different closure policies can result in an outbreak that would otherwise have been contained. To motivate our mathematical models, we turn to mobility data and find that while stay-at-home orders and closures decreased contacts in most areas of the USA, some specific activities and venues saw an increase in attendance and an increase in the distance visitors traveled to attend. We support this finding using search query data, which clearly shows a shift in information seeking behavior concurrent with the changing mobility patterns. Conclusions While coarse-grained observations are not sufficient to validate our models, taken together, they highlight the potential unintended consequences of inconsistent epidemic control policies related to venue closure and stress the importance of balancing the societal needs of a population with the risk of an outbreak growing into a large epidemic. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s44263-023-00028-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M. Althouse
- University of Washington, Seattle, 98105 WA USA
- New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 88003 NM USA
| | - Brendan Wallace
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195 WA USA
- Present Address: Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
- School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences,, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - B. K. M. Case
- Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, 05405 VT USA
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, 05405 VT USA
| | - Samuel V. Scarpino
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, 05405 VT USA
- Institute for Experiential AI, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts USA
- Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA USA
- Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM USA
| | - Antoine Allard
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, 05405 VT USA
- Département de physique, de génie physique et d’optique, Université Laval, Québec (Québec), G1V 0A6 Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire en modélisation mathématique, Université Laval, Québec (Québec), G1V 0A6 Canada
| | - Andrew M. Berdahl
- School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195 WA USA
| | - Easton R. White
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 03824 NH USA
- Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, 05405 VT USA
| | - Laurent Hébert-Dufresne
- Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, 05405 VT USA
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, 05405 VT USA
- Département de physique, de génie physique et d’optique, Université Laval, Québec (Québec), G1V 0A6 Canada
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13
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Hayman DT, Adisasmito WB, Almuhairi S, Behravesh CB, Bilivogui P, Bukachi SA, Casas N, Becerra NC, Charron DF, Chaudhary A, Ciacci Zanella JR, Cunningham AA, Dar O, Debnath N, Dungu B, Farag E, Gao GF, Khaitsa M, Machalaba C, Mackenzie JS, Markotter W, Mettenleiter TC, Morand S, Smolenskiy V, Zhou L, Koopmans M. Developing One Health surveillance systems. One Health 2023; 17:100617. [PMID: 38024258 PMCID: PMC10665171 DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the environment are inter-dependent. Global anthropogenic change is a key driver of disease emergence and spread and leads to biodiversity loss and ecosystem function degradation, which are themselves drivers of disease emergence. Pathogen spill-over events and subsequent disease outbreaks, including pandemics, in humans, animals and plants may arise when factors driving disease emergence and spread converge. One Health is an integrated approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize human, animal and ecosystem health. Conventional disease surveillance has been siloed by sectors, with separate systems addressing the health of humans, domestic animals, cultivated plants, wildlife and the environment. One Health surveillance should include integrated surveillance for known and unknown pathogens, but combined with this more traditional disease-based surveillance, it also must include surveillance of drivers of disease emergence to improve prevention and mitigation of spill-over events. Here, we outline such an approach, including the characteristics and components required to overcome barriers and to optimize an integrated One Health surveillance system.
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Affiliation(s)
- One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP)
- Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory, Hopkirk Research Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- University of Indonesia, West Java, Indonesia
- National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
- World Health Organization, Guinea Country Office, Conakry, Guinea
- Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- National Ministry of Health, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
- School of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá, Colombia
- Visiting Professor, One Health Institute, University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario, Canada
- Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Embrapa Swine and Poultry, Santa Catarina, Brazil
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, United Kingdom
- Global Operations Division, United Kingdom Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
- Global Health Programme, Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom
- Fleming Fund Country Grant to Bangladesh, DAI Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- One Health, Bangladesh
- Afrivet B M, Pretoria, South Africa
- Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Health Protection & Communicable Diseases Division, Doha, Qatar
- Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States of America
- EcoHealth Alliance, New York, United States of America
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Germany
- MIVEGEC, CNRS-IRD-Montpellier, Montpellier University, Montpelier, France
- Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Erasmus MC, Department of Viroscience, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - David T.S. Hayman
- Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory, Hopkirk Research Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | | | - Salama Almuhairi
- National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Pépé Bilivogui
- World Health Organization, Guinea Country Office, Conakry, Guinea
| | - Salome A. Bukachi
- Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Natalia Casas
- National Ministry of Health, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Dominique F. Charron
- Visiting Professor, One Health Institute, University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario, Canada
| | - Abhishek Chaudhary
- Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India
| | - Janice R. Ciacci Zanella
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Embrapa Swine and Poultry, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | | | - Osman Dar
- Global Operations Division, United Kingdom Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
- Global Health Programme, Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nitish Debnath
- Fleming Fund Country Grant to Bangladesh, DAI Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- One Health, Bangladesh
| | | | - Elmoubasher Farag
- Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Health Protection & Communicable Diseases Division, Doha, Qatar
| | - George F. Gao
- Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Margaret Khaitsa
- Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States of America
| | | | - John S. Mackenzie
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Wanda Markotter
- Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | | | - Serge Morand
- MIVEGEC, CNRS-IRD-Montpellier, Montpellier University, Montpelier, France
- Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Vyacheslav Smolenskiy
- Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Lei Zhou
- Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Marion Koopmans
- Erasmus MC, Department of Viroscience, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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14
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Dolan E, Goulding J, Marshall H, Smith G, Long G, Tata LJ. Assessing the value of integrating national longitudinal shopping data into respiratory disease forecasting models. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7258. [PMID: 37990023 PMCID: PMC10663456 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42776-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic led to unparalleled pressure on healthcare services. Improved healthcare planning in relation to diseases affecting the respiratory system has consequently become a key concern. We investigated the value of integrating sales of non-prescription medications commonly bought for managing respiratory symptoms, to improve forecasting of weekly registered deaths from respiratory disease at local levels across England, by using over 2 billion transactions logged by a UK high street retailer from March 2016 to March 2020. We report the results from the novel AI (Artificial Intelligence) explainability variable importance tool Model Class Reliance implemented on the PADRUS model (Prediction of Amount of Deaths by Respiratory disease Using Sales). PADRUS is a machine learning model optimised to predict registered deaths from respiratory disease in 314 local authority areas across England through the integration of shopping sales data and focused on purchases of non-prescription medications. We found strong evidence that models incorporating sales data significantly out-perform other models that solely use variables traditionally associated with respiratory disease (e.g. sociodemographics and weather data). Accuracy gains are highest (increases in R2 (coefficient of determination) between 0.09 to 0.11) in periods of maximum risk to the general public. Results demonstrate the potential to utilise sales data to monitor population health with information at a high level of geographic granularity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Dolan
- N/LAB, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
- Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
| | - James Goulding
- N/LAB, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Harry Marshall
- N/LAB, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Gavin Smith
- N/LAB, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Gavin Long
- N/LAB, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Laila J Tata
- Lifespan and Population Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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15
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Kim D, Canovas-Segura B, Jimeno-Almazán A, Campos M, Juarez JM. Spatial-temporal simulation for hospital infection spread and outbreaks of Clostridioides difficile. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20022. [PMID: 37974000 PMCID: PMC10654661 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47296-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Validated and curated datasets are essential for studying the spread and control of infectious diseases in hospital settings, requiring clinical information on patients' evolution and their location. The literature shows that approaches based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the development of clinical-support systems have benefits that are increasingly recognized. However, there is a lack of available high-volume data, necessary for trusting such AI models. One effective method in this situation involves the simulation of realistic data. Existing simulators primarily focus on implementing compartmental epidemiological models and contact networks to validate epidemiological hypotheses. Nevertheless, other practical aspects such as the hospital building distribution, shifts or safety policies on infections has received minimal attention. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for a simulator of nosocomial infection spread, combining agent-based patient description, spatial-temporal constraints of the hospital settings, and microorganism behavior driven by epidemiological models. The predictive validity of the model was analyzed considering micro and macro-face validation, parameter calibration based on literature review, model alignment, and sensitive analysis with an expert. This simulation model is useful in monitoring infections and in the decision-making process in a hospital, by helping to detect spatial-temporal patterns and predict statistical data about the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denisse Kim
- Med AI Lab, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
| | | | - Amaya Jimeno-Almazán
- Internal Medicine Service, Infectious Diseases Section, Hospital Universitario Santa Lucía, Cartagena, Spain
| | - Manuel Campos
- Med AI Lab, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain
- Murcian Bio-Health Institute (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, 30120, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jose M Juarez
- Med AI Lab, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain
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16
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Zhang X, Scarabel F, Murty K, Wu J. Renewal equations for delayed population behaviour adaptation coupled with disease transmission dynamics: A mechanism for multiple waves of emerging infections. Math Biosci 2023; 365:109068. [PMID: 37716408 DOI: 10.1016/j.mbs.2023.109068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023]
Abstract
There are many plausible reasons for recurrent outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. In this paper, we develop a mathematical model to illustrate how population behavioural adaption and adaptation implementation delay, in response to the perceived infection risk, can lead to recurrent outbreak patterns. We consider the early phase of an infection outbreak when herd immunity is not reached, pathogen mutation is not considered, and seasonality is ruled out as a major contributor. We derive a transmission dynamics model coupled with the renewal equation for the disease transmission effective contacts (contact rate per unit time multiplied by the transmission probability per contact). The model incorporates two critical parameters: the population behavioural adaptation flexibility index and the behavioural change implementation delay. We show that when the behavioural change implementation delay reaches a critical value, the number of infections starts to oscillate in an equilibrium that is determined by the population behavioural adaptation flexibility. We also show that the numbers of infections at the subsequent peaks can exceed that of the first peak. This was an oblique observation globally during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic before variants of concern emerged, and it was an observed phenomena with the Omicron variant induced wave in areas where early interventions were successful in preventing the large outbreaks. Our model and analyses can provide partially explanation for these observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhang
- Department of Mathematics, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
| | - Francesca Scarabel
- Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Y-EMERGE, York University, Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada; Fields-CQAM Laboratory of Mathematics for Public Health, York University, Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada; CDLab, Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics, University of Udine, Udine 33100, Italy; School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Woodhouse, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Kumar Murty
- Department of Mathematics, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 2E4, Canada; The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, Toronto M5S 2E4, Canada
| | - Jianhong Wu
- Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Y-EMERGE, York University, Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada; Fields-CQAM Laboratory of Mathematics for Public Health, York University, Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada.
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17
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Hill EM, Prosser NS, Brown PE, Ferguson E, Green MJ, Kaler J, Keeling MJ, Tildesley MJ. Incorporating heterogeneity in farmer disease control behaviour into a livestock disease transmission model. Prev Vet Med 2023; 219:106019. [PMID: 37699310 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.106019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
Human behaviour is critical to effective responses to livestock disease outbreaks, especially with respect to vaccination uptake. Traditionally, mathematical models used to inform this behaviour have not taken heterogeneity in farmer behaviour into account. We address this by exploring how heterogeneity in farmers vaccination behaviour can be incorporated to inform mathematical models. We developed and used a graphical user interface to elicit farmers (n = 60) vaccination decisions to an unfolding fast-spreading epidemic and linked this to their psychosocial and behavioural profiles. We identified, via cluster analysis, robust patterns of heterogeneity in vaccination behaviour. By incorporating these vaccination behavioural groupings into a mathematical model for a fast-spreading livestock infection, using computational simulation we explored how the inclusion of heterogeneity in farmer disease control behaviour may impact epidemiological and economic focused outcomes. When assuming homogeneity in farmer behaviour versus configurations informed by the psychosocial profile cluster estimates, the modelled scenarios revealed a disconnect in projected distributions and threshold statistics across outbreak size, outbreak duration and economic metrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward M Hill
- The Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research, School of Life Sciences and Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
| | - Naomi S Prosser
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - Paul E Brown
- The Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research, School of Life Sciences and Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Eamonn Ferguson
- School of Psychology, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health and Care Research Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Donor Health and Behaviour, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Martin J Green
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - Jasmeet Kaler
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - Matt J Keeling
- The Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research, School of Life Sciences and Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Tildesley
- The Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research, School of Life Sciences and Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
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18
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Fügenschuh M, Fu F. Overcoming vaccine hesitancy by multiplex social network targeting: an analysis of targeting algorithms and implications. APPLIED NETWORK SCIENCE 2023; 8:67. [PMID: 37745797 PMCID: PMC10514145 DOI: 10.1007/s41109-023-00595-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Incorporating social factors into disease prevention and control efforts is an important undertaking of behavioral epidemiology. The interplay between disease transmission and human health behaviors, such as vaccine uptake, results in complex dynamics of biological and social contagions. Maximizing intervention adoptions via network-based targeting algorithms by harnessing the power of social contagion for behavior and attitude changes largely remains a challenge. Here we address this issue by considering a multiplex network setting. Individuals are situated on two layers of networks: the disease transmission network layer and the peer influence network layer. The disease spreads through direct close contacts while vaccine views and uptake behaviors spread interpersonally within a potentially virtual network. The results of our comprehensive simulations show that network-based targeting with pro-vaccine supporters as initial seeds significantly influences vaccine adoption rates and reduces the extent of an epidemic outbreak. Network targeting interventions are much more effective by selecting individuals with a central position in the opinion network as compared to those grouped in a community or connected professionally. Our findings provide insight into network-based interventions to increase vaccine confidence and demand during an ongoing epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzena Fügenschuh
- Berliner Hochschule für Technik, Luxemburgerstr. 10, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Feng Fu
- Department of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, 03755 Hanover, NH USA
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19
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Arthur RF, Levin M, Labrogere A, Feldman MW. Age-differentiated incentives for adaptive behavior during epidemics produce oscillatory and chaotic dynamics. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011217. [PMID: 37669282 PMCID: PMC10503720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneity in contact patterns, mortality rates, and transmissibility among and between different age classes can have significant effects on epidemic outcomes. Adaptive behavior in response to the spread of an infectious pathogen may give rise to complex epidemiological dynamics. Here we model an infectious disease in which adaptive behavior incentives, and mortality rates, can vary between two and three age classes. The model indicates that age-dependent variability in infection aversion can produce more complex epidemic dynamics at lower levels of pathogen transmissibility and that those at less risk of infection can still drive complexity in the dynamics of those at higher risk of infection. Policymakers should consider the interdependence of such heterogeneous groups when making decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronan F Arthur
- School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - May Levin
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Alexandre Labrogere
- Department of Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Marcus W Feldman
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
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20
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O’Gara D, Rosenblatt SF, Hébert-Dufresne L, Purcell R, Kasman M, Hammond RA. TRACE-Omicron: Policy Counterfactuals to Inform Mitigation of COVID-19 Spread in the United States. ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS 2023; 6:2300147. [PMID: 38283383 PMCID: PMC10812885 DOI: 10.1002/adts.202300147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
The Omicron wave was the largest wave of COVID-19 pandemic to date, more than doubling any other in terms of cases and hospitalizations in the United States. In this paper, we present a large-scale agent-based model of policy interventions that could have been implemented to mitigate the Omicron wave. Our model takes into account the behaviors of individuals and their interactions with one another within a nationally representative population, as well as the efficacy of various interventions such as social distancing, mask wearing, testing, tracing, and vaccination. We use the model to simulate the impact of different policy scenarios and evaluate their potential effectiveness in controlling the spread of the virus. Our results suggest the Omicron wave could have been substantially curtailed via a combination of interventions comparable in effectiveness to extreme and unpopular singular measures such as widespread closure of schools and workplaces, and highlight the importance of early and decisive action.
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Affiliation(s)
- David O’Gara
- Division of Computational and Data Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
| | - Samuel F. Rosenblatt
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont
- Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont
| | - Laurent Hébert-Dufresne
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont
- Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont
| | - Rob Purcell
- Center On Social Dynamics and Policy, Brookings Institution
| | - Matt Kasman
- Center On Social Dynamics and Policy, Brookings Institution
| | - Ross A. Hammond
- Center On Social Dynamics and Policy, Brookings Institution
- Division of Computational and Data Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
- Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis
- Santa Fe Institute
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21
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Burgio G, Gómez S, Arenas A. Spreading dynamics in networks under context-dependent behavior. Phys Rev E 2023; 107:064304. [PMID: 37464705 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.107.064304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
In some systems, the behavior of the constituent units can create a "context" that modifies the direct interactions among them. This mechanism of indirect modification inspired us to develop a minimal model of context-dependent spreading. In our model, agents actively impede (favor) or not diffusion during an interaction, depending on the behavior they observe among all the peers in the group within which that interaction occurs. We divide the population into two behavioral types and provide a mean-field theory to parametrize mixing patterns of arbitrary type-assortativity within groups of any size. As an application, we examine an epidemic-spreading model with context-dependent adoption of prophylactic tools such as face masks. By analyzing the distributions of groups' size and type-composition, we uncover a rich phenomenology for the basic reproduction number and the endemic state. We analytically show how changing the group organization of contacts can either facilitate or hinder epidemic spreading, eventually moving the system from the subcritical to the supercritical phase and vice versa, depending mainly on sociological factors, such as whether the prophylactic behavior is hardly or easily induced. More generally, our work provides a theoretical foundation to model higher-order contexts and analyze their dynamical implications, envisioning a broad theory of context-dependent interactions that would allow for a new systematic investigation of a variety of complex systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Burgio
- Departament d'Enginyeria Informàtica i Matemàtiques, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Sergio Gómez
- Departament d'Enginyeria Informàtica i Matemàtiques, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Alex Arenas
- Departament d'Enginyeria Informàtica i Matemàtiques, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
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22
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Hayman DTS, Barraclough RK, Muglia LJ, McGovern V, Afolabi MO, N'Jai AU, Ambe JR, Atim C, McClelland A, Paterson B, Ijaz K, Lasley J, Ahsan Q, Garfield R, Chittenden K, Phelan AL, Lopez Rivera A. Addressing the challenges of implementing evidence-based prioritisation in global health. BMJ Glob Health 2023; 8:e012450. [PMID: 37290897 PMCID: PMC10255200 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-012450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Global health requires evidence-based approaches to improve health and decrease inequalities. In a roundtable discussion between health practitioners, funders, academics and policy-makers, we recognised key areas for improvement to deliver better-informed, sustainable and equitable global health practices. These focus on considering information-sharing mechanisms and developing evidence-based frameworks that take an adaptive function-based approach, grounded in the ability to perform and respond to prioritised needs. Increasing social engagement as well as sector and participant diversity in whole-of-society decision-making, and collaborating with and optimising on hyperlocal and global regional entities, will improve prioritisation of global health capabilities. Since the skills required to navigate drivers of pandemics, and the challenges in prioritising, capacity building and response do not sit squarely in the health sector, it is essential to integrate expertise from a broad range of fields to maximise on available knowledge during decision-making and system development. Here, we review the current assessment tools and provide seven discussion points for how improvements to implementation of evidence-based prioritisation can improve global health.
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Affiliation(s)
- David T S Hayman
- Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Rosemary K Barraclough
- Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Louis J Muglia
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Victoria McGovern
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Muhammed O Afolabi
- Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Alhaji U N'Jai
- Department of Microbiology, University of Sierra Leone College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Sierra Leone Fourah Bay College, Freetown, Sierra Leone
| | - Jennyfer R Ambe
- The Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Chris Atim
- Results for Development (R4D), Accra, Ghana
| | | | - Beverley Paterson
- Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Kashef Ijaz
- Health Programs, The Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | | | - Qadeer Ahsan
- Australia Indonesia Health Security Partnership, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | | | | | - Alexandra L Phelan
- Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Abigail Lopez Rivera
- US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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23
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Morsky B, Magpantay F, Day T, Akçay E. The impact of threshold decision mechanisms of collective behavior on disease spread. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2221479120. [PMID: 37126702 PMCID: PMC10175758 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221479120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are a hyper-social species, which greatly impacts the spread of infectious diseases. How do social dynamics impact epidemiology and what are the implications for public health policy? Here, we develop a model of disease transmission that incorporates social dynamics and a behavior that reduces the spread of disease, a voluntary nonpharmaceutical intervention (NPI). We use a "tipping-point" dynamic, previously used in the sociological literature, where individuals adopt a behavior given a sufficient prevalence of the behavior in the population. The thresholds at which individuals adopt the NPI behavior are modulated by the perceived risk of infection, i.e., the disease prevalence and transmission rate, costs to adopt the NPI behavior, and the behavior of others. Social conformity creates a type of "stickiness" whereby individuals are resistant to changing their behavior due to the population's inertia. In this model, we observe a nonmonotonicity in the attack rate as a function of various biological and social parameters such as the transmission rate, efficacy of the NPI, costs of the NPI, weight of social consequences of shirking the social norm, and the degree of heterogeneity in the population. We also observe that the attack rate can be highly sensitive to these parameters due to abrupt shifts in the collective behavior of the population. These results highlight the complex interplay between the dynamics of epidemics and norm-driven collective behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryce Morsky
- Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL32306
- Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Queen’s University, Kingston, ONK7L 3N6, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA19104
| | - Felicia Magpantay
- Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Queen’s University, Kingston, ONK7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Troy Day
- Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Queen’s University, Kingston, ONK7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Erol Akçay
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA19104
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Mthembu Z, Mogaka JJO, Chimbari MJ. Community engagement processes in low- and middle-income countries health research settings: a systematic review of the literature. BMC Health Serv Res 2023; 23:457. [PMID: 37158864 PMCID: PMC10169489 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-09466-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Community Engagement is an important ethical imperative in research. Although substantial research emphasizes its real value and strategic importance, much of the available literature focuses primarily on the success of community participation, with little emphasis given to specific community engagement processes, mechanisms and strategies in relation to intended outcomes in research environments. The systematic literature review's objective was to explore the nature of community engagement processes, strategies and approaches in health research settings in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS The systematic literature review design was informed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched for peer-reviewed, English-language literature published between January 2011 and December 2021 through three databases on the internet (PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar). The terms "community engagement," "community involvement," "participation," "research settings," and "low- and middle-income countries" were merged in the search. RESULTS The majority of publications [8/10] were led by authors from low- and middle-income countries, with many of them, [9/10] failing to continuously include important aspects of study quality. Even though consultation and information sessions were less participatory, articles were most likely to describe community engagement in these types of events. The articles covered a wide range of health issues, but the majority were concerned with infectious diseases such as malaria, human immunodeficiency virus, and tuberculosis, followed by studies on the environment and broader health factors. Articles were largely under-theorized. CONCLUSIONS Despite the lack of theoretical underpinnings for various community engagement processes, strategies and approaches, community engagement in research settings was variable. Future studies should go deeper into community engagement theory, acknowledge the power dynamics underpin community engagement, and be more practical about the extent to which communities may participate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinhle Mthembu
- University of KwaZulu-Natal. College of Health Science, School of Nursing and Public Health, Howard College, 269 Mazisi Kunene Road, Berea, Durban, 4041, South Africa.
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Zululand, 1 Main Road, Vulindlela, KwaDlangezwa, 3886, South Africa.
| | - John J O Mogaka
- University of KwaZulu-Natal. College of Health Science, School of Nursing and Public Health, Howard College, 269 Mazisi Kunene Road, Berea, Durban, 4041, South Africa
| | - Moses J Chimbari
- University of KwaZulu-Natal. College of Health Science, School of Nursing and Public Health, Howard College, 269 Mazisi Kunene Road, Berea, Durban, 4041, South Africa
- Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, P.O. Box 1234, Zimbabwe
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Bellotti E, Voros A, Passah M, Nongrum QD, Nengnong CB, Khongwir C, van Eijk A, Kessler A, Sarkar R, Carlton JM, Albert S. Social network and household exposure explain the use of malaria prevention measures in rural communities of Meghalaya, India. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.04.23.23288997. [PMID: 37162984 PMCID: PMC10168486 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.23.23288997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Malaria remains a global concern despite substantial reduction in incidence over the past twenty years. Public health interventions to increase the uptake of preventive measures have contributed to this decline but their impact has not been uniform. To date, we know little about what determines the use of preventive measures in rural, hard-to-reach populations, which are crucial contexts for malaria eradication. We collected detailed interview data on the use of malaria preventive measures, health-related discussion networks, individual characteristics, and household composition in ten tribal, malaria-endemic villages in Meghalaya, India in 2020-2021 (n=1,530). Employing standard and network statistical models, we found that social network and household exposure were consistently positively associated with preventive measure use across villages. Network and household exposure were also the most important factors explaining behaviour, outweighing individual characteristics, opinion leaders, and network size. These results suggest that real-life data on social networks and household composition should be considered in studies of health-behaviour change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Bellotti
- Department of Sociology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Andras Voros
- School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Mattimi Passah
- Indian Institute of Public Health Shillong, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
| | | | | | | | - Annemieke van Eijk
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, USA
| | - Anne Kessler
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, USA
| | - Rajiv Sarkar
- Indian Institute of Public Health Shillong, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
| | - Jane M. Carlton
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, USA
| | - Sandra Albert
- Indian Institute of Public Health Shillong, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
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26
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Alves A, da Costa NM, Morgado P, da Costa EM. Uncovering COVID-19 infection determinants in Portugal: towards an evidence-based spatial susceptibility index to support epidemiological containment policies. Int J Health Geogr 2023; 22:8. [PMID: 37024965 PMCID: PMC10078027 DOI: 10.1186/s12942-023-00329-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND COVID-19 caused the largest pandemic of the twenty-first century forcing the adoption of containment policies all over the world. Many studies on COVID-19 health determinants have been conducted, mainly using multivariate methods and geographic information systems (GIS), but few attempted to demonstrate how knowing social, economic, mobility, behavioural, and other spatial determinants and their effects can help to contain the disease. For example, in mainland Portugal, non-pharmacological interventions (NPI) were primarily dependent on epidemiological indicators and ignored the spatial variation of susceptibility to infection. METHODS We present a data-driven GIS-multicriteria analysis to derive a spatial-based susceptibility index to COVID-19 infection in Portugal. The cumulative incidence over 14 days was used in a stepwise multiple linear regression as the target variable along potential determinants at the municipal scale. To infer the existence of thresholds in the relationships between determinants and incidence the most relevant factors were examined using a bivariate Bayesian change point analysis. The susceptibility index was mapped based on these thresholds using a weighted linear combination. RESULTS Regression results support that COVID-19 spread in mainland Portugal had strong associations with factors related to socio-territorial specificities, namely sociodemographic, economic and mobility. Change point analysis revealed evidence of nonlinearity, and the susceptibility classes reflect spatial dependency. The spatial index of susceptibility to infection explains with accuracy previous and posterior infections. Assessing the NPI levels in relation to the susceptibility map points towards a disagreement between the severity of restrictions and the actual propensity for transmission, highlighting the need for more tailored interventions. CONCLUSIONS This article argues that NPI to contain COVID-19 spread should consider the spatial variation of the susceptibility to infection. The findings highlight the importance of customising interventions to specific geographical contexts due to the uneven distribution of COVID-19 infection determinants. The methodology has the potential for replication at other geographical scales and regions to better understand the role of health determinants in explaining spatiotemporal patterns of diseases and promoting evidence-based public health policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Alves
- Centre of Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, 1600-276, Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Nuno Marques da Costa
- Centre of Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, 1600-276, Lisbon, Portugal
- Associate Laboratory TERRA, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Paulo Morgado
- Centre of Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, 1600-276, Lisbon, Portugal
- Associate Laboratory TERRA, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Eduarda Marques da Costa
- Centre of Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, 1600-276, Lisbon, Portugal
- Associate Laboratory TERRA, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal
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27
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Martin-Lapoirie D, d'Onofrio A, McColl K, Raude J. Testing a simple and frugal model of health protective behaviour in epidemic times. Epidemics 2023; 42:100658. [PMID: 36508954 PMCID: PMC9721169 DOI: 10.1016/j.epidem.2022.100658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 epidemic highlighted the necessity to integrate dynamic human behaviour change into infectious disease transmission models. The adoption of health protective behaviour, such as handwashing or staying at home, depends on both epidemiological and personal variables. However, only a few models have been proposed in the recent literature to account for behavioural change in response to the health threat over time. This study aims to estimate the relevance of TELL ME, a simple and frugal agent-based model developed following the 2009 H1N1 outbreak to explain individual engagement in health protective behaviours in epidemic times and how communication can influence this. Basically, TELL ME includes a behavioural rule to simulate individual decisions to adopt health protective behaviours. To test this rule, we used behavioural data from a series of 12 cross-sectional surveys in France over a 6-month period (May to November 2020). Samples were representative of the French population (N = 24,003). We found the TELL ME behavioural rule to be associated with a moderate to high error rate in representing the adoption of behaviours, indicating that parameter values are not constant over time and that other key variables influence individual decisions. These results highlight the crucial need for longitudinal behavioural data to better calibrate epidemiological models accounting for public responses to infectious disease threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Martin-Lapoirie
- École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique (EHESP), French School of Public Health, 35043 Rennes, France; UMR ARENES - Equipe de Recherche sur les Services et le Management en Santé (Univ Rennes, EHESP, CNRS 6051, INSERM 1309), 35043 Rennes, France.
| | - Alberto d'Onofrio
- Institut Camille Jordan, Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1, 21 Av. Claude Bernard, 69100 Villeurbanne, France; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Analisi dei Sistemi e di Informatica Antonio Ruberti, Via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Kathleen McColl
- École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique (EHESP), French School of Public Health, 35043 Rennes, France; UMR ARENES - Equipe de Recherche sur les Services et le Management en Santé (Univ Rennes, EHESP, CNRS 6051, INSERM 1309), 35043 Rennes, France
| | - Jocelyn Raude
- École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique (EHESP), French School of Public Health, 35043 Rennes, France; UMR ARENES - Equipe de Recherche sur les Services et le Management en Santé (Univ Rennes, EHESP, CNRS 6051, INSERM 1309), 35043 Rennes, France
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28
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Bashir S, Mir A, Altwaijri N, Uzair M, Khalil A, Albesher R, Khallaf R, Alshahrani S, Abualait T. Neuroeconomics of decision-making during COVID-19 pandemic. Heliyon 2023; 9:e13252. [PMID: 36744067 PMCID: PMC9882954 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic reveals the decision-making challenges faced by communities, governments, and international organizations, globally. Policymakers are much concerned about protecting the population from the deadly virus while lacking reliable information on the virus and its spread mechanisms and the effectiveness of possible measures and their (direct and indirect) health and socioeconomic costs. This review aims to highlight the various balanced policy decision that would combine the best obtainable scientific evidence characteristically provided by expert opinions and modeling studies. This article's main goal is to summarize the main significant progress in the understanding of neuroeconomics of decision-making and discuss the anatomy of decision making in the light of COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahid Bashir
- Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia,Corresponding author
| | - Ali Mir
- Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nouf Altwaijri
- College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad Uzair
- Department of Biological Sciences, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Amani Khalil
- Department of Mental Health, Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rania Albesher
- Department of Mental Health, Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Roaa Khallaf
- Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saad Alshahrani
- Department of Research Operation and Administration, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Turki Abualait
- College of Applied Medical Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
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29
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González-Parra G, Arenas AJ. Mathematical Modeling of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Wave under Vaccination Effects. COMPUTATION (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 11:36. [PMID: 38957648 PMCID: PMC11218807 DOI: 10.3390/computation11020036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic millions of deaths and hospitalizations have been reported. Different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern have been recognized during this pandemic and some of these variants of concern have caused uncertainty and changes in the dynamics. The Omicron variant has caused a large amount of infected cases in the US and worldwide. The average number of deaths during the Omicron wave toll increased in comparison with previous SARS-CoV-2 waves. We studied the Omicron wave by using a highly nonlinear mathematical model for the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel model includes individuals who are vaccinated and asymptomatic, which influences the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the model considers the waning of the immunity and efficacy of the vaccine against the Omicron strain. This study uses the facts that the Omicron strain has a higher transmissibility than the previous circulating SARS-CoV-2 strain but is less deadly. Preliminary studies have found that Omicron has a lower case fatality rate compared to previous circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains. The simulation results show that even if the Omicron strain is less deadly it might cause more deaths, hospitalizations and infections. We provide a variety of scenarios that help to obtain insight about the Omicron wave and its consequences. The proposed mathematical model, in conjunction with the simulations, provides an explanation for a large Omicron wave under various conditions related to vaccines and transmissibility. These results provide an awareness that new SARS-CoV-2 variants can cause more deaths even if their fatality rate is lower.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilberto González-Parra
- Department of Mathematics, New Mexico Tech, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
| | - Abraham J. Arenas
- Departamento de Matematicas y Estadistica, Universidad de Cordoba, Monteria 230002, Colombia
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30
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Penn MJ, Donnelly CA. Asymptotic Analysis of Optimal Vaccination Policies. Bull Math Biol 2023; 85:15. [PMID: 36662446 PMCID: PMC9859927 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-022-01114-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Targeted vaccination policies can have a significant impact on the number of infections and deaths in an epidemic. However, optimising such policies is complicated, and the resultant solution may be difficult to explain to policy-makers and to the public. The key novelty of this paper is a derivation of the leading-order optimal vaccination policy under multi-group susceptible-infected-recovered dynamics in two different cases. Firstly, it considers the case of a small vulnerable subgroup in a population and shows that (in the asymptotic limit) it is optimal to vaccinate this group first, regardless of the properties of the other groups. Then, it considers the case of a small vaccine supply and transforms the optimal vaccination problem into a simple knapsack problem by linearising the final size equations. Both of these cases are then explored further through numerical examples, which show that these solutions are also directly useful for realistic parameter values. Moreover, the findings of this paper give some general principles for optimal vaccination policies which will help policy-makers and the public to understand the reasoning behind optimal vaccination programs in more generic cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Penn
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, St Giles’, Oxford, OX1 3LB UK
| | - Christl A. Donnelly
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, St Giles’, Oxford, OX1 3LB UK
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ UK
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31
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Kumar S, Sharma B, Singh V. A multiscale modeling framework to study the interdependence of brain, behavior, and pandemic. NONLINEAR DYNAMICS 2023; 111:7729-7749. [PMID: 36710874 PMCID: PMC9857926 DOI: 10.1007/s11071-022-08204-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A major constraint of the behavioral epidemiological models is the assumption that human behavior is static; however, it is highly dynamic, especially in uncertain circumstances during a pandemic. To incorporate the dynamicity of human nature in the existing epidemiological models, we propose a population-wide multi-time-scale theoretical framework that assimilates neuronal plasticity as the basis of altering human emotions and behavior. For that, variable connection weights between different brain regions and their firing frequencies are coupled with a compartmental susceptible-infected-recovered model to incorporate the intrinsic dynamicity in the contact transmission rate ( β ). As an illustration, a model of fear conditioning in conjunction with awareness campaigns is developed and simulated. Results indicate that in the presence of fear conditioning, there exists an optimum duration of daily broadcast time during which awareness campaigns are most effective in mitigating the pandemic. Further, global sensitivity analysis using the Morris method highlighted that the learning rate and firing frequency of the unconditioned circuit are crucial regulators in modulating the emergent pandemic waves. The present study makes a case for incorporating neuronal dynamics as a basis of behavioral immune response and has further implications in designing awareness campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spandan Kumar
- School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, 110068 India
- National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, New Delhi, 110016 India
| | - Bhanu Sharma
- Department of Biophysics, South Campus, University of Delhi, New Delhi, 110021 India
| | - Vikram Singh
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh 176215 India
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32
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Beesley LJ, Patelli P, Kaufeld K, Schwenk J, Martinez KM, Pitts T, Barnard M, McMahon B, Del Valle SY. Multi-dimensional resilience: A quantitative exploration of disease outcomes and economic, political, and social resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic in six countries. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0279894. [PMID: 36603015 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a need for better understanding of countries' vulnerability and resilience to not only pandemics but also disasters, climate change, and other systemic shocks. A comprehensive characterization of vulnerability can inform efforts to improve infrastructure and guide disaster response in the future. In this paper, we propose a data-driven framework for studying countries' vulnerability and resilience to incident disasters across multiple dimensions of society. To illustrate this methodology, we leverage the rich data landscape surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic to characterize observed resilience for several countries (USA, Brazil, India, Sweden, New Zealand, and Israel) as measured by pandemic impacts across a variety of social, economic, and political domains. We also assess how observed responses and outcomes (i.e., resilience) of the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with pre-pandemic characteristics or vulnerabilities, including (1) prior risk for adverse pandemic outcomes due to population density and age and (2) the systems in place prior to the pandemic that may impact the ability to respond to the crisis, including health infrastructure and economic capacity. Our work demonstrates the importance of viewing vulnerability and resilience in a multi-dimensional way, where a country's resources and outcomes related to vulnerability and resilience can differ dramatically across economic, political, and social domains. This work also highlights key gaps in our current understanding about vulnerability and resilience and a need for data-driven, context-specific assessments of disaster vulnerability in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J Beesley
- Information Systems & Modeling, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
- Statistical Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Paolo Patelli
- Information Systems & Modeling, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Kimberly Kaufeld
- Statistical Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Jon Schwenk
- Earth Systems & Observations, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Kaitlyn M Martinez
- Information Systems & Modeling, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Travis Pitts
- Intelligence & Systems Analysis, Los Alamos National Laboratory,Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Martha Barnard
- Information Systems & Modeling, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Ben McMahon
- Theoretical Biology & Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Sara Y Del Valle
- Information Systems & Modeling, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of America
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33
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N'konzi JPN, Chukwu CW, Nyabadza F. Effect of time-varying adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions on the occurrence of multiple epidemic waves: A modeling study. Front Public Health 2022; 10:1087683. [PMID: 36605240 PMCID: PMC9807866 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1087683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) play a central role in infectious disease outbreak response and control. Their usefulness cannot be overstated, especially during the early phases of a new epidemic when vaccines and effective treatments are not available yet. These interventions can be very effective in curtailing the spread of infectious diseases when adequately implemented and sufficiently adopted by the public. However, NPIs can be very disruptive, and the socioeconomic and cultural hardships that come with their implementation interfere with both the ability and willingness of affected populations to adopt such interventions. This can lead to reduced and unsteady adherence to NPIs, making disease control more challenging to achieve. Deciphering this complex interaction between disease dynamics, NPI stringency, and NPI adoption would play a critical role in informing disease control strategies. In this work, we formulate a general-purpose model that integrates government-imposed control measures and public adherence into a deterministic compartmental epidemic model and study its properties. By combining imitation dynamics and the health belief model to encode the unsteady nature of NPI adherence, we investigate how temporal variations in NPI adherence levels affect the dynamics and control of infectious diseases. Among the results, we note the occurrence of multiple epidemic waves as a result of temporal variations in NPI adherence and a trade-off between the stringency of control measures and adherence. Additionally, our results suggest that interventions that aim at increasing public adherence to NPIs are more beneficial than implementing more stringent measures. Our findings highlight the necessity of taking the socioeconomic and cultural realities of affected populations into account when devising public health interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel-Pascal Ntwali N'konzi
- African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Kigali, Rwanda,Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom,*Correspondence: Joel-Pascal Ntwali N'konzi
| | - Chidozie Williams Chukwu
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Farai Nyabadza
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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34
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Bliman PA, Carrozzo-Magli A, d’Onofrio A, Manfredi P. Tiered social distancing policies and epidemic control. Proc Math Phys Eng Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2022.0175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Tiered social distancing policies have been adopted by many governments to mitigate the harmful consequences of COVID-19. Such policies have a number of well-established features, i.e. they are short-term, adaptive (to the changing epidemiological conditions), and based on a multiplicity of indicators of the prevailing epidemic activity. Here, we use ideas from Behavioural Epidemiology to represent tiered policies in an SEIRS model by using a composite information index including multiple indicators of current and past epidemic activity mimicking those used by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as transmission intensity, infection incidence and hospitals’ occupancy. In its turn, the dynamics of the information index is assumed to endogenously inform the governmental social distancing interventions. The resulting model is described by a hereditary system showing a noteworthy property, i.e. a dependency of the endemic levels of epidemiological variables from initial conditions. This is a consequence of the need to normalize the different indicators to pool them into a single index. Simulations suggest a rich spectrum of possible results. These include policy suggestions and identify pitfalls and undesired outcomes, such as a worsening of epidemic control, that can arise following such types of approaches to epidemic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Alexandre Bliman
- Inria, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris-Diderot SPC, CNRS, Laboratoire Jacques-Louis Lions, équipe Mamba, Paris, France
| | | | - Alberto d’Onofrio
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Piero Manfredi
- Department of Economics and Management, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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35
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Nguyen QD, Prokopenko M. A general framework for optimising cost-effectiveness of pandemic response under partial intervention measures. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19482. [PMID: 36376551 PMCID: PMC9662136 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23668-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic created enormous public health and socioeconomic challenges. The health effects of vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were often contrasted with significant social and economic costs. We describe a general framework aimed to derive adaptive cost-effective interventions, adequate for both recent and emerging pandemic threats. We also quantify the net health benefits and propose a reinforcement learning approach to optimise adaptive NPIs. The approach utilises an agent-based model simulating pandemic responses in Australia, and accounts for a heterogeneous population with variable levels of compliance fluctuating over time and across individuals. Our analysis shows that a significant net health benefit may be attained by adaptive NPIs formed by partial social distancing measures, coupled with moderate levels of the society's willingness to pay for health gains (health losses averted). We demonstrate that a socially acceptable balance between health effects and incurred economic costs is achievable over a long term, despite possible early setbacks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quang Dang Nguyen
- grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XCentre for Complex Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Darlington, NSW 2008 Australia
| | - Mikhail Prokopenko
- grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XCentre for Complex Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Darlington, NSW 2008 Australia
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36
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Health behavior homophily can mitigate the spread of infectious diseases in small-world networks. Soc Sci Med 2022; 312:115350. [PMID: 36183539 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Research has repeatedly shown that the spread of infectious diseases is influenced by properties of our social networks. Small-world like structures with densely connected clusters bridged by only a few connections, for example, are not only known to diminish disease spread, but also to increase the chance for a disease to spread to any part of the network. Clusters composed of individuals who show similar reactions to avoid infections (health behavior homophily), however, might change the effect of such clusters on disease spread. To study the combined effect of health behavior homophily and small-world network properties on disease spread, we extend a previously developed ego-centered network formation model and agent-based simulation. Based on more than 80,000 simulated epidemics on generated networks varying in clustering and homophily, as well as diseases varying in severity and infectivity, we predict that the existence of health behavior homophilous clusters reduce the number of infections, lower peak size, and flatten the curve of active cases. That is because agents perceiving higher risks of infections can protect their cluster from infections comparatively quickly by severing only a few bridging ties. A comparison with epidemics in static network structures shows that the incapability to act upon risk perceptions and the low connectivity between clusters in static networks lead to diametrically opposed effects with comparatively large epidemics and prolonged epidemics. These finding suggest that micro-level behavioral adaptation to health risks mitigate macro-level disease spread to an extent that is not captured by static network models of disease spread. Furthermore, this mechanism can be used to design information campaigns targeting proxies for groups with lower risk perception.
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Marshall GC, Skeva R, Jay C, Silva MEP, Fyles M, House T, Davis EL, Pi L, Medley GF, Quilty BJ, Dyson L, Yardley L, Fearon E. Public perceptions and interactions with UK COVID-19 Test, Trace and Isolate policies, and implications for pandemic infectious disease modelling. F1000Res 2022. [DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.124627.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The efforts to contain SARS-CoV-2 and reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have been supported by Test, Trace and Isolate (TTI) systems in many settings, including the United Kingdom. Mathematical models of transmission and TTI interventions, used to inform design and policy choices, make assumptions about the public’s behaviour in the context of a rapidly unfolding and changeable emergency. This study investigates public perceptions and interactions with UK TTI policy in July 2021, assesses them against how TTI processes are conceptualised and represented in models, and then interprets the findings with modellers who have been contributing evidence to TTI policy. Methods 20 members of the public recruited via social media were interviewed for one hour about their perceptions and interactions with the UK TTI system. Thematic analysis identified key themes, which were then presented back to a workshop of pandemic infectious disease modellers who assessed these findings against assumptions made in TTI intervention modelling. Workshop members co-drafted this report. Results Themes included education about SARS-CoV-2, perceived risks, trust, mental health and practical concerns. Findings covered testing practices, including the uses of and trust in different types of testing, and the challenges of testing and isolating faced by different demographic groups. This information was judged as consequential to the modelling process, from guiding the selection of research questions, influencing choice of model structure, informing parameter ranges and validating or challenging assumptions, to highlighting where model assumptions are reasonable or where their poor reflection of practice might lead to uninformative results. Conclusions We conclude that deeper engagement with members of the public should be integrated at regular stages of public health intervention modelling.
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Costa GS, de Oliveira MM, Ferreira SC. Heterogeneous mean-field theory for two-species symbiotic processes on networks. Phys Rev E 2022; 106:024302. [PMID: 36109937 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.106.024302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
A simple model to study cooperation is the two-species symbiotic contact process (2SCP), in which two different species spread on a graph and interact by a reduced death rate if both occupy the same vertex, representing a symbiotic interaction. The 2SCP is known to exhibit a complex behavior with a rich phase diagram, including continuous and discontinuous transitions between the active phase and extinction. In this work, we advance the understanding of the phase transition of the 2SCP on uncorrelated networks by developing a heterogeneous mean-field (HMF) theory, in which the heterogeneity of contacts is explicitly reckoned. The HMF theory for networks with power-law degree distribution shows that the region of bistability (active and inactive phases) in the phase diagram shrinks as the heterogeneity level is increased by reducing the degree exponent. Finite-size analysis reveals a complex behavior where a pseudodiscontinuous transition at a finite size can be converted into a continuous one in the thermodynamic limit, depending on degree exponent and symbiotic coupling. The theoretical results are supported by extensive numerical simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme S Costa
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900 Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Marcelo M de Oliveira
- Departamento de Estatística, Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, 36420-000, Ouro Branco, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Silvio C Ferreira
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900 Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology for Complex Systems, 22290-180, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Jeleff M, Lehner L, Giles-Vernick T, Dückers MLA, Napier AD, Jirovsky-Platter E, Kutalek R. Vulnerability and One Health assessment approaches for infectious threats from a social science perspective: a systematic scoping review. Lancet Planet Health 2022; 6:e682-e693. [PMID: 35932788 DOI: 10.1016/s2542-5196(22)00097-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Vulnerability assessments identify vulnerable groups and can promote effective community engagement in responding to and mitigating destabilising events. This scoping review maps assessments for local-level vulnerabilities in the context of infectious threats. We searched various databases for articles written between 1978 and 2019. Eligible documents assessed local-level vulnerability, focusing on infectious threats and antimicrobial resistance. Since few studies provided this dual focus, we included tools from climate change and disaster risk reduction literature that engaged the community in the assessment. We considered studies using a One Health approach as essential for identifying vulnerability risk factors for zoonotic disease affecting humans. Of the 5390 records, we selected 36 articles for review. This scoping review fills a gap regarding vulnerability assessments by combining insights from various approaches: local-level understandings of vulnerability involving community perspectives; studies of social and ecological factors relevant to exposure; and integrated quantitative and qualitative methods that make generalisations based on direct observation. The findings inform the development of new tools to identify vulnerabilities and their relation to social and natural environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren Jeleff
- Depart6ment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Anthropology and Global Health Unit, Medical University of Vienna, Center for Public Health, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Lisa Lehner
- Depart6ment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Anthropology and Global Health Unit, Medical University of Vienna, Center for Public Health, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tamara Giles-Vernick
- The Pasteur Institute, Anthropology and Ecology of Disease Emergence Unit, Paris, France
| | - Michel L A Dückers
- Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Utrecht, Netherlands; Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - A David Napier
- Department of Anthropology, Science, Medicine, and Society Network, University College London, London, UK
| | - Elena Jirovsky-Platter
- Depart6ment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Anthropology and Global Health Unit, Medical University of Vienna, Center for Public Health, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ruth Kutalek
- Depart6ment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Anthropology and Global Health Unit, Medical University of Vienna, Center for Public Health, Vienna, Austria
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Ramírez-del Real T, Martínez-García M, Márquez MF, López-Trejo L, Gutiérrez-Esparza G, Hernández-Lemus E. Individual Factors Associated With COVID-19 Infection: A Machine Learning Study. Front Public Health 2022; 10:912099. [PMID: 35844896 PMCID: PMC9279686 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.912099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The fast, exponential increase of COVID-19 infections and their catastrophic effects on patients' health have required the development of tools that support health systems in the quick and efficient diagnosis and prognosis of this disease. In this context, the present study aims to identify the potential factors associated with COVID-19 infections, applying machine learning techniques, particularly random forest, chi-squared, xgboost, and rpart for feature selection; ROSE and SMOTE were used as resampling methods due to the existence of class imbalance. Similarly, machine and deep learning algorithms such as support vector machines, C4.5, random forest, rpart, and deep neural networks were explored during the train/test phase to select the best prediction model. The dataset used in this study contains clinical data, anthropometric measurements, and other health parameters related to smoking habits, alcohol consumption, quality of sleep, physical activity, and health status during confinement due to the pandemic associated with COVID-19. The results showed that the XGBoost model got the best features associated with COVID-19 infection, and random forest approximated the best predictive model with a balanced accuracy of 90.41% using SMOTE as a resampling technique. The model with the best performance provides a tool to help prevent contracting SARS-CoV-2 since the variables with the highest risk factor are detected, and some of them are, to a certain extent controllable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Ramírez-del Real
- Cátedras Conacyt, National Council on Science and Technology, Mexico City, Mexico
- Center for Research in Geospatial Information Sciences, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Mireya Martínez-García
- Clinical Research Division, National Institute of Cardiology “Ignacio Chávez”, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Manlio F. Márquez
- Clinical Research Division, National Institute of Cardiology “Ignacio Chávez”, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Laura López-Trejo
- Institute for Security and Social Services of State Workers, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Guadalupe Gutiérrez-Esparza
- Cátedras Conacyt, National Council on Science and Technology, Mexico City, Mexico
- Clinical Research Division, National Institute of Cardiology “Ignacio Chávez”, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Enrique Hernández-Lemus
- Computational Genomics Division, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico
- Center for Complexity Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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41
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Disease-economy trade-offs under alternative epidemic control strategies. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3319. [PMID: 35680843 PMCID: PMC9178341 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30642-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Public policy and academic debates regarding pandemic control strategies note disease-economy trade-offs, often prioritizing one outcome over the other. Using a calibrated, coupled epi-economic model of individual behavior embedded within the broader economy during a novel epidemic, we show that targeted isolation strategies can avert up to 91% of economic losses relative to voluntary isolation strategies. Unlike widely-used blanket lockdowns, economic savings of targeted isolation do not impose additional disease burdens, avoiding disease-economy trade-offs. Targeted isolation achieves this by addressing the fundamental coordination failure between infectious and susceptible individuals that drives the recession. Importantly, we show testing and compliance frictions can erode some of the gains from targeted isolation, but improving test quality unlocks the majority of the benefits of targeted isolation.
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Tizzoni M, Nsoesie EO, Gauvin L, Karsai M, Perra N, Bansal S. Addressing the socioeconomic divide in computational modeling for infectious diseases. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2897. [PMID: 35610237 PMCID: PMC9130127 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30688-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how structural social inequities fundamentally shape disease dynamics. Here, the authors provide a set of practical and methodological recommendations to address socioeconomic vulnerabilities in epidemic models.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elaine O Nsoesie
- Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Márton Karsai
- Department of Network and Data Science, Central European University, 1100, Vienna, Austria
- Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics, 1053, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Nicola Perra
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Shweta Bansal
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
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Valles TE, Shoenhard H, Zinski J, Trick S, Porter MA, Lindstrom MR. Networks of necessity: Simulating COVID-19 mitigation strategies for disabled people and their caregivers. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010042. [PMID: 35584133 PMCID: PMC9232173 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A major strategy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is the limiting of in-person contacts. However, limiting contacts is impractical or impossible for the many disabled people who do not live in care facilities but still require caregivers to assist them with activities of daily living. We seek to determine which interventions can best prevent infections of disabled people and their caregivers. To accomplish this, we simulate COVID-19 transmission with a compartmental model that includes susceptible, exposed, asymptomatic, symptomatically ill, hospitalized, and removed/recovered individuals. The networks on which we simulate disease spread incorporate heterogeneity in the risk levels of different types of interactions, time-dependent lockdown and reopening measures, and interaction distributions for four different groups (caregivers, disabled people, essential workers, and the general population). Of these groups, we find that the probability of becoming infected is largest for caregivers and second largest for disabled people. Consistent with this finding, our analysis of network structure illustrates that caregivers have the largest modal eigenvector centrality of the four groups. We find that two interventions-contact-limiting by all groups and mask-wearing by disabled people and caregivers-most reduce the number of infections in disabled and caregiver populations. We also test which group of people spreads COVID-19 most readily by seeding infections in a subset of each group and comparing the total number of infections as the disease spreads. We find that caregivers are the most potent spreaders of COVID-19, particularly to other caregivers and to disabled people. We test where to use limited infection-blocking vaccine doses most effectively and find that (1) vaccinating caregivers better protects disabled people from infection than vaccinating the general population or essential workers and that (2) vaccinating caregivers protects disabled people from infection about as effectively as vaccinating disabled people themselves. Our results highlight the potential effectiveness of mask-wearing, contact-limiting throughout society, and strategic vaccination for limiting the exposure of disabled people and their caregivers to COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E Valles
- Department of Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
- Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Hannah Shoenhard
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Joseph Zinski
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Sarah Trick
- Assistant Editor at tvo.org (TVOntario), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mason A Porter
- Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Michael R Lindstrom
- Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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44
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Predictive Model of Lyme Disease Epidemic Process Using Machine Learning Approach. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/app12094282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in Eastern Europe. This study focuses on the development of a machine learning model based on a neural network for predicting the dynamics of the Lyme disease epidemic process. A retrospective analysis of the Lyme disease cases reported in the Kharkiv region, East Ukraine, between 2010 and 2017 was performed. To develop the neural network model of the Lyme disease epidemic process, a multilayered neural network was used, and the backpropagation algorithm or the generalized delta rule was used for its learning. The adequacy of the constructed forecast was tested on real statistical data on the incidence of Lyme disease. The learning of the model took 22.14 s, and the mean absolute percentage error is 3.79%. A software package for prediction of the Lyme disease incidence on the basis of machine learning has been developed. Results of the simulation have shown an unstable epidemiological situation of Lyme disease, which requires preventive measures at both the population level and individual protection. Forecasting is of particular importance in the conditions of hostilities that are currently taking place in Ukraine, including endemic territories.
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45
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Gunaratne C, Reyes R, Hemberg E, O'Reilly UM. Evaluating efficacy of indoor non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 outbreaks with a coupled spatial-SIR agent-based simulation framework. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6202. [PMID: 35418652 PMCID: PMC9007058 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09942-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Contagious respiratory diseases, such as COVID-19, depend on sufficiently prolonged exposures for the successful transmission of the underlying pathogen. It is important that organizations evaluate the efficacy of non-pharmaceutical interventions aimed at mitigating viral transmission among their personnel. We have developed a operational risk assessment simulation framework that couples a spatial agent-based model of movement with an agent-based SIR model to assess the relative risks of different intervention strategies. By applying our model on MIT's Stata center, we assess the impacts of three possible dimensions of intervention: one-way vs unrestricted movement, population size allowed onsite, and frequency of leaving designated work location for breaks. We find that there is no significant impact made by one-way movement restrictions over unrestricted movement. Instead, we find that reducing the frequency at which individuals leave their workstations combined with lowering the number of individuals admitted below the current recommendations lowers the likelihood of highly connected individuals within the contact networks that emerge, which in turn lowers the overall risk of infection. We discover three classes of possible interventions based on their epidemiological effects. By assuming a direct relationship between data on secondary attack rates and transmissibility in the agent-based SIR model, we compare relative infection risk of four respiratory illnesses, MERS, SARS, COVID-19, and Measles, within the simulated area, and recommend appropriate intervention guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chathika Gunaratne
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
| | - Rene Reyes
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Erik Hemberg
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Una-May O'Reilly
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA
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46
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Crépey
- RSMS - U 1309, ARENES - UMR 6051, EHESP, CNRS, Inserm, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Harold Noël
- Direction des Maladies Infectieuses, Santé Publique France, Saint-Maurice, France
| | - Samuel Alizon
- MIVEGEC, CNRS, IRD, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France.
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47
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Aylett-Bullock J, Gilman RT, Hall I, Kennedy D, Evers ES, Katta A, Ahmed H, Fong K, Adib K, Al Ariqi L, Ardalan A, Nabeth P, von Harbou K, Hoffmann Pham K, Cuesta-Lazaro C, Quera-Bofarull A, Gidraf Kahindo Maina A, Valentijn T, Harlass S, Krauss F, Huang C, Moreno Jimenez R, Comes T, Gaanderse M, Milano L, Luengo-Oroz M. Epidemiological modelling in refugee and internally displaced people settlements: challenges and ways forward. BMJ Glob Health 2022; 7:bmjgh-2021-007822. [PMID: 35264317 PMCID: PMC8915287 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 presents many challenges to healthcare systems and infrastructures across the world, exacerbating inequalities and leaving the world’s most vulnerable populations at risk. Epidemiological modelling is vital to guiding evidence-informed or data-driven decision making. In forced displacement contexts, and in particular refugee and internally displaced people (IDP) settlements, it meets several challenges including data availability and quality, the applicability of existing models to those contexts, the accurate modelling of cultural differences or specificities of those operational settings, the communication of results and uncertainties, as well as the alignment of strategic goals between diverse partners in complex situations. In this paper, we systematically review the limited epidemiological modelling work applied to refugee and IDP settlements so far, and discuss challenges and identify lessons learnt from the process. With the likelihood of disease outbreaks expected to increase in the future as more people are displaced due to conflict and climate change, we call for the development of more approaches and models specifically designed to include the unique features and populations of refugee and IDP settlements. To strengthen collaboration between the modelling and the humanitarian public health communities, we propose a roadmap to encourage the development of systems and frameworks to share needs, build tools and coordinate responses in an efficient and scalable manner, both for this pandemic and for future outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Aylett-Bullock
- UN Global Pulse, United Nations, New York, New York, USA .,Institute for Data Science, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Robert Tucker Gilman
- Centre for Crisis Studies and Mitigation, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Ian Hall
- Centre for Crisis Studies and Mitigation, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Division of Informatics, Imaging and Data Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Mathematics, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - David Kennedy
- UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine/Public Health England, London, UK
| | - Egmond Samir Evers
- WHO Cox's Bazar Emergency Sub-Office, United Nations, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
| | - Anjali Katta
- UN Global Pulse, United Nations, New York, New York, USA
| | - Hussien Ahmed
- UNHCR Cox's Bazar Sub-Office, United Nations, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
| | - Kevin Fong
- Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London, London, UK
| | - Keyrellous Adib
- WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, United Nations, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Lubna Al Ariqi
- WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, United Nations, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ali Ardalan
- WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, United Nations, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Pierre Nabeth
- WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, United Nations, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Kai von Harbou
- WHO Cox's Bazar Emergency Sub-Office, United Nations, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
| | - Katherine Hoffmann Pham
- UN Global Pulse, United Nations, New York, New York, USA.,Stern School of Business, New York University, New York City, New York, USA
| | | | | | | | - Tinka Valentijn
- OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data, United Nations, The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra Harlass
- UNHCR Public Health Unit, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Frank Krauss
- Institute for Data Science, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Chao Huang
- UNHCR Global Data Service, United Nations, Copenhagen, New York, USA
| | | | - Tina Comes
- Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management, Department of Engineering Systems and Services, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mariken Gaanderse
- Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management, Department of Engineering Systems and Services, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Leonardo Milano
- OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data, United Nations, The Hague, The Netherlands
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Hébert-Dufresne L, Waring TM, St-Onge G, Niles MT, Kati Corlew L, Dube MP, Miller SJ, Gotelli NJ, McGill BJ. Source-sink behavioural dynamics limit institutional evolution in a group-structured society. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211743. [PMID: 35345431 PMCID: PMC8941422 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Social change in any society entails changes in both behaviours and institutions. We model a group-structured society in which the transmission of individual behaviour occurs in parallel with the selection of group-level institutions. We consider a cooperative behaviour that generates collective benefits for groups but does not spread between individuals on its own. Groups exhibit institutions that increase the diffusion of the behaviour within the group, but also incur a group cost. Groups adopt institutions in proportion to their fitness. Finally, the behaviour may also spread globally. We find that behaviour and institutions can be mutually reinforcing. But the model also generates behavioural source-sink dynamics when behaviour generated in institutionalized groups spreads to non-institutionalized groups and boosts their fitness. Consequently, the global diffusion of group-beneficial behaviour creates a pattern of institutional free-riding that limits the evolution of group-beneficial institutions. Our model suggests that, in a group-structured society, large-scale beneficial social change can be best achieved when the relevant behaviour and institutions remain correlated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Hébert-Dufresne
- Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont, Burlington VT, USA
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington VT, USA
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington VT, USA
| | - Timothy M. Waring
- School of Economics, University of Maine, Orono ME, USA
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono ME, USA
| | - Guillaume St-Onge
- Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec (Québec), Canada G1V 0A6
- Centre interdisciplinaire en modélisation mathématique, Université Laval, Québec (Québec), Canada G1V 0A6
| | - Meredith T. Niles
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington VT, USA
| | - Laura Kati Corlew
- Department of Social Science, University of Maine at Augusta, Bangor ME, USA
| | - Matthew P. Dube
- Department of Computer Information Systems, University of Maine at Augusta, Bangor ME, USA
| | - Stephanie J. Miller
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono ME, USA
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono ME, USA
| | | | - Brian J. McGill
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono ME, USA
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono ME, USA
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Zelner J, Masters NB, Naraharisetti R, Mojola SA, Chowkwanyun M, Malosh R. There are no equal opportunity infectors: Epidemiological modelers must rethink our approach to inequality in infection risk. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009795. [PMID: 35139067 PMCID: PMC8827449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mathematical models have come to play a key role in global pandemic preparedness and outbreak response: helping to plan for disease burden, hospital capacity, and inform nonpharmaceutical interventions. Such models have played a pivotal role in the COVID-19 pandemic, with transmission models—and, by consequence, modelers—guiding global, national, and local responses to SARS-CoV-2. However, these models have largely not accounted for the social and structural factors, which lead to socioeconomic, racial, and geographic health disparities. In this piece, we raise and attempt to clarify several questions relating to this important gap in the research and practice of infectious disease modeling: Why do epidemiologic models of emerging infections typically ignore known structural drivers of disparate health outcomes? What have been the consequences of a framework focused primarily on aggregate outcomes on infection equity? What should be done to develop a more holistic approach to modeling-based decision-making during pandemics? In this review, we evaluate potential historical and political explanations for the exclusion of drivers of disparity in infectious disease models for emerging infections, which have often been characterized as “equal opportunity infectors” despite ample evidence to the contrary. We look to examples from other disease systems (HIV, STIs) and successes in including social inequity in models of acute infection transmission as a blueprint for how social connections, environmental, and structural factors can be integrated into a coherent, rigorous, and interpretable modeling framework. We conclude by outlining principles to guide modeling of emerging infections in ways that represent the causes of inequity in infection as central rather than peripheral mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Zelner
- Dept. of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Nina B. Masters
- Dept. of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Ramya Naraharisetti
- Dept. of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Sanyu A. Mojola
- Dept. of Sociology, School of Public and International Affairs & Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Merlin Chowkwanyun
- Dept. of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Ryan Malosh
- Dept. of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
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McCrone JT, Hill V, Bajaj S, Pena RE, Lambert BC, Inward R, Bhatt S, Volz E, Ruis C, Dellicour S, Baele G, Zarebski AE, Sadilek A, Wu N, Schneider A, Ji X, Raghwani J, Jackson B, Colquhoun R, O'Toole Á, Peacock TP, Twohig K, Thelwall S, Dabrera G, Myers R, Faria NR, Huber C, Bogoch II, Khan K, du Plessis L, Barrett JC, Aanensen DM, Barclay WS, Chand M, Connor T, Loman NJ, Suchard MA, Pybus OG, Rambaut A, Kraemer MUG. Context-specific emergence and growth of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2021:2021.12.14.21267606. [PMID: 34981069 PMCID: PMC8722612 DOI: 10.1101/2021.12.14.21267606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The Delta variant of concern of SARS-CoV-2 has spread globally causing large outbreaks and resurgences of COVID-19 cases 1-3 . The emergence of Delta in the UK occurred on the background of a heterogeneous landscape of immunity and relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions 4,5 . Here we analyse 52,992 Delta genomes from England in combination with 93,649 global genomes to reconstruct the emergence of Delta, and quantify its introduction to and regional dissemination across England, in the context of changing travel and social restrictions. Through analysis of human movement, contact tracing, and virus genomic data, we find that the focus of geographic expansion of Delta shifted from India to a more global pattern in early May 2021. In England, Delta lineages were introduced >1,000 times and spread nationally as non-pharmaceutical interventions were relaxed. We find that hotel quarantine for travellers from India reduced onward transmission from importations; however the transmission chains that later dominated the Delta wave in England had been already seeded before restrictions were introduced. In England, increasing inter-regional travel drove Delta's nationwide dissemination, with some cities receiving >2,000 observable lineage introductions from other regions. Subsequently, increased levels of local population mixing, not the number of importations, was associated with faster relative growth of Delta. Among US states, we find that regions that previously experienced large waves also had faster Delta growth rates, and a model including interactions between immunity and human behaviour could accurately predict the rise of Delta there. Delta's invasion dynamics depended on fine scale spatial heterogeneity in immunity and contact patterns and our findings will inform optimal spatial interventions to reduce transmission of current and future VOCs such as Omicron.
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Affiliation(s)
- John T McCrone
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- contributed equally as first authors
| | - Verity Hill
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- contributed equally as first authors
| | - Sumali Bajaj
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- contributed equally as first authors
| | - Rosario Evans Pena
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- contributed equally as first authors
| | - Ben C Lambert
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Rhys Inward
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- MRC Centre of Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Samir Bhatt
- MRC Centre of Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Erik Volz
- MRC Centre of Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Christopher Ruis
- Molecular Immunity Unit, Department of Medicine, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Simon Dellicour
- Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Guy Baele
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | | | - Neo Wu
- Google, Mountain View, CA, USA
| | | | - Xiang Ji
- Department of Mathematics, School of Science & Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | | | - Ben Jackson
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Rachel Colquhoun
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Áine O'Toole
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Thomas P Peacock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
- UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Nuno R Faria
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- MRC Centre of Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Isaac I Bogoch
- Divisions of Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Kamran Khan
- BlueDot, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - David M Aanensen
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
- Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Wendy S Barclay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Thomas Connor
- Pathogen Genomics Unit, Public Health Wales NHS Trust, Cardiff, UK
- School of Biosciences, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Quadram Institute, Norwich, UK
| | - Nicholas J Loman
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Marc A Suchard
- Departments of Biostatistics, Biomathematics and Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Oliver G Pybus
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College London, London, UK
- jointly supervised this work
| | - Andrew Rambaut
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- jointly supervised this work
| | - Moritz U G Kraemer
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- jointly supervised this work
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