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ORCID
N/A
Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Public Health
Degree Type
Master of Science (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
2018
Month Degree Awarded
September
Abstract
Dengue fever affects over 390 million people annually worldwide and is of particu- lar concern in Southeast Asia where it is one of the leading causes of hospitalization. Modeling trends in dengue occurrence can provide valuable information to Public Health officials, however many challenges arise depending on the data available. In Thailand, reporting of dengue cases is often delayed by more than 6 weeks, and a small fraction of cases may not be reported until over 11 months after they occurred. This study shows that incorporating data on Google Search trends can improve dis- ease predictions in settings with severely underreported data. We compare penalized regression approaches to seasonal baseline models and illustrate that incorporation of search data can improve prediction error. This builds on previous research show- ing that search data and recent surveillance data together can be used to create accurate forecasts for diseases such as influenza and dengue fever. This work shows that even in settings where timely surveillance data is not available, using search data in real-time can produce more accurate short-term forecasts than a seasonal baseline prediction. However, forecast accuracy degrades the further into the future the forecasts go. The relative accuracy of these forecasts compared to a seasonal average forecast varies depending on location. Overall, these data and models can improve short-term public health situational awareness and should be incorporated into larger real-time forecasting efforts.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/12681214
First Advisor
Nicholas Reich
Second Advisor
Laura Balzer
Third Advisor
Jing Qian
Recommended Citation
Kusiak, Caroline, "Real-Time Dengue Forecasting In Thailand: A Comparison Of Penalized Regression Approaches Using Internet Search Data" (2018). Masters Theses. 708.
https://doi.org/10.7275/12681214
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/708
Included in
Applied Statistics Commons, Bioinformatics Commons, Biostatistics Commons, Disease Modeling Commons, Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series Commons, Other Mathematics Commons, Statistical Methodology Commons, Statistical Models Commons, Survival Analysis Commons, Vital and Health Statistics Commons