Spatial epidemiology
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Contents
Spatial Environmental Epidemiology
Research group
- MD PhD docent Pia Verkasalo
- MSc Kari Pasanen
- pre-graduate student Toni Patama
- pre-graduate student Mikko Jänis
Partners in cooperation
- Finnish Cancer Registry
- Geological Survey of Finland
- Finnish Environment Institute
- Environmental Informatics Unit at the University of Kuopio
- Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK)
- Small Area Health Statistics Unit at the Imperial College London, UK
Funding
- Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes)
- Finnish Cancer Organisations
- National Public Health Institute
Contact persons
- Pia Verkasalo
- Kari Pasanen
Background
In Finland, there are plenty of geographical data related to environmental exposures and health outcomes. Geographical Information System (GIS) can be used in epidemiological studies for simple data linkage and disease mapping, but also for advanced exposure modelling and health risk analysis. It enables effects of both potentially harmful exposures (i.e. environmental pollutants in air, water and soil) and various positive factors (i.e. proximity to parks, sports fields, and natural environments) to be studied. Modern remote sensing and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies will open new opportunities for exposure assessment, e.g., by using satellite pictures as a data source. Rapid Inquiry Facility (RIF) application (developed by Imperial College London together with international partners) operates with ArcGIS software, and it can be used for studying local and national scale health concerns, such as excess in cancer cases near an industrial plant (or near all similar plants in the country).
We use GIS in several collaborative research projects on environmental health. In our project on biowaste treatment and environmental health, we used GIS to identify the study population around waste treatment sites and to explore on maps the results from the questionnaire study. In addition, we have been compiling cancer maps and analysing cancer incidence data in cooperation with the Finnish Cancer Registry. We participate in the research network of the Environmental Risk Assessment Centre (ERAC), where spatial epidemiology is utilised as an important part of risk analysis. One substance-related objective of ERAC is to investigate the associations between cancer incidence and metal concentrations in soil, but our group has recently started collaborative projects also on other topics.
Research projects
- Cancer risk and exposure to natural elements in soil
- Environmental health risk analysis in local metal industry area (FINMERAC)
- Biowaste treatment and environmental health
- Environmental inequity
Links
Key words
References
Files
Jänis. M. 2007. Applications of Geographic Information Systems and Computationally Intelligent. Methods to Research on Environmental Inequity in Finland. Master's thesis. Environmental Informatics. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kuopio. ( pdf)
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