Statistical Methods in Spatial Epidemiology

Spatial epidemiology is a rapidly growing field of research concerned with the analysis of the geographical distribution of disease. This principally involves mapping the location of disease cases and the analysis of mapped data using spatial statistical methods. The growth of the field looks set to continue in line with increasing public, government and media concern about environmental issues.

*Comprehensive overview of the main statistical methods used in spatial epidemiology
*Contains many data examples - each represents a different approach to the analysis, and provides an insight into the various modelling techniques
*Describes modern simulation-based methods suitable for highly complex modelling problems
*Discusses the wide range of software available for analysing spatial data
*Contains an extensive bibliography

The first part of the book provides all the necessary definitions and terminology, introduces some data examples, and considers map construction along with some basic models. The second part covers important problems in spatial epidemiology, with detailed coverage of disease mapping, ecological analysis, disease clustering, and infectious disease modelling.

Primarily aimed at medical statisticians, epidemiologists, environmental statisticians, and researchers in public health, this text will also appeal to postgraduate students of statistics or epidemiology.