ABSTRACT

Disease mapping has a long history in epidemiology starting with John Snow’s map of cholera cases in London in 1854 (Hempel, 2014). The aims of disease mapping range from simple spatial description of health data and hypothesis generation to the estimation of risks over space. In the latter, allowance should be made for differing sized populations which may provide varying levels of uncertainty in the estimation of risks. Area-based mapping has also been used for the assessment of inequalities and the allocation of health care resources.