238942 Who you know: Network models of disease

Saturday, October 29, 2011: 10:00 AM

Eric Lofgren, MSPH , Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Washington, DC
Previous topics in the institute have covered compartmental models of disease that typically assume the population mixes entirely randomly. Yet intuitively, we know this isn't true in reality. Individuals have more contact with their friends, family and co-workers than they do with random strangers. These network of contacts can have a profound influence of the spread of disease, and the ability of public health professionals to effectively intervene to prevent disease spread. This session will discuss the use of networks to model heterogeneous mixing of populations, both socially and spatially, using the example of a small, identifiable group of individuals existing in a larger social context during a zombie outbreak.

Learning Areas:
Basic medical science applied in public health
Epidemiology
Other professions or practice related to public health
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related research
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1. Compare network-based models to compartmental-based models. 2. Describe patterns of mixing between people that may give rise to different types of contact networks. 3. Formulate their own network based on family, friends, or workplace contacts.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present the proposed topic because I have previously presented on the topic of using zombie outbreaks to teach infectious disease modeling at previous (2010) APHA conferences. I also have extensive experience with epidemiological modeling, and have extensively published on applications of popular culture to mathematical modeling.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: A gentle introduction to mathematical modeling: Lessons from the living dead
See more of: APHA-Learning Institute (APHA-LI)