Department of Environmental Studies, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Nov 30;8:68. doi: 10.1186/1476-072X-8-68.
Our understanding of the effects of human movement on dengue virus spread remains limited in part due to the lack of precise tools to monitor the time-dependent location of individuals. We determined the utility of a new, commercially available, GPS data-logger for long-term tracking of human movements in Iquitos, Peru. We conducted a series of evaluations focused on GPS device attributes key to reliable use and accuracy. GPS observations from two participants were later compared with semi-structured interview data to assess the usefulness of GPS technology to track individual mobility patterns.
Positional point and line accuracy were 4.4 and 10.3 m, respectively. GPS wearing mode increased spatial point error by 6.9 m. Units were worn on a neck-strap by a carpenter and a moto-taxi driver for 14-16 days. The application of a clustering algorithm (I-cluster) to the raw GPS positional data allowed the identification of locations visited by each participant together with the frequency and duration of each visit. The carpenter moved less and spent more time in more fixed locations than the moto-taxi driver, who visited more locations for a shorter period of time. GPS and participants' interviews concordantly identified 6 common locations, whereas GPS alone identified 4 locations and participants alone identified 10 locations. Most (80%) of the locations identified by participants alone were places reported as visited for less than 30 minutes.
The present study demonstrates the feasibility of a novel, commercially available GPS data-logger for long-term tracking of humans and shows the potential of these units to quantify mobility patterns in relationship with dengue virus transmission risk in a tropical urban environment. Cost, battery life, size, programmability and ease of wear are unprecedented from previously tested units, proving the usefulness of GPS-dataloggers for linking movement of individuals and transmission risk of dengue virus and other infectious agents, particularly in resource-poor settings.
由于缺乏精确的工具来监测个体随时间变化的位置，我们对人类活动对登革热病毒传播的影响的了解仍然有限。我们确定了一种新的、商业可用的 GPS 数据记录器在秘鲁伊基托斯进行长期跟踪人类活动的效用。我们进行了一系列评估，重点是对 GPS 设备的属性进行评估，这些属性对可靠使用和准确性至关重要。后来，将两名参与者的 GPS 观测结果与半结构化访谈数据进行了比较，以评估 GPS 技术在跟踪个体移动模式方面的有用性。
位置点和线的精度分别为 4.4 米和 10.3 米。GPS 佩戴模式使空间点误差增加了 6.9 米。一名木匠和一名摩的司机分别将设备佩戴在颈带上，佩戴时间为 14-16 天。应用聚类算法（I-cluster）对原始 GPS 位置数据进行处理，允许识别每个参与者访问的位置以及每次访问的频率和持续时间。木匠的活动量较少，在更固定的位置停留的时间也较长，而摩的司机则访问更多的位置，停留的时间更短。GPS 和参与者的访谈一致确定了 6 个共同的地点，而 GPS 单独确定了 4 个地点，参与者单独确定了 10 个地点。参与者单独确定的地点中，大多数（80%）是报告停留时间少于 30 分钟的地点。
本研究证明了一种新型商业 GPS 数据记录器用于长期跟踪人类的可行性，并展示了这些设备在热带城市环境中量化与登革热病毒传播风险相关的移动模式的潜力。成本、电池寿命、尺寸、可编程性和佩戴舒适性是以前测试的设备所没有的，证明了 GPS 数据记录器在将个人的运动与登革热病毒和其他传染病的传播风险联系起来的有用性，特别是在资源匮乏的环境中。
