Public Health Datasets Research Articles

Analysing spatially referenced public health data: a comparison of three methodological approaches

In the analysis of spatially referenced public health data, members of different disciplinary groups (geographers, epidemiologists and statisticians) tend to select different methodological approaches, usually those with which they are already familiar. This paper compares three such approaches in terms of their relative value and results. A single public health dataset, derived from a community survey, is analysed by using ‘traditional’ epidemiological methods, GIS and point pattern analysis. Since they adopt different ‘models’ for addressing the same research question, the three approaches produce some variation in the results for specific health-related variables. Taken overall, however, the results complement, rather than contradict or duplicate each other.

Data protection and epidemiologic research

The collection, aggregation and use of personal information are of increasing concern and importance to modern society. Yet data protection laws, designed to regulate trade in personal data, can pose important burdens on epidemiologic and social research. After a brief overview of epidemiology, the paper offers an analysis of surveillance and data protection, highlighting the concept of the ‘data image’, and the role of data protection in ensuring human rights in surveillance societies. The paper then delineates the potential conflict or tension between the goals of data protection and epidemiology. The paper concludes by observing that while the European Union recently has exempted public health datasets from strict conformity with the principles of data protection, there is considerable need to define ethical and technical standards for the management, use and disposition of personal health data used in research settings. As data protection standards are about to be introduced into Europe, a unique oportunity exists for epidemiologists and other social researchers to consult broadly to define standards for the management of personal data.