Eva A. Enns, PhD
It is well-established that contact network structure strongly influences infectious disease dynamics. However, less well-studied is the impact of network structure on the effectiveness and efficiency of disease control strategies. In this talk, I will present an evaluation of partner management strategies to address a hypothetical bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI). I will compare the costs, disease outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of three partner management interventions (partner notification, expedited partner therapy, and contact tracing) in populations with the same average behavior, but configured according to different network structures. This case study is one demonstration of how network structure can influence both the effectiveness and efficiency of infectious disease interventions, as well as the interplay between intervention capacity constraints, disease dynamics, and network connectivity patterns.