 | Immanuel Williams University of Maryland, Baltimore County MathematicsMentor(s)Nina Fefferman, Ph.D. Tamra Carpenter, Ph.D. DIMACS Center Rutgers University |
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| Allocation of Monetary Resources in HIV-infected Community | ||
| Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the most severe and deadly pandemics that this world has ever seen. In some countries, a majority of the HIV-infected patients have a way of obtaining treatment so that their virus does not progress into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, in many impoverished third world countries monetary resources are very limited and communities are unable to provide treatment for all of the infected population. A mathematical epidemiological model was created to simulate an HIV outbreak in a third world country with a community-based economy in which monetary resources that come into the community will be shared by everyone. Examples of such economies might include a small village or an extended family. The epidemiological model includes the interplay between the economic productivity of the community and its ability to provide treatment to the infected population. Within this model there are providers (people who contribute financially to the system) and there are consumers (such as children who consume) and these individuals may be infected or may not. While producers provide immediate economic benefit to the community, the consumers will provide future economic benefit if they remain sufficiently healthy. Thus, this model is used to gain intuition to potentially inform policy decisions on how to allocate monetary resources between the infected providers and infected consumers. This model is also used to provide a treatment strategy that best assures the stability and long-term survival of the community. |