Epidemiologic Considerations in Network Modeling of Theoretical Disease Events
Abstract
Social network modeling is a relatively new addition to the armament of public health and epidemiology. Epidemiologists and communicable disease control researchers have been turning to network analysis to address and understand gaps in traditional outbreak management techniques such as contact tracing. Network analysis has shown utility in the study of a range of communicable disease outbreaks affecting both health and commerce, including SARS, tuberculosis, syphilis and foot-and mouth-disease, and may have applications in automated disease surveillance systems. Visualization of these communicable disease networks is an integral component of such analysis. However, visualization of more complex relationships will require consideration of a variety of epidemiologic factors which affect these relationships, and the development of techniques to display them. Any analysis of case level health data has the potential for compromising privacy, and network visualization is no exception. Like other analysis tools such as data mining, or Geographic Information Systems (GIS), network visualization will need to incorporate techniques to ensure confidentiality. In this paper we shall discuss the role of network analysis in communicable disease outbreak control, epidemiologic considerations in visualizing networks, and the emerging issue of confidentiality.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA477249
Entities
People
- Marcus Lem