Behavioral and Social Aspects in Fighting Epidemics
Satellite meeting of the Conference on Complex Systems 2025
September 4, 14:45-18:00, University of Siena
The BeSAFE satellite workshop focuses on the fundamental role of mathematical, computational, and theoretical frameworks in understanding the interplay between human behavior, social structures, and the spread of infectious diseases. Epidemic dynamics are shaped not only by biological transmission mechanisms but also by complex social interactions, which can be modeled through statistical physics, game theory, network science, and computational simulations. Rigorous analytical and computational approaches are essential for developing predictive models of epidemic evolution and assessing the impact of public health interventions such as vaccination, social distancing, and quarantine.
A crucial aspect of this investigation is the diffusion of information and its influence on behavior—both in promoting awareness and adherence to health measures, and in understanding how misinformation can contribute to public resistance against such measures. The workshop will explore how mathematical, physical, and computational models of social behavior can provide insights into epidemic control strategies, particularly in heterogeneous populations with diverse social, cultural, and demographic characteristics.
Key Topics
- Theoretical and computational models of behavioral compliance and adaptation in response to health policies.
- The role of trust, social norms, and institutional credibility in shaping epidemic outcomes.
- Network-based and agent-based approaches to understanding peer influence and social contagion effects.
- Spatio-temporal modeling and large-scale simulations of behavioral responses during outbreaks.
- Theoretical frameworks and computational approaches to information diffusion, including the spread of accurate health information, misinformation, and their impact on risk perception and decision-making.
- Mathematical and statistical models for understanding the interplay between information dynamics and epidemic processes, with a focus on heterogeneous populations and evolving social structures.
By bringing together researchers from mathematics, physics, computer science, epidemiology, and the social sciences, the workshop seeks to develop a rigorous, interdisciplinary foundation for epidemic modeling. Participants will engage with mechanistic, analytical, and computational approaches that integrate social dynamics into epidemic theory, advancing our ability to design effective public health interventions and enhance resilience against future outbreaks.
Organizers
Fabio Saracco (CREF), Francesca Colaiori (CNR-ISC), Francesco Pierri (PoliMi), Stefano Guarino (CNR-IAC), Fabio Mazza (PoliMi).
Invited Speakers
Program
The satellite meeting will take place on September 4, 2025, starting at 14:45 local time.
Tentative schedule
| Time | Speaker | Talk Title |
|---|---|---|
| 14:45 - 15:15 | Eugenio Valdano | Challenging Established Theories on Social and Behavioral Drivers of Epidemics to Improve Public Health Interventions |
| 15:15 - 15:45 | Chiara Poletto | Talk title TBA |
| 15:45 - 16:00 | Lorenzo Nemati | Modeling adaptive forward-looking behavior in epidemics on networks |
| 16:00 - 16:15 | Nahid Azimi-Tafreshi | The interaction of disease outbreaks and the emergence of cooperation in complex networks |
| 16:15 - 16:45 | Coffee Break | |
| 16:45 - 17:15 | Matteo Cinelli | Infodemic monitoring, measures and epidemic determinants |
| 17:15 - 17:30 | Francesco Gesualdo | From infodemic monitoring to behavioural modelling: applying social media insights in the BEHAVE-MOD projec |
| 17:30 - 17:45 | Teng Li | Unraveling the Role of Vulnerability and Norm Compliance in Societal Preparedness in Health Crises: An Agent-Based Approach |
| 17:45 - 18:00 | Francesco Bonacina | Establishing a standard framework for missing data inference in contact matrices |
General information
More information on the conference can be found at ccs25.cssociety.org