Age-specific social mixing of school-aged children in a US setting using proximity detecting sensors and contact surveys

Kyra H Grantz,Hasan Guclu,Kan Li,Charles Vukotich,Jeanette Rainey,Patti Calderone,Shanta Zimmer,Derek A T Cummings,Mary Lou Schweizer,Jonathan M Read,Amra Uzicanin,Hongjiang Gao,Jennifer Cousins,David Galloway,Eva Noble,Carrie Lingle,Gabby M H Yearwood

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-81673-y

Kyra H Grantz, Hasan Guclu + Show 15 more

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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81673-y

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Comparisons of the utility and accuracy of methods for measuring social interactions relevant to disease transmission are rare. To increase the evidence base supporting specific methods to measure social interaction, we compared data from self-reported contact surveys and wearable proximity sensors from a cohort of schoolchildren in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Although the number and type of contacts recorded by each participant differed between the two methods, we found good correspondence between the two methods in aggregate measures of age-specific interactions. Fewer, but longer, contacts were reported in surveys, relative to the generally short proximal interactions captured by wearable sensors. When adjusted for expectations of proportionate mixing, though, the two methods produced highly similar, assortative age-mixing matrices. These aggregate mixing matrices, when used in simulation, resulted in similar estimates of risk of infection by age. While proximity sensors and survey methods may not be interchangeable for capturing individual contacts, they can generate highly correlated data on age-specific mixing patterns relevant to the dynamics of respiratory virus transmission.

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Comparisons of the utility and accuracy of methods for measuring social interactions relevant to disease transmission are rare
The Social Mixing and Respiratory Transmission (SMART) study was conducted in eight schools in the Pittsburgh standard metropolitan statistical area from
At least one contact survey distribution overlapped with a proximity sensor deployment in each school, and students could participate in more than one contact survey distribution

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Comparisons of the utility and accuracy of methods for measuring social interactions relevant to disease transmission are rare. To increase the evidence base supporting specific methods to measure social interaction, we compared data from self-reported contact surveys and wearable proximity sensors from a cohort of schoolchildren in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. While proximity sensors and survey methods may not be interchangeable for capturing individual contacts, they can generate highly correlated data on age-specific mixing patterns relevant to the dynamics of respiratory virus transmission. Respiratory viruses, such as influenza, are transmitted primarily through large infectious droplets when an ill person coughs or sneezes within relatively short distances of others[1,2]. Pharmaceuticals, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 15Present address: Division of Global Health Protection, US Centers for Scientific Reports |

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