ArticlePloS one2014
Quantifying age-related rates of social contact using diaries in a rural coastal population of Kenya.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Social Contact Surveys to Inform Transmission Models of Close-contact Infections.Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2019Pooled it
- Close encounters between infants and household members measured through wearable proximity sensors.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Relationship between household attributes and contact patterns in urban and rural South Africa.PloS one · 2026Article
- Characterizing social behavior relevant for infectious disease transmission in four low- and middle-income countries, 2021-2023.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Comparison of contact diaries and wearable proximity sensors in measuring household contacts in low- and middle-income countries.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Characterising non-household contact patterns relevant to respiratory transmission in the USA: analysis of a cross-sectional survey.The Lancet. Digital health · 2025Article
- Social contact patterns and their impact on the transmission of respiratory pathogens in rural China.Infectious Disease Modelling · 2025Article
- The effect of COVID-19 vaccination on change in contact and implications for transmission.Epidemics · 2025Article
- Social contacts and mixing patterns in rural Gambia.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Social Contact Patterns in Rural and Urban Settings, Mozambique, 2021-2022.Emerging infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Article
- Within-country heterogeneity in patterns of social contact relevant for tuberculosis infection transmission, prevention, and care.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Seasonal variations in social contact patterns in a rural population in north India: Implications for pandemic control.PloS one · 2024Article
- Comprehensive profiling of social mixing patterns in resource poor countries: A mixed methods research protocol.PloS one · 2024Article
- Article
- Symptom prevalence and secondary attack rate of SARS-CoV-2 in rural Kenyan households: A prospective cohort study.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2023Article
- Reduced incidence of respiratory, gastrointestinal and malaria infections among children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Western Kenya: An analysis of facility-based and weekly diaries data.Journal of global health · 2023Article
- Social contact patterns relevant for infectious disease transmission in Cambodia.Scientific reports · 2023Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundImproved understanding and quantification of social contact patterns that govern the transmission dynamics of respiratory viral infections has utility in the design of preventative and control measures such as vaccination and social distancing. The objective of this study was to quantify an age-specific matrix of contact rates for a predominantly rural low-income population that would support transmission dynamic modeling of respiratory viruses. METHODS AND
findingsFrom the population register of the Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System, coastal Kenya, 150 individuals per age group (<1, 1-5, 6-15, 16-19, 20-49, 50 and above, in years) were selected by stratified random sampling and requested to complete a day long paper diary of physical contacts (e.g. touch or embrace). The sample was stratified by residence (rural-to-semiurban), month (August 2011 to January 2012, spanning seasonal changes in socio-cultural activities), and day of week. Usable diary responses were obtained from 568 individuals (∼50% of expected). The mean number of contacts per person per day was 17.7 (95% CI 16.7-18.7). Infants reported the lowest contact rates (mean 13.9, 95% CI 12.1-15.7), while primary school students (6-15 years) reported the highest (mean 20.1, 95% CI 18.0-22.2). Rates of contact were higher within groups of similar age (assortative), particularly within the primary school students and adults (20-49 years). Adults and older participants (>50 years) exhibited the highest inter-generational contacts. Rural contact rates were higher than semiurban (18.8 vs 15.6, p = 0.002), with rural primary school students having twice as many assortative contacts as their semiurban peers. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first age-specific contact matrix to be defined for tropical Sub-Saharan Africa and has utility in age-structured models to assess the potential impact of interventions for directly transmitted respiratory infections.
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