In this lecture we will consider some of the methods used in health geography. A table summarizing some of the uses that GIS can play in health / medical geography.

(A review of spatial epidemiology / disease clustering concepts can be found here: the I and II notes.) A formal definition of Poisson probability (the statistical distribution commonly assumed to model the distributions in epidemiological analyses--see this note for a useful explanation, and here). A Poisson probability calculator. Notes on the Lorenz curve (here).

I also found this review of the case that was made into the movie A Civil Action. (Spatial Analysis in Public Health: Did Drinking Water Kill in Woburn?) A description of spatial epidemiology.

Links to:

• Notes on location quotients
• Notes on case-control matching (PDF)
• Notes on multidimensional scaling
• The standardized mortality ratio
• Software for spatial, temporal and space-time scan statistics (free)
• Spatial smoothing for dummies.
• Population health approaches
• The US National Cancer Institute's page on statistical research and applications.
• Notes on route selection and cost minimization

References:

Albert DP, Gesler WM and Levergood B. 2000. Spatial Analysis, GIS, and Remote Sensing Applications in the Health Sciences. Michigan: Ann Arbor Press.

Kabel, R. 1990. Predicting the next map with spatial adaptive filtering. In Proceedings of the fourth international symposium in medical geography, Norwich, 16-19 July. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.

Scholten, H.J.; de Lepper, M.J.C. 1991. The benefits of the application of geographical information systems in public and environmental health. WHO Statistical Quarterly 44(3).