Spatial Epidemiology Workshop

Welcome to Spatial Epidemiology Workshop! Spatial epidemiology is a rapidly growing field that focuses on the geographic distribution of health outcomes, disease patterns, and the environmental or social factors that influence them. Understanding the spatial aspects of public health can provide insights into how and why diseases spread, identify communities at higher risk, and inform targeted interventions. The ability to visualize, analyze, and model spatial data has become a crucial skill for researchers, public health practitioners, and policymakers.

This workbook is designed to guide you through the fundamentals of spatial epidemiology, from data collection and visualization to advanced spatial modeling techniques. It integrates theoretical concepts with practical applications, emphasizing hands-on learning through real-world examples and datasets. Whether you are new to the field or looking to expand your skill set, this resource will equip you with the tools to apply spatial analysis in a variety of public health contexts.

By the end of this workbook, you will be able to:

• Understand key spatial epidemiology concepts, such as spatial dependence, clustering, and the ecological fallacy.
• Visualize spatial data using geographic information systems (GIS) and other tools.
• Perform exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to identify patterns and outliers.
• Apply spatial regression models, including geographically weighted regression and Bayesian spatial models.
• Interpret and communicate the results of spatial analyses to inform public health decision-making.

Table of Contents:

Module 0: Basics in R Coding Not covered in the workshop but here for reference.

Module 1: Introduction to Spatial Epidemiology

Module 2: Disease Mapping I: Aspatial Empirical Bayes

Module 3: Disease Mapping II: Spatial Empirical Bayes

Module 4: Spatial Mapping in R

Strategy for using this eBook

In the main body of the eBook, there is a separate module for each topic.

Using this book: This book consists of the lectures notes used for this workshop covering concepts of spatial epidemiology. The book is split into separate modules covering the particular topics in this course. Applied activities are outlined for each module. {.unnumbered}

A red box represents important definitions and concepts.

A blue box represents important notes.

A green box represents activities for us to complete.

R Scripts for Spatial Epidemiology Workshop

The example codes for this book, along with additional code for other examples, can be found at https://posit.cloud/content/8929598

Access to the R Scripts in RStudio Cloud

To access the R scripts for this workshop, you must sign-up for Posit Cloud at https://posit.cloud. It is free of charge to use for up to 25 computing hours per month.

1. Click to sign-up
2. Click on the free option
3. You can signup with google account or other accounts more preferred.
4. Once signed in. Click on the link above to take you to the RStudio notebook with codes for this workshop included.

Notes for this book has been adapted from notes by Dr. Michael Kramer, Mercer University and the “An Introduction to Spatial Analysis and Mapping in R” by Lex Comber and Chris Brunsdon.

This eBook is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.