Complexity and Social Networks Blog

« Results of quick survey on search strategies | Main | Mom and Dad buy me a PS3 - Distributed Computing »

5 April 2007

Taking Person, Place, and Time Seriously in Infectious Disease

This is an abstract of todays PNG/CCCSN seminar with Devon D. Brewer (University of Washington). We encourage you to discuss his presentation via comments on the blog.

"Social scientists and field epidemiologists have long appreciated the role of social networks in diffusion processes. The cardinal goal of descriptive epidemiology is to examine “person, place, and time” in relation to the occurrence of disease or other health events. In the last 20 years, most infectious disease epidemiologist have moved away from the field epidemiologist’s understanding of transmission as embedded in contact structures and shaped by temporal and locational factors. Instead, infectious disease epidemiologists have employed research designs that are best suited to studying non-infectious chronic diseases but unable to provide meaningful insight on transmission processes. A comprehensive and contextualized infectious disease epidemiology requires assessment of person (contact structure and individual characteristics), place, and time, together with measurement of specific behaviors, physical settings/fomites, and the molecular biology of pathogens, infected persons, and susceptible persons. In this presentation, I highlight examples of research that include multiple elements of this standard. From this overview, I show in particular how the main routes of HIV transmission in poor countries remain unknown as a consequence of inappropriate design in epidemiologic research. In addition, these examples highlight how diffusion research in the social sciences might be improved with greater attention to temporal and locational factors."

Posted by Alexander Schellong at April 5, 2007 11:59 AM

.
• Business (2)
.
• Citizen Relationship Management (13)
.
• Commentary (5)
.
• Complexity (2)
.
• Current Trends (40)
.
• eGovernment (15)
.
• Events/Announcements (51)
.
• Innovation (12)
.
• Internet (14)
.
• Knowledge Sharing (16)
.
• Methodology (28)
.
• Networked Governance (14)
.
• Networks in political science (1)
.
• PNG Working Paper Series (6)
.
• Powerlaws (4)
.
• Reviews (2)
.
• Simulations (1)
.
• Small group networks (3)
.
• Small Worlds (2)
.
• SN in the news (56)
.
• Social Capital (2)
.
• Social Computing (9)
.
• Social Finance (1)
.
• Social Networking Platforms (8)
.
• Social Psychology (2)
.
• Social Software (22)
.
• Societal Networks (33)
.
• Technology (27)

Comments

Notification

Post a comment