Analysis of mortality from cancer in the regional context of Slovakia

Abstract

One of the dominant death causes, which contributes significantly to the mortality of the Slovak population, is cancer mortality. In the presence of cancers, we can find geographical differences i.e. the cancer of different organs has a different frequency of occurrence in different parts of Slovakia. It may be agreed that the fight against cancers, if it is to be complex, must include a spatial aspect and this is best applied in the field of medical geography. The solution of the development of cancer mortality in Slovakia can be considered a relevant topic of geographic research. Data on cancer mortality at the district level were used from the database of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. The aim of the article is to assess the spatial aspect of cancers in the districts of Slovakia applying the standardized mortality rate. The standardized mortality rate will be analysed in terms of gender structure of population. The time horizon for standardized mortality rate comparison was set for the periods of 2001-2008, 2009-2017 and 2001-2017. From the perspective of the research of this topic it is important to apply specific analytical methods which include, for example, spatial autocorrelation.