Articles:
Models for managing the impact of an influenza epidemic
Daniel Bienstock; Ana Cecilia Zenteno Langle
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- Title:
- Models for managing the impact of an influenza epidemic
- Author(s):
-
Bienstock, Daniel
Zenteno Langle, Ana Cecilia - Date:
- 2012
- Type:
- Articles
- Department:
- Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
- Permanent URL:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:15119
- Notes:
- Submitted to Operations Research.
- Abstract:
- We present methodologies for managing the impact of workforce absenteeism on the operational continuity of public services during an influenza epidemic. From a planner’s perspective, it is of paramount importance to design contingency plans to administer resources on the face of such an event; however, there is significant complexity underlying this task, stemming from uncertainty on the likely severity and evolution of the epidemic. Our approach involves the procurement of additional resources in response to a robust model of the evolution of the epidemic. We develop insights on the structure of optimal robust strategies and on practical rules-of-thumb that can be applied should an epidemic take place. We present numerical examples that illustrate the effectiveness of our results.
- Subject(s):
- Public health
- Item views:
- 74