The LKAS project "Incorporating Public Responses to Health Communication into
Epidemiological Models" has explored the intersections of public health policy, epidemiological modelling of infectious disease, health and risk communication, and health psychology and behavior change. Research studies resulting from the project have described the impact of influenza severity on disease transmission dynamics, the public perception of modeling methods for public health behavior change recommendations, the role of epidemiological and statistical cost-effectiveness modelling in national vaccine policy programmes, and recommendations for the optimal use of modelling methods in formulating evidence-based public health policy.
These studies have been nominated for several awards, and additional external awards to support this research have been given by the National Science Foundation in the US and the
European Social Simulation Association. Findings have appeared in major international conference proceedings, invited talks, poster presentations, public-facing science communication, and are in submission for peer-reviewed publication in major scientific journals. Complimentary work on the ethics of vaccine risk communication and the ethics of mental health policy have appeared in major US media outlets such as the Philadelphia
Inquirer and local publications such as The GIST Magazine. This project has fostered collaboration between University of Glasgow research teams in the College of Social Science and the College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Sciences (Institute of Biodiversity, Animal
Health, and Comparative Medicine), as well as major international collaborations between researchers at Glasgow Uni, NHS Greater Glasgow/Health Protection Scotland, and at
Drexel University in Philadelphia, Northeastern University in Boston, and the US Department of Health and Human Services.