MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MMUST)

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

(SPHBS&T)
Course Outline

Department: Public Health

Programme: Bachelor of Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics (BSc EPIMED)
Course Code: HEM 227
Course Title: Course Title: Spatial and Statistical (3 Units)
Year of Study: year 2Academic Year: 2016/2017
Semester: Two Date:

Purpose:
This unit is designed to enable the student to acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes on Spatial
epidemiology
Expected Learning Outcome:
Students will be able to:
1. Become familiar with concepts, technical issues, and applications appropriate for GIS
technology. This includes the ability to map spatial data; link spatial data; conduct spatial
queries, and analyze feature relationships etc.
2. Use GIS tools to specify and characterize populations and communities for public health
intervention and research. This includes the competency to access, download, and process
census attribute data for linking to maps.
3. Apply and interpret the concept of spatial autocorrelation (SA) and be able to assess SA
in data
4. Interpret basic spatial data analysis methods including cluster detecting and small area
estimation, and confounding by spatial neighborhood.
5. Map disease and mortality rates
6. Demonstrate proficiency in GIS: ability to use GIS as a tool to investigate questions
about spatial epidemiology.
7. Ask questions, make predictions, and analyze data sets.
8. Assimilate and manage data in a GIS framework
9. Gain a basic skill to perform spatial analyses using spatial and attribute data within a GIS
environment.
10. Investigate in-depth GIS processes that are of interest to you.

Course Content

Introduction: Spatial Epidemiology; spatial and geographic concepts including: cartographic

communication, automated mapping characteristics, map projections and map scale, geocoding,
coordinate systems, the nature of spatial public health data, and spatial statistical methods. Basics
of ArcGIS user interface: ArcCatalog, ArcMap & ArcToolBox; Introduction of Spatial data;
Introduction: map projection and coordinate system Practice: map projection, Introduction of
Geocoding Practice: Geocoded , Spatial data management, Working with attribute table;
Introduction of Disease mapping: data creation, cartography Tips & map layout
 Practice: Disease mapping Introduction of Raster data for Health Research; Disease mapping:
Smoothing Practice: introduction of Geoda, Geographic Correlations and Spatial Regression,
Disease cluster analysis, Application of Spatial Epidemiology: Environmental and Infectious
Disease Epidemiology.

Learning And Teaching Methodology:

Lectures, focused group discussion, Assignments, field visits/attachment All students will be
expected to attend each class fully prepared to participate
Actively in discussions.

TOPIC OUTLINE
Week Date Topic

Course Requirements
A) Attendance
Attendance for lectures, and other scheduled classes/practical/laboratory sessions is
mandatory for all students. Any absence will prohibit the student from taking
CATS and examination.

B) Methods of Assessment
i. Continuous Assessment Tests (CAT) 30%;
ii. End of Trimester Examination 70%
 C) Pass mark 50%

D) Course Texts including Further reading/Reference Texts

References Books
Kristen S. Kurland and Wilpen L. Gorr. GIS Tutorial for Health. ESRI press. 4th Edition. 2012.
Ormsby, Tim, Eileen Napoleon, Robert Burke, Carolyn Groess and Laura Feaster. Getting to
Know ArcGIS Desktop. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press, 2nd Edition. Updated for ArcGIS 9.3 2004.
Ellen K. Cromley Sara L. McLafferty. GIS and Public Health. NY: Guilford Publications, Inc.
2002
Lance A. Waller, Carol A. Gotway. Applied Spatial Statistics in Public Health Data. NJ: Wiley
Interscience, A John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004.

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