Applied Spatial Statistics for Public Health Data

Hardcover, 520 pages
ISBN: 0471387711
978-0471387718
Wiley-Interscience
July 2004
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This book offers an application-based introduction to the statistical analysis of spatially referenced health data.

While mapped data provide a common ground for discussions between the public, the media, regulatory agencies, and public health researchers, the analysis of spatially referenced data has experienced a phenomenal growth over the last two decades, thanks in part to the development of geographical information systems (GISs).

This is the first thorough overview to integrate spatial statistics with data management and the display capabilities of GIS. It describes methods for assessing the likelihood of observed patterns and quantifying the link between exposures and outcomes in spatially correlated data. This introductory book is designed to serve as both an introduction for the novice and a reference for practitioners in the field.

Assuming minimal knowledge of spatial statistics, the authors provide important statistical approaches for assessing such questions as:

Are newly occurring cases of a disease "clustered" in space?
Do the cases cluster around suspected sources of increased risk, such as toxic waste sites, buildings or environmental hazards?
How do we take monitored pollution concentrations measured at specific locations and interpolate them to locations where no measurements were taken?
How do we quantify associations between local disease rates and local exposures?
After reviewing traditional statistical methods used in public health research, the text provides an overview of the basic features of spatial data, illustrates various geographic mapping and visualization tools, and describes the sources of publicly available spatial data that might be useful in public health applications.

Sparked by the growing interest in statistical methods for the analysis of spatially referenced data in the field of healthcare and public health, Applied Spatial Statistics for Public Health Data fills the need for an introductory, application-oriented text on this timely subject.

"...will be a successful addition to existing literature and foster the application of spatial statistical methods to topics in epidemiology and public health." - Biometrics

"…an interesting and worthwhile read for all practitioners of spatial statistics." - Computers & Geosciences

"…I am pleased to add it to my collection and feel sure that it will be widely read and appreciated." - Journal of the American Statistical Association

Written for practicing public health researchers, professional risk managers, infection control officers as well as graduate students in related fields, the book provides a thorough introduction to basic concepts and methods in applied spatial statistics as well as a detailed treatment of some of the more recent methods in spatial statistics useful for health studies that have not been previously covered elsewhere.

LANCE A. WALLER, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his PhD in Operations Research in 1992 from Cornell University. Dr. Waller was named Student Government Professor of the Year in 2003 by the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, and is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.

CAROL A. GOTWAY, PhD, is a mathematical statistician for the National Center for Environmental Health and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics at Emory University. She received her PhD in Statistics from Iowa State University in 1989. Dr. Gotway was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Medal by the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and the Environment for her contributions to environmental statistics and is also a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.

(information directly from the publisher)

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