Representative Contact Diaries for Modeling the Spread of Infectious Diseases in Taiwan

Fu, Yang-chih; Wang, Da-Wei; Chuang, Jen-Hsiang

A critical value of these tools lies in their capability to make statistical inferences from a representative sample to the target population. Although probability sampling has been widely used in large social surveys, our study combines rigorous procedures in both systematic sampling and in-person household interviews with 24-hour diary recording. Unlike small scale studies of contact diaries that aim to build long-term actual and comprehensive archives of interpersonal contacts [29] [30] [31] , our large-scale probability survey helps generate contact diaries that are short-term yet representative. With actual data and a better understanding of contact patterns, such studies should help efforts to implement more appropriate and effective strategies in controlling an emerging or pandemic disease infection.