Spatial Science for Public Health Center

Harnessing the Power of Geography in Public Health

The science of spatial analysis, its development, application, and practice, is inherently multidisciplinary. Maps have become a powerful and integral tool in public health research and practice for conveying spatial information and synthesizing data from multiple sources, and as a catalyst for developing new directions for analyzing and interpreting public health data. However, the field of spatial analysis continues to evolve along a continuum of efforts and areas of expertise.  These components include advancing technologies for the collection and creation of spatial information - for example as derived from satellite imagery and cell phone tracking. Further areas focus on the software for mapping and integration of spatial data within a geographic information system as well as the methods of spatial statistics for the analysis and interpretation of mapped data.

The Johns Hopkins Spatial Science for Public Health Center (SSPHC), a joint effort by the departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, promotes a comprehensive approach towards spatial analysis bringing together these key components under a unifying paradigm. Through research and training, the SSPHC provides a nexus for researchers, practitioners and students from various disciplines to continue to develop and advance the field of spatial analysis.