TY - JOUR

T1 - A systematic review of using population-level human mobility data to understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission

AU - Kostandova, Natalya

AU - Schluth, Catherine

AU - Arambepola, Rohan

AU - Atuhaire, Fatumah

AU - Bérubé, Sophie

AU - Chin, Taylor

AU - Cleary, Eimear

AU - Cortes-Azuero, Oscar

AU - García-Carreras, Bernardo

AU - Grantz, Kyra H.

AU - Hitchings, Matt D. T.

AU - Huang, Angkana T.

AU - Kishore, Nishant

AU - Lai, Shengjie

AU - Larsen, Sophie L.

AU - Loisate, Stacie

AU - Martinez, Pamela

AU - Meredith, Hannah R.

AU - Purbey, Ritika

AU - Ramiadantsoa, Tanjona

AU - Read, Jonathan

AU - Rice, Benjamin L.

AU - Rosman, Lori

AU - Ruktanonchai, Nick

AU - Salje, Henrik

AU - Schaber, Kathryn L.

AU - Tatem, Andrew J.

AU - Wang, Jasmine

AU - Cummings, Derek A. T.

AU - Wesolowski, Amy

PY - 2024/12/3

Y1 - 2024/12/3

N2 - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 into a highly susceptible global population was primarily driven by human mobility-induced introduction events. Especially in the early stages, understanding mobility was vital to mitigating the pandemic prior to widespread vaccine availability. We conducted a systematic review of studies published from January 1, 2020, to May 9, 2021, that used population-level human mobility data to understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Of the 5505 papers with abstracts screened, 232 were included in the analysis. These papers focused on a range of specific questions but were dominated by analyses focusing on the USA and China. The majority included mobile phone data, followed by Google Community Mobility Reports, and few included any adjustments to account for potential biases in population sampling processes. There was no clear relationship between methods used to integrate mobility and SARS-CoV-2 data and goals of analysis. When considering papers focused only on the estimation of the effective reproductive number within the US, there was no clear relationship identified between this measure and changes in mobility patterns. Our findings underscore the need for standardized, systematic ways to identify the source of mobility data, select an appropriate approach to using it in analysis, and reporting.

AB - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 into a highly susceptible global population was primarily driven by human mobility-induced introduction events. Especially in the early stages, understanding mobility was vital to mitigating the pandemic prior to widespread vaccine availability. We conducted a systematic review of studies published from January 1, 2020, to May 9, 2021, that used population-level human mobility data to understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Of the 5505 papers with abstracts screened, 232 were included in the analysis. These papers focused on a range of specific questions but were dominated by analyses focusing on the USA and China. The majority included mobile phone data, followed by Google Community Mobility Reports, and few included any adjustments to account for potential biases in population sampling processes. There was no clear relationship between methods used to integrate mobility and SARS-CoV-2 data and goals of analysis. When considering papers focused only on the estimation of the effective reproductive number within the US, there was no clear relationship identified between this measure and changes in mobility patterns. Our findings underscore the need for standardized, systematic ways to identify the source of mobility data, select an appropriate approach to using it in analysis, and reporting.

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-024-54895-7

DO - 10.1038/s41467-024-54895-7

M3 - Journal article

VL - 15

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

SN - 2041-1723

IS - 1

M1 - 10504

ER -