title: Deriving behavior model parameters from survey data: self-protective behavior adoption during the 2009-2010 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic.
abstract: In this paper, we demonstrate how public opinion surveys can be designed to collect information pertinent to computational behavior modeling, and we present the results of a public opinion and behavior survey conducted during the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic. The results are used to parameterize the Health Belief Model of individual health-protective decision making. Survey subjects were asked questions about their perceptions of the then-circulating influenza and attitudes towards two personal protective behaviors: vaccination and avoidance of crowds. We empirically address two important issues in applying the Health Belief Model of behavior to computational infectious disease simulation: (1) the factors dynamically influencing the states of the Health Belief Model variables and (2) the appropriateness of the Health Belief Model in describing self-protective behavior in the context of pandemic influenza.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. ddurham@alumni.cmu.edu
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Casman
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Albert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical