Individual movements and contact patterns in a Canadian long-term care facility

David Champredon; Mehdi Najafi; Marek Laskowski; Ayman Chit; Seyed M. Moghadas; David Champredon; Mehdi Najafi; Marek Laskowski; Ayman Chit; Seyed M. Moghadas

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2018.2.111

AIMS Public Health

2018, Volume 5, Issue 2: 111-121. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2018.2.111

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Research article

Individual movements and contact patterns in a Canadian long-term care facility

1.
Agent-Based Modelling Laboratory, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
2.
Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada
3.
Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J1P3, Canada
4.
Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, PA, USA, and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada

Received: 29 November 2017 Accepted: 07 May 2018 Published: 09 May 2018

Contact networks of individuals in healthcare facilities are poorly understood, largely due to the lack of spatio-temporal movement data. A better understanding of such networks of interactions can help improve disease control strategies for nosocomial outbreaks. We sought to determine the spatio-temporal patterns of interactions between individuals using movement data collected in the largest veterans long-term care facility in Canada. We processed close-range contact data generated by the exchange of ultra-low-power radio signals, in a prescribed proximity, between wireless sensors worn by the participants over a two-week period. Statistical analyses of contact and movement data were conducted. We found a clear dichotomy in the contact network and movement patterns between residents and healthcare workers (HCWs) in this facility. Overall, residents tend to have significantly more distinct contacts with the mean of 17.3 (s.d. 3.6) contacts, versus 3.5 (s.d. 2.3) for HCWs (p-value < 10^–12), for a longer duration of time (with mean contact duration of 8 minutes for resident-resident pair versus 4.6 minutes for HCW-resident pair) while being less mobile than HCWs. Analysis of movement data and clustering coefficient of the hourly aggregated network indicates that the contact network is loosely connected (mean clustering coefficient: 0.25, interquartile range 0–0.40), while being highly structured. Our findings bring quantitative insights regarding the contact network and movements in a long-term care facility, which are highly relevant to infer direct human-to-human and indirect (i.e., via the environment) disease transmission processes. This data-driven quantification is essential for validating disease dynamic models, as well as decision analytic methods to inform control strategies for nosocomial infections.
- long-term care facility,
- mobility,
- contact network,
- RFID
Citation: David Champredon, Mehdi Najafi, Marek Laskowski, Ayman Chit, Seyed M. Moghadas. Individual movements and contact patterns in a Canadian long-term care facility[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2018, 5(2): 111-121. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2018.2.111

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Abstract

Contact networks of individuals in healthcare facilities are poorly understood, largely due to the lack of spatio-temporal movement data. A better understanding of such networks of interactions can help improve disease control strategies for nosocomial outbreaks. We sought to determine the spatio-temporal patterns of interactions between individuals using movement data collected in the largest veterans long-term care facility in Canada. We processed close-range contact data generated by the exchange of ultra-low-power radio signals, in a prescribed proximity, between wireless sensors worn by the participants over a two-week period. Statistical analyses of contact and movement data were conducted. We found a clear dichotomy in the contact network and movement patterns between residents and healthcare workers (HCWs) in this facility. Overall, residents tend to have significantly more distinct contacts with the mean of 17.3 (s.d. 3.6) contacts, versus 3.5 (s.d. 2.3) for HCWs (p-value < 10^–12), for a longer duration of time (with mean contact duration of 8 minutes for resident-resident pair versus 4.6 minutes for HCW-resident pair) while being less mobile than HCWs. Analysis of movement data and clustering coefficient of the hourly aggregated network indicates that the contact network is loosely connected (mean clustering coefficient: 0.25, interquartile range 0–0.40), while being highly structured. Our findings bring quantitative insights regarding the contact network and movements in a long-term care facility, which are highly relevant to infer direct human-to-human and indirect (i.e., via the environment) disease transmission processes. This data-driven quantification is essential for validating disease dynamic models, as well as decision analytic methods to inform control strategies for nosocomial infections.

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