Who do you share germs with, and who might be sharing germs with you?
The answer lies in your social contact network – who you interact with in person, how often, and in what settings. Tracking these patterns helps scientists understand how diseases spread and develop effective public health strategies.Â
Led by Dr. Kristin Nelson and Dr. Sharia Ahmed, CIDMATH’s Social Contact Patterns team is characterizing patterns in Georgia and innovating new ways to collect social contact data.Â
Projects
HealthVu Study
The HealthVu Social Contact study, led by Dr. Sharia Ahmed, aims to develop and evaluate new methods for collecting social contact data. By more quickly generating updated social contact estimates, infectious disease modelers can provide valuable insights into infectious disease transmission and dynamics. This helps public health practitioners more accurately respond to current public health needs and future public health emergencies. The HealthVu project evaluates data from two different sources:Â
Individual-based data: In collaboration with Dr. Deanna Kaplan and Georgia CTSA AppHatchery Co-Director Santiago Arconada Alvarez, this study aims to adapt and evaluate the Fabla app, a novel ecological momentary assessment (EMA) tool, in comparison to traditional once-a-day diary methods for collecting social contact pattern data. Â
Aggregate mobility data: Dr. Andreas Zufle and Dr. Li Xiong lead this arm, where their team is developing computer science methods to estimate social contacts from aggregate mobility data. They are using Advan Research Foot Traffic Datasets, commercially available datasets that aggregate the movement of smartphones to key points of interest such as schools, restaurants, and doctors’ offices.Â
ENGAGED Study
Under the leadership of Dr. Kristin Nelson and Dr. Sharia Ahmed, the Engaging Atlantans to Guide Effective Disease Response (ENGAGED) project is a joint effort between CIDMATH and Kaiser Permanente Georgia (KPGA). This initiative aims to study social contact patterns among Atlanta residents, generating critical data for modeling the spread of both endemic and emerging pathogens in the US.
Study participants completed six consecutive monthly surveys to record their social contacts from the previous day. Additional event-triggered social contact surveys were deployed if a patient was seen at Kaiser Permanente for an acute respiratory illness (ARI) or acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Responses will be linked to both respondents’ KPGA electronic health records and data on vaccinations received.
Infographic: ENGAGED Social Contact Infographic Â
Dashboard: ENGAGED Social Contact Study Dashboard Â
TEAM
Kristin Nelson, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Co-Investigator, CIDMATH
Contact
Publication Link
Emory Profile
Sharia Ahmed, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Co-Investigator, CIDMATH
Personal Website
Li Xiong, PhD
Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor, Department of Computer Science, Emory University College of Arts and Sciences, Co-Investigator, CIDMATH
Hossein Amiri, MS
PhD Student, Department of Computer Science, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Machi Shiiba, MPH
Public Health Program Associate, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, CIDMATH
Pragati Prasad, MPH
PhD student, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, CIDMATH