- This topic has 10 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 3 months ago by ABDILLAH FARKHAN.
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2022-07-23 at 5:54 pm #37341Chawarat RotejanaprasertKeymaster
For assignment 1.1, please discuss the following questions:
1. What are possible reasons locations in epidemiological research have not been incorporated as much as other components in epidemiological research? How can spatial epidemiology be considered as an interdisciplinary science?
2. Explain why it is widely recognized that the place where an individual lives or works should be considered as a potential disease determinant and give some examples? -
2022-07-28 at 3:08 am #37410Hazem AbouelfetouhParticipant
Hello everyone,
1 –
Applying Spatial Epidemiological faces many challenges over time to be incorporated in epidemiological research. One of the main challenges is data availability and quality since spatial epidemiology is almost entirely based on the analysis of data that must be accurate and collected with accurate health equipment. Furthermore, Data protection and confidentiality of personal health data and consent over its use in medical investigations is a challenge due to new legislation in different countries.Studies with a small population size at risk lead to small numbers of events and unstable risk estimates are more susceptible to errors or local variations in the quality of both the health and the population data than studies conducted over larger areas. Also, Socioeconomic effects can have an important influence on the rates of disease observed in small areas that are associated with the siting of sources of environmental pollution.
In addition, the digital boundaries identifying the geographic units, and the geographic linkages between the various data within a geographic information system (GIS) may contain errors, including errors in the assignment of geocodes (postcodes) and The extent to which disease excesses in any truly high-risk areas might be smoothed away leading to many false positive findings, whereas a specific but non-sensitive measure will miss areas with high risk.
Using GIS technology offers a cost-effective and more efficient solution to one of the most vexing problems for epidemiologists which occurs when both the disease and environmental exposure under investigation are rare.
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The socioeconomic and physical environment can have an important influence on the rates of disease among many of the determinants of health that make people healthy or not. For example:
– Natural environment, such as plants, weather, or climate change, and Exposure to toxic substances and other physical hazards have a high effect on people’s health.
– Higher-income and social status are directly linked to better health
– Low education levels are linked with poor health and more stress
– Employment, working conditions, safe water, clean air, and healthy workplaces are all physical environments that have control of people’s health.
– Availability of hospitals and access to Health services that prevent and treat disease leads to healthier people. -
2022-07-28 at 9:23 pm #37411Chawarat RotejanaprasertKeymaster
Hello Hazem, you raised a couple of good points. Data confidentiality and completeness are main issues in spatial epidemiology. Most spatial health data are available at aggregate level. Although at a coarse scale, spatial health data can well be incomplete partly due to the infrastructure of surveillance system. However we will also analyze small-area (aggregate) health data as a case study in this course using hierarchical modeling. This kind of model accounts for spatial auto-correlation and generally make estimates more stable. Good comments! 🙂
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2022-07-31 at 7:17 am #37419Sri Budi FajariyanParticipant
location variables have not been of concern to researchers for several reasons, such as:
1. Limited data on location, such as in the recording of malaria cases, not all houses/locations of transmission have been recorded, while other variables related to people and time are relatively more complete
2. Not all health practitioners are properly exposed to applications to process location data, and location-related data requires multidisciplinary involvement, such as slope data, and landscape appearances such as rivers, lakes, etc.The place where people live or work is recognized as a determinant of certain diseases because the place or location makes a person less or more exposed to disease risk. For example, people who live in forests or forest edges have a greater risk of getting malaria because they are more exposed to the risk of mosquito bites
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2022-07-31 at 2:33 pm #37420Karina Dian LestariParticipant
1. Spatial epidemiology can be considered an interdisciplinary science since to use the method well, we need to have knowledge of the epidemiology of the disease, geography to understand the technical terms that are used, and statistics for doing the analysis. The reason why it is not utilized well might be:
– Limited knowledge of the use of spatial information in the data since it is considered a complicated analysis. However, with the advance in technology, some of the complications can be reduced and it is now easier to use.
– Location data is private and sensitive data for patients and there is also an issue of location data quality. A precise coordinate location can expose where patients live or work, so recording a precise location needs to proceed with caution. The data quality also needs to be looked at carefully. For example, here in Indonesia, even the naming of a village can vary a lot depending on who records the data which makes us need to do cleaning and standardise the name for the analysis.2. Environment plays a big role in disease transmission. For example, vector-borne disease like malaria and dengue spreading depends a lot on the mosquito as the vector and mosquito habitats are really dependent on the environmental condition. Different species of mosquito transmit different diseases, so knowing the location and the environment of the location will help to decide which intervention is suitable. Different place of residential also has different access to healthcare, especially when we look at remote area.
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2022-08-02 at 10:52 am #37436Chawarat RotejanaprasertKeymaster
Hello Sri Budi Fajariyani and Karina, I agree that the spatial health data have limited availability due to various due to various factors; one of which is confidentiality. Moreover, spatial analyses for health data have been well developed and accessible for non-technical users for only in the last decades. Nonetheless, you will explore the methodology in this class! Hope you will enjoy! 🙂
Spatial epidemiology is an interdisciplinary field. Not only are health outcomes limited, risk factors at a fine resolution are sometimes unavailable partly due to infrastructure of surveillance system. So, the finding interpretation should be communicated carefully. We will study an example in this course of interpretation issues due to different scales of data. Thank you both of you for the fruitful discussion and look forward to discuss more with you in the class!
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2022-08-18 at 5:43 pm #37703John Robert MedinaParticipant
1. Most epidemiologists are focused on doing observational and experimental studies. There can only be a few who are interested in doing ecologic studies. This can one possible reason. Another is there are only few researchers who are trained in spatial statistics. Most of the statistical tests that are being used in the analysis part of epidemiologic studies are grounded on classical statistical theories that always follow the assumption of independence of observations. Location is seldom taken into account/
Spatial epidemiology is an interdisciplinary science because it utilizes techniques and methods from other discipline such as cartography, statistics, epidemiology, public health, sociology, etc.2. In psychology, we often say that human development is a product of both nature and nurture. It is not only the biological and genetic make-up of an individual that can influence a person’s growth and development, but also the biopsychosocial environment. In some twin studies, twins who were raised separately can developed differently and can have dissimilar attributes, despite the similarity in their genetic make-up. Some workers are more predispose to be infected with a certain disease. Say for example, fishermen who are catching fishes in rivers with infected snails are more prone to schistosomiasis than fishermen in the seas. Goiter is more common among people living in mountain regions than those who are living near the seas.
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2023-03-30 at 9:09 pm #39964ABDILLAH FARKHANParticipant
The decision to explore the place-related variables must be undertaken carefully and considers multiple factors such as the feasibility of data collection, the feasibility of data analysis, and data confidentiality.
1. Though the place-related variables can explain the dynamic pattern of disease transmission, this is often challenging to be included in the research milestones as it requires larger and more complex data rather than people and time variables.
2. Analysis of place-related variables requires specific skills and knowledge in geography and spatial analysis techniques. Spatial epidemiological research requires greater resources, especially in terms of technology and statistical expertise.
3. The issue of data confidentiality is also a consideration for researchers because the risk of disclosing an ‘area of concern’ can trigger public concern and has the potential to be a violation of data confidentiality.Spatial epidemiology is an interdisciplinary science because it covers various disciplines (public health, geography, statistics, and information systems) where there are intensive interactions between these sciences during the integration of concepts, methods, analysis, and knowledge synthesis.
It is true to recognize that place where people live is one of the determinants of diseases. The place variable can be representation of environmental factors (which account for 40% of the health status) and healthcare facilities (which account for 10% of the health status), as described in the theory mentioned by Henrik L. Blum. The easiest example is the transmission of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, a vector-borne disease that occurs in urban areas, slum spots, and dense residential areas with high population density due to the impact of urbanization and human mobilization. People’s dependence on artificial clean water consumption may become a risk, particularly when their water management method risks becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
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2023-07-25 at 8:39 am #41320Boonyarat KanjanapongpornParticipant
Availability of location data might be the main burden of implementing location in analysis. Healthcare unit locations would be available from the reimbursement system. However, individual historical location might not have been recorded which would not be enough in some investigations. For example, finding location of work related to lung cancer. The work location would not be simple to find in the health records and it also consumes resources when conducting the interviews. Even though, location of work is linked with social security systems, data accessibility and preciseness would have to be considered.
Secondly, data privacy would reduce the ability to use the specific location. Location might be able to specify group of people which possibly reveal their personal information. Therefore, location might have to be taken off, especially if the specifying causes the embarrassment and traumatization.Location related health needs more than healthcare knowledge to identify common happening in that location, which possibly leads to the interesting situation. Accumulation of knowledge from interdisciplinary is necessary such as Economic to differentiate the rich and poor areas, Chemical science to explain the chemical waste from the factory which might effect to neighboring health and Zoology to identify the animal health and behavior which is plausible to disease pathogens.
Locations related to regular exposure are beneficially recorded to link with plausible cause of diseases. People are having most of their regular routine at home and work places. Therefore, environment and other people who they regularly contact with might be the factors activating diseases both contagious and chronic. For example, people who have locations of work near to electrical pylons for long periods, are more likely to develop cancer than the ones who aren’t. Living under the same house with scabies infested people might increase the chance of receiving the mite.
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2023-07-27 at 2:26 pm #41324Tippa WongstitwilairoongParticipant
Question 1: There are several possible reasons why locations have not been incorporated as much as other components in epidemiological research:
1. Data availability and quality pose challenges: Collecting location-specific data is often difficult and expensive. In many countries or regions, comprehensive databases or surveillance systems may not exist, leading to a lack of reliable location-specific information for researchers to utilize.
2. Privacy and confidentiality concerns arise: Location-based data typically involves geospatial information, raising privacy concerns. Researchers must ensure that individuals’ identities are protected when using such data, a complex process requiring careful handling.
3. Resource constraints hinder incorporation: Research at a geographical level demands additional resources, including specialized expertise, geographic information systems (GIS) tools, and funding. Many studies may lack the necessary resources to include location-specific analyses.
4. Methodological complexities present challenges: Analyzing data at a geographic level introduces complexities in study design and statistical analysis. Researchers must consider spatial autocorrelation, clustering, and other geographic-specific factors, deterring some from incorporating location in their research.
5. Lack of awareness limits adoption: Some researchers may not fully understand the potential benefits of incorporating spatial aspects into epidemiological research. They may be more comfortable with traditional epidemiological methods, unaware of how spatial information can enhance their studies.
Now, let’s discuss how spatial epidemiology can be considered an interdisciplinary science because it integrates various fields to understand disease patterns better and improve public health outcomes:
1. It involves geography, studying diseases in relation to geographic locations, population distributions, and environmental factors.
2. Collaboration with public health facilitates the implementation of targeted interventions and more efficient resource allocation.
3. Environmental sciences contribute valuable insights into how environmental exposures may contribute to disease patterns.
4. Computer science and statistics play a vital role in developing robust models and improving data analysis techniques.
5. Urban planning aids in identifying areas with higher disease burdens and designing healthier living environments.
In conclusion, spatial epidemiology represents an interdisciplinary approach, leveraging expertise from multiple fields to comprehend disease spatial patterns, identify risk factors, and design effective interventions for enhancing public health outcomes.Question 2:It is widely recognized that the place where an individual lives or works should be considered as a potential disease determinant due to several reasons:
1. Environmental Exposures: Different geographic locations have distinct environmental characteristics, such as air quality, water sources, and exposure to pollutants or toxins. These environmental factors can directly influence health outcomes. For example, living in an area with high air pollution can increase the risk of respiratory diseases.
2. Socioeconomic Factors: Place of residence often correlates with socioeconomic status, which, in turn, affects access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. Socioeconomic disparities can contribute to differences in disease prevalence and outcomes. For instance, individuals living in impoverished neighborhoods may face higher rates of chronic diseases due to limited access to healthcare and healthy food options.
3. Vector-Borne Diseases: The geographical distribution of certain diseases is closely linked to the presence of disease-carrying vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks. Geographic location plays a crucial role in determining the risk of diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and Lyme disease.
4. Climate and Weather: Climate and weather patterns can impact disease transmission and prevalence. For example, warmer temperatures and increased humidity can lead to the proliferation of certain pathogens, affecting disease patterns.
5. Access to Healthcare Facilities: The availability and proximity of healthcare facilities can significantly influence an individual’s access to medical services. Living in a remote or underserved area might result in delayed diagnosis and treatment, impacting health outcomes.
6. Social Networks and Behaviors: Geographic location can influence an individual’s social networks and behaviors, which, in turn, affect health. For example, living in an area with a high prevalence of smoking may increase the likelihood of individuals engaging in smoking behavior.
Considering the place where an individual lives or works as a potential disease determinant allows epidemiologists to identify spatial patterns, explore underlying factors contributing to disease disparities, and develop targeted interventions to improve public health in specific regions or communities.-
2023-07-28 at 3:10 pm #41329ABDILLAH FARKHANParticipant
I like that you raise a point about methodological complexity. Epidemiology in place variable, known as spatial epidemiology, contains a lot of complex statistical methods computed from either frequentism or Bayesianism (belief and probability) approach.
Spatial epidemiology allows us to display maps of disease risk that are leveraged for the decision-making process. These risk maps help identify areas with higher or lower disease risks, enabling policymakers to target interventions.
However, not all knowledge users, even decision-makers may fully realize and adopt the importance of statistical methods that work behind the map. When comparing different areas to find out high-risk distribution, people might use two or more common epidemiological measurements such as absolute numbers, rates, or proportions, then exhibit the number on a map to make assumption.
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