Author, as appears in the article.: Steinegger, Benjamin; Granell, Clara; Rapisardi, Giacomo; Gomez, Sergio; Matamalas, Joan; Soriano-Panos, David; Arenas, Alex
Department: Enginyeria Informàtica i Matemàtiques
URV's Author/s: Arenas Moreno, Alejandro / Gómez Jiménez, Sergio / Granell Martorell, Clara / Matamalas Llodrà, Joan Tomàs / Rapisardi, Giacomo / Steinegger, Benjamin Franz Josef
Keywords: Surveillance Spain Retrospective studies Public health intervention Public health Pandemics Npis Nonpharmaceutical intervention Model-based inference Mobility data Humans Human behavior Epidemics Epidemic evolution Covid-19 Communicable disease control Back-projection us time surveillance spread spain public-health public health intervention public health npis nonpharmaceutical intervention model-based inference mobility data human behavior epidemic evolution covid-19
Abstract: The initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic placed a tremendous strain on health care systems worldwide. To mitigate the spread of the virus, many countries implemented stringent nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), which significantly altered human behavior both before and after their enactment. Despite these efforts, a precise assessment of the impact and efficacy of these NPIs, as well as the extent of human behavioral changes, remained elusive.In this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the initial wave of COVID-19 in Spain to better comprehend the influence of NPIs and their interaction with human behavior. Such investigations are vital for devising future mitigation strategies to combat COVID-19 and enhance epidemic preparedness more broadly.We used a combination of national and regional retrospective analyses of pandemic incidence alongside large-scale mobility data to assess the impact and timing of government-implemented NPIs in combating COVID-19. Additionally, we compared these findings with a model-based inference of hospitalizations and fatalities. This model-based approach enabled us to construct counterfactual scenarios that gauged the consequences of delayed initiation of epidemic response measures.Our analysis demonstrated that the pre-national lockdown epidemic response, encompassing regional measures and heightened individual awareness, significantly contributed to reducing the disease burden in Spain. The mobility data indicated that people adjusted their behavior in response to the regional epidemiological situation before the nationwide lockdown was implemented. Counterfactual scenarios suggested that without this early epidemic response, there would have been an estimated 45,400 (95% CI 37,400-58,000) fatalities and 182,600 (95% CI 150,400-233,800) hospitalizations compared to the reported figures of 27,800 fatalities and 107,600 hospitalizations, respectively.Our findings underscore the significance of self-implemented prevention measures by the population and regional NPIs before the national lockdown in Spain. The study also emphasizes the necessity for prompt and precise data quantification prior to enacting enforced measures. This highlights the critical interplay between NPIs, epidemic progression, and human behavior. This interdependence presents a challenge in predicting the impact of NPIs before they are implemented.©Benjamin Steinegger, Clara Granell, Giacomo Rapisardi, Sergio Gómez, Joan Matamalas, David Soriano-Paños, Jesús Gómez-Gardeñes, Alex Arenas. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org), 22.05.2023.
licence for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
Author's mail: joantomas.matamalas@urv.cat clara.granell@urv.cat benjamin.steinegger@estudiants.urv.cat sergio.gomez@urv.cat alexandre.arenas@urv.cat
Author identifier: 0000-0002-7563-9269 0000-0002-0723-1536 0000-0003-1820-0062 0000-0003-0937-0334
Record's date: 2024-09-28
Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersion
Licence document URL: https://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/
Papper original source: Medrxiv. 9 e40514-
APA: Steinegger, Benjamin; Granell, Clara; Rapisardi, Giacomo; Gomez, Sergio; Matamalas, Joan; Soriano-Panos, David; Arenas, Alex (2023). Retrospective study of the first wave of covid-19 in Spain: Analysis of counterfactual scenarios. Medrxiv, 9(), e40514-. DOI: 10.1101/2021.02.16.21251832
Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Journal publication year: 2023
Publication Type: Journal Publications
Repositori URV