An inaugural forum on epidemiological modeling for public health stakeholders in Arizona

Authors

Joseph R. Mihalijevic, Northern Arizona University
Carmenlita Chief, Northern Arizona University
Mehreen Malik, Northern Arizona University
Kayode Oshinubi, Northern Arizona University
Eck Doerry, Northern Arizona University
Esma Gel, University of NebraskaFollow
Crystal Hepp, Northern Arizona University, Translational Genomics Research Institute
Tim Lant, Arizona State University
Sanjay Mehrotra, Northwestern University
Samantha Sabo, Northern Arizona University

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

5-31-2024

Citation

Mihaljevic JR, Chief C, Malik M, Oshinubi K, Doerry E, Gel E, Hepp C, Lant T, Mehrotra S and Sabo S (2024) An inaugural forum on epidemiological modeling for public health stakeholders in Arizona. Front. Public Health 12:1357908. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1357908

Comments

Open access.

Abstract

Epidemiological models—which help us understand and forecast the spread of infectious disease—can be valuable tools for public health. However, barriers exist that can make it difficult to employ epidemiological models routinely within the repertoire of public health planning. These barriers include technical challenges associated with constructing the models, challenges in obtaining appropriate data for model parameterization, and problems with clear communication of modeling outputs and uncertainty. To learn about the unique barriers and opportunities within the state of Arizona, we gathered a diverse set of 48 public health stakeholders for a day-and-a-half forum. Our research group was motivated specifically by our work building software for public health-relevant modeling and by our earnest desire to collaborate closely with stakeholders to ensure that our software tools are practical and useful in the face of evolving public health needs. Here we outline the planning and structure of the forum, and we highlight as a case study some of the lessons learned from breakout discussions. While unique barriers exist for implementing modeling for public health, there is also keen interest in doing so across diverse sectors of State and Local government, although issues of equal and fair access to modeling knowledge and technologies remain key issues for future development. We found this forum to be useful for building relationships and informing our software development, and we plan to continue such meetings annually to create a continual feedback loop between academic molders and public health practitioners.