An overview of geospatial methods used in unintentional injury epidemiology

BACKGROUND: Injuries are a leading cause of death and disability around the world. Injury incidence is often associated with socio-economic and physical environmental factors. The application of geospatial methods has been recognised as important to gain greater understanding of the complex nature of injury and the associated diverse range of geographically-diverse risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of geospatial methods applied in unintentional injury epidemiological studies. METHODS: Nine electronic databases were searched for papers published in 2000-2015, inclusive. Included were papers reporting unintentional injuries using geospatial methods for one or more categories of spatial epidemiological methods (mapping; clustering/cluster detection; and ecological analysis). Results describe the included injury cause categories, types of data and details relating to the applied geospatial methods. RESULTS: From over 6,000 articles, 67 studies met all inclusion criteria. The major categories of injury data reported with geospatial methods were road traffic (n = 36), falls (n = 11), burns (n = 9), drowning (n = 4), and others (n = 7). Grouped by categories, mapping was the most frequently used method, with 62 (93%) studies applying this approach independently or in conjunction with other geospatial methods. Clustering/cluster detection methods were less common, applied in 27 (40%) studies. Three studies (4%) applied spatial regression methods (one study using a conditional autoregressive model and two studies using geographically weighted regression) to examine the relationship between injury incidence (drowning, road deaths) with aggregated data in relation to explanatory factors (socio-economic and environmental). CONCLUSION: The number of studies using geospatial methods to investigate unintentional injuries has increased over recent years. While the majority of studies have focused on road traffic injuries, other injury cause categories, particularly falls and burns, have also demonstrated the application of these methods. Geospatial investigations of injury have largely been limited to mapping of data to visualise spatial structures. Use of more sophisticated approaches will help to understand a broader range of spatial risk factors, which remain under-explored when using traditional epidemiological approaches

The 2003 Slovenian Alcohol Policy: Background, Supporters, and Opponents

High levels of wine, beer, and spirits consumption have historically characterized Slovenian drinking culture. The geographical location of the country provides an ideal environment for wine production, historical ties with the Austro-Hungarian Empire contribute to the tradition of beer drinking, and the custom of home distilling has resulted in a considerable level of spirits consumption. This combination of factors contributes to the high level and cultural acceptance of alcohol consumption in Slovenia. Alcohol-related harm in Slovenia was recognized as a problem as early as 1834, and since then Slovenian public health experts have implemented various programs and policies in an attempt to reduce alcohol-related harm and alcohol consumption in general. A report published by Slovenian public health experts and presented to the Slovenian Ministry of Health in the late 1990s showed that alcohol consumption and related harm were among the highest in the European region, and that there was a need for a policy to reduce consumption and alcohol-related harm in the country. This article outlines the events leading up to this policy. Although business interests and some politicians and public health experts opposed the policy, it was passed by the Slovenian National Assembly on January 28, 2003. Descriptive data revealing a subsequent decrease in the rate of registered alcohol consumption and in deaths due to liver disease, cirrhosis, and suicide may represent preliminary indicators of the effective implementation of the Act