Measuring human behavior and ecological dimensions of pathogen transmission for outbreak control and prevention

测量病原体传播的人类行为和生态维度以控制和预防疫情

• 批准号: 10596727
• 负责人: Nita Bharti
• 金额: $ 44.26万
• 依托单位: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-01 至 2027-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10596727
• 关键词: Behavior; Biology; Communicable Diseases; Decision Support Systems; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dimensions; Disease; Disease Outbreaks; Ebola; Elements; Emerging Communicable Diseases; Environment; Epidemiology; Geography; Health; Human; Immunization; Interdisciplinary Study; Intervention; Link; Measles; Measures; Methods; Modeling; Morbidity - disease rate; Output; Pattern; Population; Population Dynamics; Prevention; Province; Public Health; Reaction Time; Research; System; Targeted Research; Testing; Time; Vaccination; Visualization; Work; comparison intervention; data quality; disorder prevention; graduate student; health data; improved; indexing; mHealth; mortality; pathogen; prevent; response; spatiotemporal; theories; tool; transmission process; usability; Behavior; Biology; Communicable Diseases; Decision Support Systems; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dimensions; Disease; Disease Outbreaks; Ebola; Elements; Emerging Communicable Diseases; Environment; Epidemiology; Geography; Health; Human; Immunization; Interdisciplinary Study; Intervention; Link; Measles; Measures; Methods; Modeling; Morbidity - disease rate; Output; Pattern; Population; Population Dynamics; Prevention; Province; Public Health; Reaction Time; Research; System; Targeted Research; Testing; Time; Vaccination; Visualization; Work; comparison intervention; data quality; disorder prevention; graduate student; health data; improved; indexing; mHealth; mortality; pathogen; prevent; response; spatiotemporal; theories; tool; transmission process; usability

This project proposes interdisciplinary research across biology and geography to examine links between human-environment interactions, spatiotemporal patterns of human mobility and health geographies, and endemic and emerging infectious diseases. This work focuses on measles and Ebola prevention and management in the Équateur province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where both pathogens cause significant morbidity and mortality. Recurring outbreaks emphasize an urgent need for significant public health improvements. This research investigates the mechanisms underlying pathogen transmission and identifies epidemiological units, across which transmission occurs, and measure their vulnerability to outbreaks. Outputs will be developed with and for mobile health teams in the DRC and will provide a generalizable blueprint for the broader application of this approach across a range of contexts. The proposed research targets the intersection of theoretical frameworks to examine four interlinked topics. First, following Cutter in 2003, this project will develop formal spatial methods to identify and delineate epidemiological units of pathogen transmission and measure their epidemiological vulnerability. Vulnerability is determined by the mechanisms underlying locally specific transmission processes, which differ across diseases. This work includes health data quality as a problem that allow public health problems to persist where they most need improvement. Second, building on Kwan’s 2013 work, this research will start with R1’s epidemiological units and vulnerability indices and integrate the dynamics of seasonal and long-term population mobility, connectivity, and distribution. Population dynamics drive contacts, transmission, and spread for communicable pathogens and must be included in vaccinations and outbreak response. Third, extending Shuurman’s 2011 work, this research will visually represent these dynamic epidemiological units and vulnerability indices cartographically to advance methods in geovisualizations and provide usable spatial decision support systems (SDSS) for mobile health efforts. To maximize clarity and usability, these visualizations will be rigorously developed and tested with our collaborating humanitarian organization’s field teams and graduate students in infectious diseases and geography. Fourth, this work will develop dynamic quantitative models to produce formal comparisons of intervention strategies and iteratively improve them. Models will compare A) strategies using the proposed SDSS, which highlight acting on the vulnerability of epidemiological units of transmission before outbreaks occur for immunizations and outbreak responses and B) the current system, which is guided by administrative boundaries and case rate thresholds to trigger response. Linking spatial and temporal elements of human-environment interactions to support infectious disease prevention and outbreak management will significantly advance the current methods and theory in this field.

该项目提出了跨生物学和地理的跨学科研究，以研究人类环境相互作用，人类流动性和健康地理的时空模式以及内在和新兴感染之间的联系。这项工作着重于刚果民主共和国（DRC）的麻疹和埃博拉病毒的预防和管理，这两种病原体都引起了显着的发病率和死亡率。反复爆发强调迫切需要大大改善公共卫生。这项研究研究了病原体传播的基础机制，并确定了传播的流行病学单位，并衡量了其爆发的脆弱性。将与DRC中的移动健康团队一起开发输出，并将为在各种环境中更广泛地应用这种方法提供可推广的蓝图。拟议的研究针对理论框架的交集，以检查四个相互联系的主题。首先，在2003年切割机之后，该项目将开发正式的空间方法，以识别和描述病原体传播的流行病学单位并衡量其流行病学脆弱性。脆弱性取决于特定传输过程的基础机制，这些机制在各种疾病之间有所不同。这项工作包括健康数据质量作为一个问题，可以使公共卫生问题在最需要改进的地方持续存在。其次，基于关恩（Kwan）2013年的工作，这项研究将从R1的流行病学单位和脆弱性指数开始，并整合了季节性和长期人口流动性，连通性和分布的动态。人口动态驱动接触，传播和传播的传染性病原体，必须包括在疫苗接种和爆发反应中。第三，这项研究将在2011年扩展2011年的工作，将在视觉上代表这些动态的流行病学单位和脆弱性指数在图纸上，以推动地理化方法中的方法，并为移动健康工作提供可用的空间决策支持系统（SDSS）。为了最大程度地提高清晰度和可用性，这些可视化将与我们合作的人道主义组织的现场团队以及传染病和地理学研究生进行严格开发和测试。第四，这项工作将开发动态定量模型，以制定干预策略的正式比较，并迭代地改善它们。模型将比较a）使用拟议的SDSS的策略，该策略突出了在暴发和爆发反应发生之前的流行病学单位的脆弱性，以及b）当前系统，该系统受管理边界和案例费率阈值的指导，以触发响应。将人类环境相互作用的空间和临时元素联系起来，以支持预防传染病和爆发管理将大大推动该领域的当前方法和理论。