Improvements in the Ease of Use of SaTScan for Detecting Clustering of Health Events

BACKGROUND:  SaTScan has been widely used to detect clustering of health events in time and space. Though the software has been available for many years, users from state and local health departments often found the software difficult to use with regard to inputting the data and graphically displaying the results. In addition, there were no tutorials available, and users had limited sample data sets and training opportunities to learn how to use the software.

METHODS:  The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has worked closely with Dr. Martin Kulldorff, who leads efforts to develop and maintain the software, available at satscan.org. This collaboration has resulted in improvements in input and output data format types. In addition, the NYSDOH has developed tutorials, provided sample training datasets, and conducted training sessions for some of the statistical methods available in SaTScan.

RESULTS:  SaTScan now accepts a number of input data formats which provide information on the cases, controls, and population data. These formats include Excel, shp, txt, and dbf. In addition to the txt- and dbf-based output formats of the earlier versions of SaTScan, the software now provides shp and kml output formats which can be easily displayed in a GIS or using online applications such as Google Earth/Maps. Two tutorials along with sample data sets have also been created by the NYSDOH and are available on the SaTScan website. A third tutorial on the space-time permutation scan statistic is under development. The presentation will provide information on enhancements to SaTScan and available training resources.

CONCLUSIONS: The NYSDOH has contributed to improving the ease of use, training materials, and training opportunities for local and state health departments to detect clusters of adverse health events using SaTScan.