Study protocol: improving response to malaria in the Amazon through identification of inter-community networks and human mobility in border regions of Ecuador, Peru and Brazil
William K Pan,
Andres G Lescano,
Edson J Ascencio,
Carolina Coombes,
Mark M Janko,
Andrea L Araujo,
Gilvan R Guedes,
Luis E Vasco,
Reinaldo O Santos,
Camila P Damasceno,
Perla G Medrano,
Pamela R Chacón-Uscamaita,
Annika K Gunderson,
Sara O’Malley,
Prakrut H Kansara,
Manuel B Narvaez,
Francesco Pizzitutti,
Gabriela Salmon-Mulanovich,
Benjamin F Zaitchik,
Carlos F Mena,
Alisson F Barbieri
Affiliations
William K Pan
Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Andres G Lescano
Emerge, Emerging Diseases and Climate Change Research Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
Edson J Ascencio
Emerge, Emerging Diseases and Climate Change Research Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
Carolina Coombes
Emerge, Emerging Diseases and Climate Change Research Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
Mark M Janko
Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Andrea L Araujo
Instituto de Geografia, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
Gilvan R Guedes
Center for Regional Development and Planning (Cedeplar), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Luis E Vasco
Instituto de Geografia, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
Reinaldo O Santos
Center for Regional Development and Planning (Cedeplar), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Camila P Damasceno
Center for Regional Development and Planning (Cedeplar), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Perla G Medrano
Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Pamela R Chacón-Uscamaita
Emerge, Emerging Diseases and Climate Change Research Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
Annika K Gunderson
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Sara O’Malley
Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Prakrut H Kansara
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Manuel B Narvaez
Instituto de Geografia, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
Francesco Pizzitutti
Instituto de Geografia, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
Gabriela Salmon-Mulanovich
Departamento Académico Ingeniería, Pontifica Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima, Peru
Benjamin F Zaitchik
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Carlos F Mena
Instituto de Geografia, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
Alisson F Barbieri
Center for Regional Development and Planning (Cedeplar), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Introduction Understanding human mobility’s role in malaria transmission is critical to successful control and elimination. However, common approaches to measuring mobility are ill-equipped for remote regions such as the Amazon. This study develops a network survey to quantify the effect of community connectivity and mobility on malaria transmission.Methods We measure community connectivity across the study area using a respondent driven sampling design among key informants who are at least 18 years of age. 45 initial communities will be selected: 10 in Brazil, 10 in Ecuador and 25 in Peru. Participants will be recruited in each initial node and administered a survey to obtain data on each community’s mobility patterns. Survey responses will be ranked and the 2–3 most connected communities will then be selected and surveyed. This process will be repeated for a third round of data collection. Community network matrices will be linked with each country’s malaria surveillance system to test the effects of mobility on disease risk.Ethics and dissemination This study protocol has been approved by the institutional review boards of Duke University (USA), Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru) and Universidade Federal Minas Gerais (Brazil). Results will be disseminated in communities by the end of the study.
