RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Optimizing classroom assignments to minimize epidemiological risk: the sibling rewiring problem
A1 Galán Ordax, José Manuel
A1 Díaz de la Fuente, Silvia
A1 Ahedo García, Virginia
A1 Santos Martín, José Ignacio
K1 Classroom assignment
K1 Sibling networks
K1 Epidemic risk
K1 Assignment optimization
K1 Network fragmentation
K1 Multi-objective optimization
K1 Equitable risk distribution
K1 Niños-Enfermedades
K1 Children-Diseases
K1 Algoritmos
K1 Algorithms
AB In the context of infectious diseases, the assignment of students to classroom groupscan significantly influence infection dynamics within school environments,particularly when sibling relationships introduce latent connections betweenotherwise unconnected groups. Traditional grouping methods and pandemic-erabubble strategies do not explicitly optimize student network structures or account forequity in exposure. This study introduces the Sibling Rewiring Problem, a novelmulti-objective framework for student assignment that aims to maximize networkfragmentation, reduce potential contagion pathways and minimize variance in groupsizes and epidemiological exposure—thereby promoting fairness. We comparedbaseline, heuristic, and metaheuristic strategies in realistic school scenarios. A simpleheuristic that assigns siblings to the same classroom line when feasible consistentlyachieves substantial network fragmentation with minimal impact on equity.Simulated Annealing further improved these results, particularly in complexconfigurations with densely connected sibling networks. Our findings suggest thatfamily-aware classroom assignments can enhance epidemiological resilience whilemaintaining socially acceptable distributions. This approach provides a practical andscalable framework for integrating public health considerations into educationalplanning and may inform future decision-making in both emergency and routinecontexts
PB PeerJ Inc.
YR 2026
FD 2026-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11846
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11846
LA eng
NO This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation through its excellence network RED2022-134890-T, the project PID2020118906GB-I00, and the MOMENTUM program project MMT24-IMF-02. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 18-jun-2026