The opportunity structure defines which partnerships may be created, and is thought to depend on the distribution of the population in different subgroups. This structure will therefore change for populations that are not in demographic equilibrium. It is unclear when the opportunity process should also include very local interactions, such as within-family contacts or the tendency to meet new partners through the contacts of current partners. The process of partner selection is the most poorly understood, though it is widely believed to have a significant effect on the overall rate of disease spread. Some progress has been made in developing quantitative frameworks for describing selection, but none have been validated with longitudinal data.
Software can generate partnership networks using a number of the most popular models.
Summary statistics of these networks can then be computed and the networks may be displayed on several graphical devices. Disease transmission on these networks can then be simulated to assess the impact of network statistics on epidemic spread. Risk assessment for members of the network can be simulated and compared to actual infection time to determine the overall efficacy of the risk assessment. Social Networks .