The Seasonal Behavioral Ecology of Respiratory Disease

呼吸道疾病，如由COVID-19、流感和RSV等病毒引起的疾病，是美国公民死亡的主要原因之一，尤其是老年人和年轻人，以及免疫功能低下的人。这些病毒的全球传播继续对美国构成威胁；因此，了解它们如何在不同的文化背景下传播是很重要的。除了这项研究的潜在公共卫生效益外，它还促进了研究生和本科生不同群体的科学培训。向公众传播调查结果还将使社区成员了解家庭和大家庭成员在传播疾病方面的作用，以及预防呼吸道病毒在家人和朋友之间传播的措施。本研究旨在评估社会行为和环境条件如何相互作用，影响热带环境中常见呼吸道病毒的传播和疾病的长期健康影响。为此，研究小组正在收集全年的社区范围内的社交网络和呼吸道疾病症状的数据，呼吸道感染的季节性生物标志物，以及季节性人体测量数据，包括身高、体重和上臂围。正在进行深入访谈，以了解人们如何看待疾病风险。这项研究验证了这样一种理论，即人类利用行为来适应环境，并以一种利益最大化、风险最小化的方式来适应环境。这可能有助于为未来的公共卫生政策提供有关如何最好地减少呼吸道病毒传播的信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Respiratory illnesses, like those caused by viruses like COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV, are among the leading causes of death for American citizens, especially for those in older and younger age groups, and for immunocompromised individuals. Global spread of these viruses continues to pose a threat in the United States; therefore, it is important to understand how they are transmitted in different cultural settings. In addition to the potential public health benefits of this study, it facilitates scientific training of a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students. Public dissemination of findings will also inform community members on the roles of the household and extended family members in transmitting disease, and measures to prevent transmission of respiratory viruses among family and friends.This study is designed to assess how social behavior and environmental conditions interact to affect the transmission of common respiratory viruses and longer-term health impacts of illness in a tropical setting. To do so, the research team is collecting year-round, community-wide data on social networks and symptoms of respiratory illnesses, seasonal biological markers of respiratory infection, and seasonal anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, and upper arm circumference. In-depth interviews are being conducted to gain an understanding of how people think about illness risk. This study tests the theory that humans use behavior to adapt to environmental circumstances, and that they do so in a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes risks associated with the behavior. This may help to inform future public health policy on how best to minimize transmission of respiratory viruses.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.