Interactive analysis of the spatial distribution of disease using a geographic information systems |
| |
Authors: | Patrick A Wall Owen J Devine |
| |
Institution: | (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Radiation Studies Branch, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta GA, 30341-3717, USA (e-mail: paw8@cdc.gov), US |
| |
Abstract: | Geographic information systems (GIS) provide a variety of tools for the manipulation and display of public health data. Few,
however, enable users to interactively evaluate hypotheses on spatial trends in disease risk that may be suggested by maps
of measures of disease impact. We addressed this limitation by developing a seamless interface between a commercial GIS and
a suite of spatial analysis algorithms. Users of the system can utilize the GIS's capability to interactively select and manipulate
geographically referenced data and, through a series of pull-down menus, apply a variety of exploratory analysis methods to
this information. In the presented application, we illustrate this capability by including algorithms for the reduction of
random noise in observed incidence rates, for the detection of unusual aggregations of disease events, and for the statistical
evaluation of inferences drawn from spatial trends. We demonstrate this application by examining lung cancer mortality in
the state of Ohio.
Received: 22 September 1999 / Accepted: 8 March 2000 |
| |
Keywords: | : Spatial analysis mapping GIS cluster detection smoothing |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|