Person-to-Object Contact Dataset

Summary of this dataset

This dataset has been designed and obtained for discussing control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, 1,260 people living in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures in Japan participated in the survey. This survey was used to collect participants’ behaviors and the objects that they touched on the days that they went out at 15 types of locations and vehicles.

This dataset is expected to improve our understanding of actual human behavior and contact with objects that could. Although it is impossible to disinfect all objects and spaces, this dataset is expected to contribute to the prioritization of disinfection during periods of widespread infection.

Datasets

1. Study and Dataset Design

The participants living in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures in Japan were asked to respond, in detail, to a survey regarding the locations they stayed at for an extended period between December 3 (Thursday) and December 7 (Monday), 2020, and all the items that they touched during this time. Using the locations where clusters of infections were found during April 2020, 12 locations were selected (e.g., medical facilities, including hospitals; restaurants; stores whose main objective was to sell alcohol, such as bars; companies, including the participants’ own companies and the offices of others; and sports facilities such as gyms) and investigated. Similarly, three means of transport, namely trains, buses, and taxis, were selected as spaces where people often crowd together.

The main survey was conducted with 1,536 subjects during December 3–8. Data from 1,260 subjects who gave valid responses were used for the dataset. To ensure that the respondents could respond while their memories were still fresh, the survey was distributed to each subject on the day of their corresponding behavior. Participants were asked to respond about the locations where they spent most of their time during the corresponding period. They were also asked to detail all the objects they touched (excluding personal objects) during this time. The objects in this study were evaluated using a free-writing description. Typographical errors and differences in expressions were frequently observed (e.g., water closet, toilet, and bathroom). A categorization rule was thus developed to better ascertain the actual status of locations and object contact. The participants’ expressions were modified through visual inspection.

2. Patient and Public Involvement

This survey was conducted after appropriate review by the Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo (examination number: 20-61, approval number: KE20-72).

Reference

Teruaki Hayashi, Daisuke Hase, Hikaru Suenaga, Yukio Ohsawa, "The Actual Conditions of Person-to-Object Contact and a Proposal for Prevention Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic," medRxiv, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.11.21255290

Acknowledgements

This research project was supported by the “Startup Research Program for Post-Corona Society” of the Academic Strategy Office, School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, and the “COVID-19 AI and Simulation Project” run by Mitsubishi Research Institute commissioned by the Office for Novel Coronavirus Disease Control, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of Japan. The authors would like to thank PLUG-Inc. for survey design and implementation.