Spatial Epidemiology - Spring 2007 – CHLTH/GEOG/PATH 560

http://maximus.cvm.uiuc.edu/vp560

Meeting place: Lectures in Room 2506 VMBSB
Labs in Room 2281 VMBSB (computer lab)
Meeting time: Tues and Thur from 10 to 12

Instructors

• Dr. Uriel Kitron
  Office: 2830 VMBSB
  Office hours: 9-10 Tus, 12-1 Thu
  Phone :244-6221
  ukitron@uiuc.edu
• Dr. Marilyn Ruiz
  Office: 2639 VMBSB
  Office hours: 12-2 Tues
  Phone :265-5115
  moruiz@uiuc.edu

Lab and Class Assistants

In this course, we will examine

• patterns of health and disease in place and time
• application of geospatial technologies and methods for epidemiology
• analysis of time-space relations
• clusters and diffusion of disease
• geographical epidemiology of selected infectious and noninfectious diseases.

Lectures, Discussions and Labs

Class time is divided between lectures, discussions and lab sessions. Usually, lectures and discussions are on Tuesday and labs are on Thursday. The lectures will take about one hour and the discussions about one hour.

Readings will be assigned each week for the following week. For each reading, one student will provide a 3-5 minute overview summarizing the main points and general nature of the reading. Students can expect to perform this task 3-4 times during the semester. Readings will be distributed through links on the course website or through paper copies available in room 2434 VMBSB. The discussion of readings is an essential part of this course and all students are expected to participate.

Lab assignments are designed to provide students hands-on experience with a variety of methods and software useful for the spatial analysis of disease and environmental data. Most of the labs can be completed during the two hour lab session, but in some cases, additional time may be required to complete the assignments. Labs are not graded, but we will summarize and discuss each lab during a subsequent Monday after a lab is assigned. The data and instructions for each lab will be available through the course web site. The primary software needed to perform the labs is available on ten machines in the public computer lab, Room 2281, in the VMBSB. That room is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Software is an essential part of the toolbox for spatial epidemiology, and you can expect to spend time learning how to use those tools that are new to you. We will use the ArcGIS geographic information system from ESRI for general mapping and manipulation of digital map data. In addition, the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and Geostatistical Analyst extensions will be introduced in lab assignments. The ESRI software is available free to students and staff through a University of Illinois site license. If you want to run this software on a computer other than in the lab, licensing information is available at the UIUC Webstore. Search under ESRI. . VP 560 does not include general training on how to use ArcGIS. For the labs, we try to provide adequate instructions for the novice user, but we recognize that some people will need more help. As needed, we will pair up people who have more GIS background with those who have less.

If you want additional individual training on the ArcGIS software, check with the instructors.

We will also use the ClusterSeer program from TerraSeer for analysis of clusters in space and time. TerraSeer has provided us ten licenses for this software on the ten lab computers. For students who wish to purchase this software, an individual student license costs $150. You may order this yourself if you are interested in it.

A number of other freely available tools will be used. These will be made available in room 2281 and links will be provided in the course of the semester.

General purpose statistical software may be useful for the term projects, but will not be included in the lab assignments.

Grading

Your grade will be based on your participation in discussions and labs (40%) and the term project (60%). For the project, you will be expected to pose a substantive question related to spatial epidemiology, develop appropriate methods and data, perform an analysis, and report your results in a paper and as an oral presentation. Further details will be provided in class.