TELL ME Design: Protective Behaviour During an Epidemic
The TELL ME agent based model simulates the connections between health agency communication, personal decisions to adopt protective behaviour during an influenza epidemic,
and the effect of those decisions on epidemic progress. The behaviour decisions are modelled with a combination of personal attitude, behaviour adoption by neighbours, and
the local recent incidence of influenza. This paper sets out and justifies the model design, including how these decision factors have been operationalised. By exploring the effects of
different communication strategies, the model is intended to assist health authorities with their influenza epidemic communication plans. It can both assist users to understand the complex
interactions between communication, personal behaviour and epidemic progress, and guide future data collection to improve communication planning.
Number:
2015:2
Date:
Wednesday, 19 August, 2015
File: