Identifying real time surveillance indicators to estimate COVID-19 hospital admissions in Colorado during and after the public health emergency.

Questions remain about how best to focus surveillance efforts for COVID-19 and other emerging respiratory diseases. We used an archive of COVID-19 data in Colorado from October 2020 to March 2024 to reconstruct seven real-time surveillance indicators. We assessed how well the indicators predicted 7-day average COVID-19 hospital admissions, a key indicator of outbreak severity, using machine learning and regression models, and used cross-correlation analysis to identify leading indicators.

Does behavior mediate the effect of weather on SARS-CoV-2 transmission? evidence from cell-phone data.

There is growing evidence that weather alters SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but it remains unclear what drives the phenomenon. One prevailing hypothesis is that people spend more time indoors in cooler weather, leading to increased spread of SARS-CoV-2 related to time spent in confined spaces and close contact with others. However, the evidence in support of that hypothesis is limited and, at times, conflicting.

Investigating the relationship between extreme weather and cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in Colorado: A multi-decade study using distributed-lag nonlinear models.

Environmentally-mediated protozoan diseases like cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are likely to be highly impacted by extreme weather, as climate-related conditions like temperature and precipitation have been linked to their survival, distribution, and overall transmission success. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between extreme temperature and precipitation and cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis infection using monthly weather data and case reports from Colorado counties over a twenty-one year period. Data on reportable diseases and weather among Colorado counties were collected using the Colorado Electronic Disease Reporting System (CEDRS) and the Daily Surface Weather and Climatological Summaries (Daymet) Version 3 dataset, respectively.

Does behavior mediate the effect of weather on SARS-CoV-2 transmission? Evidence from cell-phone data.

Background: There is growing evidence that weather alters SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but it remains unclear what drives the phenomenon. One prevailing hypothesis is that people spend more time indoors in cooler weather, leading to increased spread of SARS-CoV-2 related to time spent in confined spaces and close contact with others. However, the evidence in support of that hypothesis is limited and, at times, conflicting.

Open-source environmental data as an alternative to snail surveys to assess schistosomiasis risk in areas approaching elimination.

Background: Although the presence of intermediate snails is a necessary condition for local schistosomiasis transmission to occur, using them as surveillance targets in areas approaching elimination is challenging because the patchy and dynamic quality of snail host habitats makes collecting and testing snails labor-intensive. Meanwhile, geospatial analyses that rely on remotely sensed data are becoming popular tools for identifying environmental conditions that contribute to pathogen emergence and persistence.

Methods: In this study, we assessed whether open-source environmental data can be used to predict the presence of human Schistosoma japonicum infections among households with a similar or improved degree of accuracy compared to prediction models developed using data from comprehensive snail surveys.

Open-source environmental data as an alternative to snail surveys to assess schistosomiasis risk in areas approaching elimination.

Although the presence of intermediate snails is a necessary condition for local schistosomiasis transmission to occur, using them as surveillance targets in areas approaching elimination is challenging because the patchy and dynamic quality of snail host habitats makes collecting and testing snails labor-intensive. Meanwhile, geospatial analyses that rely on remotely sensed data are becoming popular tools for identifying environmental conditions that contribute to pathogen emergence and persistence. In this study, we assessed whether open-source environmental data can be used to predict the presence of human infections among households with a similar or improved degree of accuracy compared to prediction models developed using data from comprehensive snail surveys.

The Association Between Rainfall, Temperature, and Reported Drinking Water Source: A Multi-Country Analysis.

Climate change may alter access to safe drinking water, with important implications for health. We assessed the relationship between temperature and rainfall and utilization of basic drinking water (BDW) in The Gambia, Mozambique, Pakistan, and Kenya. The outcomes of interest were (a) whether the reported drinking water source used in the past 2 weeks met the World Health Organization definition of BDW and (b) use of a BDW source that was always available.

Predictors of bovine Schistosoma japonicum infection in rural Sichuan, China.

In China, bovines are believed to be the most common animal source of human schistosomiasis infections, though little is known about what factors promote bovine infections. The current body of literature features inconsistent, and sometimes contradictory results, and to date, few studies have looked beyond physical characteristics to identify the broader environmental conditions that predict bovine schistosomiasis. Because schistosomiasis is a sanitation-related, water-borne disease transmitted by many animals, we hypothesised that several environmental factors - such as the lack of improved sanitation systems, or participation in agricultural production that is water-intensive - could promote schistosomiasis infection in bovines.

Human Mobility Associated With Risk of Schistosoma japonicum Infection in Sichuan, China.

Urbanization increases human mobility in ways that can alter the transmission of classically rural, vector-borne diseases like schistosomiasis. The impact of human mobility on individual-level Schistosoma risk is poorly characterized. Travel outside endemic areas may protect against infection by reducing exposure opportunities, whereas travel to other endemic regions may increase risk.

Social Influence on Handwashing with Soap: Results from a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Bangladesh.

We analyzed data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted among 20 schools in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, to explore the role of social influence on handwashing with soap (HWWS) in a primary school setting. Using data collected through covert video cameras outside of school latrines, we used robust Poisson regression analysis to assess the impact of social influence-defined as the presence of another person near the handwashing location-on HWWS after a toileting event. In adjusted analyses, we found a 30% increase in HWWS when someone was present, as compared with when a child was alone (Prevalence ratio 1.

Comparing the behavioural impact of a nudge-based handwashing intervention to high-intensity hygiene education: a cluster-randomised trial in rural Bangladesh.

Objective: To determine the impact of environmental nudges on handwashing behaviours among primary school children as compared to a high-intensity hygiene education intervention.

Methods: In a cluster-randomised trial (CRT), we compared the rates of handwashing with soap (HWWS) after a toileting event among primary school students in rural Bangladesh. Eligible schools (government run, on-site sanitation and water, no hygiene interventions in last year, fewer than 450 students) were identified, and 20 schools were randomly selected and allocated without blinding to one of four interventions, five schools per group: simultaneous handwashing infrastructure and nudge construction, sequential infrastructure then nudge construction, simultaneous infrastructure and high-intensity hygiene education (HE) and sequential handwashing infrastructure and HE.

An exploration of emergency nurses' perceptions, attitudes and experience of teamwork in the emergency department.

Background: Teamwork may assist with increased levels of efficiency and safety of patient care in the emergency department (ED), with emergency nurses playing an indispensable role in this process.

Method: A descriptive, exploratory approach was used, drawing on principles from phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. Convenience, purposive sampling was used in a major metropolitan ED.

Social cohesion, social participation and HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Swaziland.

Social cohesion and social participation are social factors that may help reduce HIV risks and optimize health-seeking behaviors. We examined the association between these factors and HIV testing in the last 12 months among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Swaziland using a cross-sectional survey conducted with 326 men, 18 years of age or older reporting having sex with another man in the last 12 months. Social capital analyses included measures of social cohesion and social participation.

An urgent need for integration of family planning services into HIV care: the high burden of unplanned pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, and limited contraception use among female sex workers in Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: HIV infection and unintended pregnancy are occupational risks of commercial female sex work (FSW). The burden of unintended pregnancy among FSW including maternal and infant outcomes in the context of HIV is largely unknown.

Methods: FSW ≥18 years were recruited through respondent driven sampling into a cross-sectional study in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.