Using Social Network Analysis to Guide Tuberculosis-Related Contact Interviews

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目围绕公共卫生安全，特别关注结核病（TB）的接触调查。2008年，美国报告了12，898例结核病病例。外国出生人口中的结核病占总数的一半以上。接触调查是一项重要的公共卫生活动，用于确定接触过传染性结核病患者和可能已被感染的个人。如果我们希望降低结核病发病率，就需要提高接触调查的有效性。该项目将为现场调查人员提供实时信息，以确定人与人之间和地方之间的流行病学联系。这将通过在实际调查期间将社交网络分析和与联系调查相关的信息资产动态地汇集在移动终端上来实现。长期目标是建立一个网络化的移动的工具，可用于调查各种传染病。短期目标是重点关注传染病结核病。通过与东南国家结核病中心（SNTC）的密切合作，我们将在平板电脑上创建软件，以帮助研究人员开发网络。该软件将是一个由两个窗口（网络和数据）组成的可视化界面，并将基于当前的社交网络分析方法。短期目标将通过满足以下三个目标来实现：1）目标1：使用形成性评估周期设计和构建器械的可视界面软件; 2）目标2：在目标1期间现场创建器械和软件，同时获得研究者与联系人之间的互动，并记录研究者如何使用器械;以及3）目标3：评估器械满足目标1中规定的目标和要求的能力。我们假设，该设备将产生更丰富和更富有成效的采访者接触。与不使用器械的情况相比，预期器械的使用将产生代表与研究相关的社交网络数据质量可测量改善的信息（即，目前的做法）。 公共卫生相关性：拟议的工作是为结核病接触者调查员提供一个具有定制软件和社交网络分析能力的移动的平板电脑工具。这一工具将通过利用在线网络资源，为调查员提供一种在接触调查期间与接触者面谈的增强方法。我们假设，使用该工具将显著提高其现场调查的质量，并导致更广泛的接触应用于其他传染病。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The project centers around public health safety, with specific attention to contact investigations for tuberculosis (TB). In 2008, 12,898 TB cases were reported in the United States. TB among foreign-born populations makes up more than half of that total number. Contact investigations are a critical public health activity that identifies individuals who have been exposed to a person with infectious TB and who may have been infected. There is a need to improve the effectiveness of contact investigations if we hope to reduce TB morbidity This project will provide field investigators with real-time information that will identify epidemiological connections among people and places. This will be accomplished by bringing together social networking analysis and contact investigation-related information assets on a mobile device dynamically during the actual investigation. The long-term objective is to build a web-enabled, mobile tool that can be used in investigations regarding a wide range of infectious diseases. The short-term objective is to focus on the infectious disease, TB. Through close collaboration with the Southeastern National Tuberculosis Center (SNTC) we will create software on a tablet device to assist the investigator in developing the network. The software will be a visual interface composed of two windows (Network and Data), and will be based on current methods in social networking analysis. The short term objective will be accomplished through satisfying three aims: 1) Aim # 1: using a formative assessment cycle to design and construct the visual interface software for the device; 2) Aim # 2: field the device and software created during Aim # 1, while obtaining interactions between the investigator and contact and recording how the investigator uses the device; and 3) Aim # 3: assess the utility of the device in its ability to meet the objectives and requirements set out in Aim # 1. We hypothesize that the device will yield richer and more productive investigator-contact interviews. Use of the device is expected to result in information that represents a measurable improvement in quality regarding the social network data related to the investigation than would be possible without the device (i.e., current practice). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed work is to provide the TB contact investigator with a mobile tablet tool with custom software and social networking analysis capability. This tool will provide the investigator with an augmented method of interviewing contacts during a contact investigation by leveraging online web assets. We hypothesize that use of the tool will measurably improve the quality of their field investigations and lead to broader contact applications for other infectious diseases.