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

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.

该项目提出跨生物学和地理学的跨学科研究，以研究人类与环境的相互作用，人类流动和健康地理的时空模式，以及地方性和新出现的传染病之间的联系。这项工作的重点是刚果民主共和国赤道省麻疹和埃博拉的预防和管理，这两种病原体在该省造成了严重的发病率和死亡率。反复爆发的疫情突出表明，迫切需要显著改善公共卫生。本研究调查病原体传播的机制，并确定发生传播的流行病学单位，并衡量其对疫情的脆弱性。将与刚果民主共和国的移动的保健队一起并为他们制定产出，并将为在各种情况下更广泛地应用这一方法提供一个可推广的蓝图。拟议的研究目标的理论框架的交叉点，检查四个相互关联的主题。首先，继2003年Cutter之后，该项目将制定正式的空间方法，以确定和划定病原体传播的流行病学单位，并衡量其流行病学脆弱性。脆弱性取决于当地特有的传播过程所依据的机制，这些机制因疾病而异。这项工作包括卫生数据质量作为一个问题，使公共卫生问题持续存在，他们最需要改善。第二，在Kwan 2013年工作的基础上，这项研究将从R1的流行病学单位和脆弱性指数开始，并整合季节性和长期人口流动、连通性和分布的动态。人口动态驱动接触，传播和传播传染性病原体，必须包括在疫苗接种和疫情应对。第三，扩展Shuurman 2011年的工作，这项研究将直观地表示这些动态流行病学单位和脆弱性指数制图，以推进地理可视化方法，并为移动的卫生工作提供可用的空间决策支持系统（SDSS）。为了最大限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和传染病和地理学研究生一起严格开发和测试。第四，这项工作将开发动态量化模型，以产生干预策略的正式比较，并迭代改进它们。模型将比较A）使用拟议的SDSS的战略，该战略强调在疫情发生之前对流行病学传播单位的脆弱性采取行动，以进行免疫接种和疫情应对，以及B）当前的系统，该系统以行政边界和病例率阈值为指导，以触发应对。将人与环境相互作用的空间和时间要素联系起来以支持传染病预防和疫情管理将显着推进该领域的当前方法和理论。