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Applications of Big Spatial Data: Health

Encyclopedia of Big Data Technologies

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Definitions

The term “big spatial data” encompasses all types of big data with the addition of geographic reference information, typically a location associated with a point in space (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates), an area (e.g., a country, a district, or a census enumeration zone), a line or curve (e.g., a river or a road), or a pixel (e.g., high-resolution satellite images or a biomedical imaging scan). When applied to questions of health, big spatial data can aid in attempts to understand geographic variations in the risks and rates of disease (e.g., is risk here greater than risk there?), to identify local factors driving geographic variations in risks and rates (e.g., does local nutritional status impact local childhood mortality?), and to evaluate the impact of local health policies (e.g., district-specific adjustments to insurance reimbursements).

In addition to defining big spatial data, it is also important to define what is meant by “health.” The World...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Lance A. Waller

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  1. Lance A. Waller
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Correspondence to Lance A. Waller .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Comp. Sci. and Engineering, University of New South Wales School of Comp. Sci. and Engineering, Eveleigh, New South Wales, Australia

    Sherif Sakr

  2. Sch of Info Techno, Building J12, University of Sydney Sch of Info Techno, Building J12, Sydney, Australia

    Albert Zomaya

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Timos Sellis

  2. No affiliation provided

    Aamir Cheema

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Waller, L.A. (2018). Applications of Big Spatial Data: Health. In: Sakr, S., Zomaya, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Big Data Technologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63962-8_72-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63962-8_72-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63962-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63962-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MathematicsReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Applications of Big Spatial Data: Health
    Published:
    16 September 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63962-8_72-2

  2. Original

    Applications of Big Spatial Data: Health
    Published:
    25 April 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63962-8_72-1

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