The Seasonal Behavioral Ecology of Respiratory Disease

呼吸道疾病，如新冠肺炎、流感和呼吸道合胞病毒等病毒引起的疾病，是美国公民的主要死亡原因，特别是对年龄较大和年龄较小的人群，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，了解它们在不同文化背景下是如何传播的很重要。除了这项研究的潜在公共健康益处外，它还促进了对不同的研究生和本科生群体的科学培训。研究结果的公开传播也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，以及防止呼吸道病毒在家庭和朋友之间传播的措施。这项研究旨在评估社会行为和环境条件如何相互作用，影响热带地区常见呼吸道病毒的传播和疾病对健康的长期影响。为了做到这一点，研究小组正在收集关于社会网络和呼吸道疾病症状的全年、社区范围的数据，呼吸道感染的季节性生物标记，以及季节性人体测量，包括身高、体重和上臂围。正在进行深入的访谈，以了解人们对疾病风险的看法。这项研究测试了这样一种理论，即人类利用行为来适应环境环境，并以一种最大化利益和最小化与行为相关的风险的方式这样做。这可能有助于为未来的公共卫生政策提供信息，说明如何最好地将呼吸道病毒的传播降至最低。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.