A multi-agent-based model on the ripple effect from school-based interventions to the broader community: an in silico experiment

Abstract

Objectives: School-based interventions in developing countries typically expect schoolchildren to serve as health messengers to their families as well as to the broader community. This study computationally simulates the dynamics of pervading or disappearing health information in the minds of community members after school-based interventions.
Methods: A multi-agent-based model was developed as an artificial community in the laboratory. The ripple effect of the school-based intervention was then simulated and monitored for 100 days under various conditions.
Results: If the probability that health information transmits among family members is greater than 0.05, the school-based intervention influences 60% to 70% of community members; by contrast, if the probability is less than 0.01, the impact disappears from the community. However, repeated interventions at 10-day intervals can shift the trend from disappearing to pervading in this latter case.
Conclusion: In a community that has lower transmission probabilities, repeated interventions at shorter intervals are necessary to keep health information in the minds of community members.