Use of Mathematical Models of Chlamydia Transmission to Address Public Health Policy Questions: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUNDMathematical models of chlamydia transmission can help inform disease control policy decisions when direct empirical evaluation of alternatives is impractical. We reviewed published chlamydia models to understand the range of approaches used for policy analyses and how the studies have res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexually transmitted diseases 2017-05, Vol.44 (5), p.278-283
Main Authors: Rönn, Minttu M., Wolf, Emory E., Chesson, Harrell, Menzies, Nicolas A., Galer, Kara, Gorwitz, Rachel, Gift, Thomas, Hsu, Katherine, Salomon, Joshua A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chlamydia
Chlamydia - physiology
Chlamydia Infections - diagnosis
Chlamydia Infections - epidemiology
Chlamydia Infections - microbiology
Chlamydia Infections - transmission
Chlamydia trachomatis
Complications
Contact Tracing
Disease control
Disease transmission
Documents
Empirical analysis
Health care policy
Health education
Health Policy
Humans
Impact analysis
Infections
Intervention
Literature reviews
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Medical screening
Models, Theoretical
Notification
Original Study
Public health
Reviews
Scientific papers
Search engines
Sexually transmitted diseases
STD
Systematic review
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Summary:BACKGROUNDMathematical models of chlamydia transmission can help inform disease control policy decisions when direct empirical evaluation of alternatives is impractical. We reviewed published chlamydia models to understand the range of approaches used for policy analyses and how the studies have responded to developments in the field. METHODSWe performed a literature review by searching Medline and Google Scholar (up to October 2015) to identify publications describing dynamic chlamydia transmission models used to address public health policy questions. We extracted information on modeling methodology, interventions, and key findings. RESULTSWe identified 47 publications (including two model comparison studies), which reported collectively on 29 distinct mathematical models. Nine models were individual-based, and 20 were deterministic compartmental models. The earliest studies evaluated the benefits of national-level screening programs and predicted potentially large benefits from increased screening. Subsequent trials and further modeling analyses suggested the impact might have been overestimated. Partner notification has been increasingly evaluated in mathematical modeling, whereas behavioral interventions have received relatively limited attention. CONCLUSIONSOur review provides an overview of chlamydia transmission models and gives a perspective on how mathematical modeling has responded to increasing empirical evidence and addressed policy questions related to prevention of chlamydia infection and sequelae.
ISSN:0148-5717
1537-4521
DOI:10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000598