Matthew Osborne

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  Behavioral contagion type and its effect on disease dynamics
  Matthew Osborne

  Disease and behavior have long been recognized as coupled contagions, and models treating them as such have existed since the mid 2000s. In these models behavior is typically treated as a simple contagion. However, the means of behavior spread may in fact be more complex. We will develop a family of disease-behavior coupled contagion compartmental models in order to examine the effect of behavior contagion type on disease-behavior dynamics. Both a simple and complex behavior contagion model will be investigated, revealing that behavior contagion type can have a significant impact on dynamics. We will also propose a study design for determining how an important health behavior spreads, flu vaccination.