Cartography
Spatial Analysis for Epidemiology. Methods and Tools

Mapping enables us to represent a global health situation on a territory, and to visually discern a geometric character (often perceived as singular or abnormal) of the spatial distribution of the phenomenon studied (such as a gradient, an arrangement, a centrality...). The visual analysis of local situations is more delicate, because when they are taken out of their global context, it is much more hazardous to visually assess the real probability of these local situations, and interpretation can quickly become subjective and biased.

In all cases, visual cartographic analysis should only be used to illustrate and construct hypotheses, whose acceptance or refutation will be obtained through statistical and spatial analysis....