Development of a behavioural modulation strategy for disease control based on network interventions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new strategy to control diseases like COVID-19 by modifying human behavior through network-based interventions.

Contribution

A novel behavioral modulation method is proposed to control disease spread using network intervention strategies.

Findings

Behavioral modulation under network interventions effectively reduces disease transmission.

An optimal intervention proportion balances epidemic control and cost efficiency.

Simulation on real-world networks validates the effectiveness of the approach.

Abstract

The impact of human behaviour evolution poses a major challenge in the control of COVID-19. The key to overcoming this problem is incorporating behavioural factors into disease interventions. This paper proposes a novel behavioural modulation means based on network intervention strategies, aiming to achieve disease prevention at the population level through behavioural modulation of seed nodes. Taking individual decision-making behaviour as a representative example, we explore the efficacy of the proposed behavioural modulation method within a coupled behaviour-disease model. Using epidemic threshold and infection density as indicators, the results demonstrate that behavioural modulation under various network intervention strategies can effectively control disease transmission within populations. On this basis, the intervention costs incurred by implementing behavioural modulation are also noteworthy. Further analysis reveals an optimal interval of intervention proportions capable of simultaneously achieving epidemic control and cost savings, which can guide the practical implementation of such control measures. The above conclusions are validated through simulation with representative real-world contact network data. Our work has led to new advances in realizing disease control from a behavioural perspective, which is of great value as a guide for the public health sector in the development of epidemic prevention policies.

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