Contact data.

Socioeconomic inequalities significantly influence infectious disease outcomes, as seen with COVID-19, but the pathways through which socioeconomic conditions affect transmission dynamics remain unclear. To address this, we conducted a survey representative of the Italian population, stratified by age, gender, geographical area, city size, employment status, and education level. The survey’s final aim was to estimate differences in contact and protective behaviors across various population strata, both of which are crucial for understanding transmission dynamics. Our initial insights based on the survey indicate that years after the pandemic began, the perceived impact of COVID-19 on professional, economic, social, and psychological dimensions vary across socioeconomic strata, extending beyond the epidemiological outcomes. This reinforces the need for approaches that systematically consider socioeconomic determinants. In this context, using generalized linear models, we identified associations between socioeconomic factors and vaccination status for both COVID-19 and influenza, as well as the influence of socioeconomic conditions on mask-wearing and social distancing. Importantly, we also observed differences in contact behaviors based on employment status while education level did not show a significant association. These findings highlight the complex interplay of socioeconomic and demographic factors in shaping protective behavior and contact patterns. Understanding these dynamics can contribute to the improvement of epidemic models and better guide public health efforts for at-risk groups.

社会经济不平等对传染病转归具有显著影响，新冠疫情（COVID-19）便是典型例证，但社会经济状况影响传染病传播动态的具体路径仍不明确。为填补这一研究空白，我们开展了一项具有意大利全国代表性的调查，调查按年龄、性别、地理区域、城市规模、就业状态及受教育程度进行分层抽样。本次调查的核心目标为估算不同人口分层群体在接触行为与防护行为上的差异——这两类行为均是解析传染病传播动态的关键要素。基于本次调查得出的初步分析结果显示，在新冠大流行暴发数年后，不同社会经济分层群体对新冠疫情在职业、经济、社会及心理层面的感知影响存在显著差异，这种差异远超流行病学转归范畴。这进一步凸显了系统性纳入社会经济决定因素的研究路径的必要性。在此背景下，我们借助广义线性模型（generalized linear models），明确了社会经济因素与新冠、流感疫苗接种状态之间的关联，同时揭示了社会经济状况对口罩佩戴与社交距离保持行为的影响。值得注意的是，我们还观察到不同就业状态群体的接触行为存在差异，而受教育程度未呈现出显著关联。上述研究结果凸显了社会经济与人口统计学因素在塑造防护行为与接触模式过程中的复杂交互作用。深入解析这些动态机制，有助于完善传染病传播模型，并为针对高风险群体的公共卫生干预举措提供更精准的指导。