We explore ways in which statistics can be used to understand disease spread and support decision-making by governments. "Past performance does not guarantee future results"--we hope. We discuss and show examples from the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded COVID-Inspired Data Science Education through Epidemiology (CIDSEE) project.…

Objectives: Before the Fall 2020 semester, college presidents and the NCAA made decisions about playing college football. The current study aims to examine the association between college football games and COVID-19 infections at universities. Participants: More than 1,800 college campuses nationwide from "The New York Times" database on…

Since the introduction by Kermack and McKendrick in 1927, the Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) epidemic model has been a foundational model to comprehend and predict the dynamics of infectious diseases. Almost for a century, the SIR model has been modified and extended to meet the needs of different characteristics of various infectious…

The faculty at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) recognized the potential benefits for collaborative teaching and learning across disciplines. Research and development of an Interprofessional Case Learning Project (ICLP) laid the foundation for the creation and implementation of a problem-based learning course. This…

What is power? What is knowledge? What is the link between power and knowledge? This paper interrogates the relationship between knowledge and power in the context of Guinea's epidemic crises and political events. It draws on observational data collected during the Ebola epidemic (2013-2016), the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), and the ongoing…

Background: Despite the overwhelming benefits of vaccinations, suboptimal public confidence in vaccines keeps immunization rates in the U.S far from ideal levels. Purpose: To assess the efficacy of a high school video set curriculum, on vaccine history, science, and safety, in improving vaccine knowledge. Methods: Sample included high school…

Background: Familiarity breeds complacency. One case of sore throat can start to sound like another. However, even common viral and bacterial infections can lead to serious sequelae. Clinicians cannot make a diagnosis if they do not consider it in their differential. Case: The presentation -- and subsequent hospitalization -- of a septic 19…

The SIR model is a differential equations based model of the spread of an infectious disease that compartmentalises individuals in a population into one of three states: those who are susceptible to a disease (S), those who are infected and can transmit the disease to others (I), and those who have recovered from the disease and are now immune…

Purpose: This study explored undergraduate college students' opinions of the CDC's online "Solve the Outbreak" (StO) game, a recommended aid in higher education for teaching concepts epidemiological outbreak investigations. Methods: The study was conducted as a game debriefing, in which 16 students enrolled in an undergraduate-level…

Objective: This longitudinal study tested the relationship between cigarette and e-cigarette use and SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion among US college students. Participants: Undergraduate students (n = 764), drawn from a randomly selected invitation-only pool from a large Midwestern university, that were initially negative for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and…

Objective: Influenza attack rates among college students are high. However, little is known about the determinants of students' flu vaccine adoption from their own perspectives. To fill this gap, this study aims to investigate barriers and facilitators to college students' flu vaccine adoption. Methods: A total of 545 students offered complete…

When teaching infection prevention and control (IPC), nursing education tends to focus on skills and fostering good practice rather than challenging students' thinking. Therefore, students' misconceptions about IPC receive less attention than they deserve. The purpose of the study was to make an inventory of student nurses' misconceptions about…

Background: Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, students with COVID-19 may end isolation after 5 days if symptoms are improving; some individuals may still be contagious. Rapid antigen testing identifies possibly infectious virus. We report on a test-to-return (TTR) program in a Massachusetts school district to inform policy…

Objective: College student populations are considered at greater risk of contracting influenza due to their close living conditions. Despite this increased risk, college students are reluctant to obtain annual vaccination. This pilot study sought to determine perceptions of students on a college campus who received the annual influenza vaccination…

Objective: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the cause of infectious mononucleosis, which disproportionately affects university students. This population has the potential to benefit from a prophylactic EBV vaccine trial. Our objectives were to determine EBV infection status and associated demographic/lifestyle factors among first year undergraduate…