Sexual network structure and sexually transmitted disease prevention - A modeling perspective

Background: Mathematical modeling techniques are being used increasingly to plan public health policy for the prevention of sexually transmitted disea ses. Goal: An introduction to various aspects of network structure and sexually transmitted disease prevention using mathematical and simulation models. Study Design: A short overview is given about some modeling approaches that are presently available. The effect of partnership duration on the spread of sexually transmitted diseases is discussed in the context of pair-format ion models. Network models, which take concurrent partnerships into account , are discussed as a natural extension of pair-formation models. Results: Results obtained by applying different modeling approaches to anal yzing the efficacy of contact tracing in reducing the prevalence of sexuall y transmitted diseases are summarized. Conclusions Partnership duration and network structure should be taken into account when estimating the impact of sexually transmitted disease prevent ion. Contact tracing can contribute significantly to reducing incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases. modeling has to be developed further to gain a better understanding of the relationship of network struc ture and the spread of specific sexually transmitted diseases.