Infectious Disease

Infectious diseases are key indicators of global and domestic social inequality.

As the COVID-19 pandemic reminded us, patetrns of infection, disease, and mortality reflect complex interactions between pathogens and the social and environmental mechanisms that may facilitate or impede transmission.

Because some form of contact is necessary to transmit infection, models of social networks and neighborhood environments are key to unraveling patterns of transmission. For example, for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, drug use behavior and sexual networks may underlie transmission. For pathogens such as Tuberculosis, the quality of the indoor and neighborhood environment are important predictors of risk. For diarrheal disease, the quality of sanitation infrastructure - and the social institutions that support it - are key indicators of community risk. In addition, infectious diseases, such as Human Papillomavirus, are increasingly understood to be key antecedents of some chronic illnesses and cancers, suggesting that the social antecedents of infection risk have important long-term implications for population health.

CSEPH faculty and affiliates are leading research examining the social antecedents and consequences of infectious disease risk. Projects include surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, HIV incidence and biopsychosocial determinants of HIV acquisition in the US, impact of biobehavioral HIV prevention strategies for key populations,… analyses of the spatiotemporal distribution of diarrheal disease risk in Latin America and Africa, methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) infection in Chicago, influenza in Michigan, and tuberculosis in New York City, among other projects. CSEPH researchers are addressing questions such as: What are the social and structural conditions driving HIV incidence in key populations in the US? What multilevel intervention strategies – individual, interpersonal, structural, and in combination – can effectively mitigate HIV inequities?