Centre for Applied Spatial Epidemiology

KIT Centre for Applied Spatial Epidemiology works with international partners to develop and implement Geographic Information Systems (GIS) solutions to drive universal health coverage and equitable access to healthcare services worldwide. GIS mapping and spatial data analysis are key tools to determine geographic inequities in disease burden and to identify areas and communities with limited access to healthcare services, highlighting disparities in healthcare accessibility. This information is vital for allocating resources effectively and prioritizing interventions to achieve universal health coverage.

Featured projects

Improving access to preventive medicine: a data visualization and analysis platform to support microplanning of schistosomiasis control
- Institute
- Project
KIT and in country partners are designing a real time monitoring and evaluation platform to facilitate decision making for the control and management of schistosomiasis. This tool will build upon the MATCH methodology that seeks to inform decision making through better use of data. In the 2021-2030 roadmap, the WHO calls for: With the limited resources available for reducing transmission and […]

Read more : Improving access to preventive medicine: a data visualization and analysis platform to support microplanning of schistosomiasis control
Electronic Case based Surveillance: Using predictive modelling and real-time data to plan Active TB Case Finding in Pakistan
- Institute
- Project
Pakistan has one of the highest burdens of tuberculosis (TB) in the world, a disease that infected as many as 10 million people and caused 1.4 million deaths globally in 2019. Around a quarter of the world’s population are thought to be infected with latent TB. The disease can remain dormant for years, until, for example, the immune system is […]

Read more : Electronic Case based Surveillance: Using predictive modelling and real-time data to plan Active TB Case Finding in Pakistan
Tuberculosis Hackathon
- Institute
- Project
The Tuberculosis Hackathon begins with a question: can we make useful predictive models for sub-national tuberculosis (TB) burden in Pakistan? In partnership with Pakistan’s National Tuberculosis Control Program, KIT’s Centre for Spatial Epidemiology (CASE) is hosting a virtual hackathon to develop novel approaches to predict TB burden. The challenge TB prevalence surveys are usually powered […]

Read more : Tuberculosis Hackathon
The KIT MATCH Approach for Enhancing TB Care Coverage
- Institute
- Project
KIT Institute proudly presents: the MATCH approach (Mapping and Analysis for Tailored disease Control and Health system strengthening) for National Tuberculosis Programmes. MATCH supports National Tuberculosis Programmes to more effectively use resources to treat populations with ongoing tuberculosis transmission. The MATCH approach begins by gathering many – often underused – sources of data, for example: geographic, temporal, and demographic data. The first step […]

Read more : The KIT MATCH Approach for Enhancing TB Care Coverage
Environmental Modelling for the Mitigation of Health Risks
- Institute
- Project
The Earth Observation and ENVironmental modelling for the mitigation of HEAlth risks (EO2HEAVEN) project monitored environmental changes induced by human activities and enhanced integration of remotely sensed and in-situ environmental measurements with public health data. New insights were used to develop models relating environmental data to public health threats and to predict health risks. Healthy […]

Read more : Environmental Modelling for the Mitigation of Health Risks

MATCH approach for spatially explicit care cascade analysis

A cornerstone of the Centre for Applied Spatial Epidemiology is the MATCH Approach. This innovative geo-spatial analysis framework evaluates the effectiveness of interventions in the context of the local disease risk, burden and health efforts. This information is especially valuable in informing local interventions.

More about our MATCH approach

Epidemiology courses

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Public Health and Epidemiology
- Institute
- Programme
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide tools for planning and monitoring of health interventions and disease control activities. GIS can be applied to improve health care delivery in disease control programmes. In this course you will use GIS to identify patterns of disease in time and place and to assess public access to health care services.

Read more : Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Public Health and Epidemiology
NEW: Foundations of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning in Public Health
- Institute
- Programme
This dynamic two-week course equips you with essential skills and knowledge to navigate the landscape of evidence-informed decision making in global public health.
This course delves into the foundational principles of monitoring, evaluation, and learning within the frame of global public health.

Read more : NEW: Foundations of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning in Public Health

Publications

Geospatial tools and data for health service delivery
Article
As extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity, the health system faces significant challenges, not only from shifting patterns of climate-sensitive diseases but also from disruptions to healthcare infrastructure, supply chains and the physical systems essential for delivering care. This necessitates the strategic use of geospatial tools to guide the delivery of healthcare services […]

Year of publication

2024
Downloads
- Geospatial tools and data for health service delivery [pdf]
Enabling targeted mass drug administration for schistosomiasis in north-western Tanzania
Research article
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease in Tanzania affecting over 50% of the population. Current control strategies involve mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns at the district level, which have led to problems of over- and under-treatment in different areas. WHO guidelines have called for more targeted MDA to circumvent these problems, however a scarcity of prevalence […]

Year of publication

2024
Downloads
- Enabling targeted mass drug administration for schistosomiasis in north-western Tanzania Exploring the use of geostatistical modeling to inform planning at sub-district level [pdf]
The study of spatial autocorrelation for infectious disease epidemiology decision-making: a systematized literature review
Research article
In recent years, researchers and decision-makers have increasing access to granular geographically disaggregated health surveillance and programmatic data to improve and optimize public health policy.

Year of publication

2022
TB Hackathon: Development and Comparison of Five Models to Predict Subnational Tuberculosis Prevalence in Pakistan
Research article
Pakistan’s national tuberculosis control programme is among the many programmes worldwide that value the importance of subnational tuberculosis (TB) burden estimates to support disease control efforts, but do not have reliable estimates.TB Hackathon: Development and Comparison of Five Models to Predict Subnational Tuberculosis Prevalence in Pakistan. Against this backdrop, the Pakistan NTP partnered with KIT […]

Year of publication

2021
Downloads
- TB Hackathon: Development and Comparison of Five Models to Predict Subnational Tuberculosis Prevalence in Pakistan [pdf]
Completeness of TB notification: inventory studies and capture-recapture analyses, six European Union countries, 2014 to 2016
Research article
In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Action Framework towards TB elimination in low-incidence countries, and in 2016, the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) published the Roadmap to implement the tuberculosis action plan for the WHO European Region 2016-2020: Towards ending TB and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. They outline blueprints to carry out the […]
Downloads
- Completeness of TB notification [pdf]
Not everything that counts can be counted: mixed methods impact evaluations in global health
Research article
Posted on May 11, 2020 by BMJ GH Blogs Not everything that counts can be counted. And not everything that can be counted counts – William Bruce Cameron Do vaccination campaigns increase immunization rates in young children? Do home-visiting programs for new mothers increase exclusive breastfeeding? Studies designed to answer these questions are known as health impact evaluations […]

Year of publication

2020
Stats + Stories Podcast with Sandra Alba

The work of health researchers is vitally important to the safety and well-being of people around the world, with the COVID-19 crisis making that all too clear. However, health researchers are facing a crisis of their own, a crisis of trust. It’s fueled partly by the proliferation of social media, the politicization of data, and […]
Finding gaps in TB notifications
Research article
In order to effectively combat Tuberculosis, resources to diagnose and treat TB should be allocated effectively to the areas and population that need them. Although a wealth of subnational data on TB is routinely collected to support local planning, it is often underutilized. Therefore, this study uses spatial analytical techniques and profiling to understand and […]

Year of publication

2020
Downloads
- Finding gaps in TB notifications [pdf]

Blogs

How COVID-19 Spreads Among Us
- Institute
- Blog
- News
By Ente Rood, KIT Epidemiologist Geographic analysis of COVID-19 surveillance data can help us better understand how the virus spreads and design more effective mitigation measures for future waves of the pandemic. As COVID-19 spreads around the world, politicians and public health authorities are confronted with a devilish dilemma as they try to balance the […]

Published on: May 18, 2020

Read more : How COVID-19 Spreads Among Us
Now more than ever, African governments need reliable data
- Institute
- Blog
- News
By Sandra Alba, Christina Mergenthaler & Roland Kielman At the end of March 2020, in an interview with the BBC, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia, spoke about the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which killed almost 5,000 Liberians. “Fear drove people to run, to hide, to hoard to protect their own,” […]

Published on: May 26, 2020

Read more : Now more than ever, African governments need reliable data