CRC for Spatial Information Nodes to which BRAG Researchers Contribute
4.4 Health – Utilisation of Spatial Cancer Models: A National Cancer Atlas
Building on the previously successful CRC SI project 4.42: Spatio-Temporal Modelling, the National Cancer Atlas has two main objectives:
- Utilisation of new and cutting-edge statistical spatial methods and novel data visaulisation approaches to create an enhanced suite of spatial data products (‘National Spatial Estimates’) related to cancer indicators, including cancer screening, incidence and survival.
- To develop, design and build a digital product (‘National Cancer Atlas’) which will apply the novel visualisation methods to make the spatial data available to a wide audience, including health practitioners and managers, policy makers, government and community via digital channels.
The project will quantify and visualise the extent of geographical variation in cancer indicators (including screening, incidence and survival) across Australia. Specifically this will include the description of spatial patterns according to ecological groupings remoteness and area-based socioeconomic status and an examination of the uncertainty associated with the spatial estimates. The spatial methods and inclusion of uncertainty will enable more robust small area estimates to be generated, thus enabling statements about the extent and patterns of spatial variation in cancer indicators across Australia to be made with greater precision, validity and repeatability
The National Spatial Estimates will be entirely based on modelled data, therefore data will not be “identifiable”. As such, small area-specific estimates will be able to be made available to the health agencies and other end-users. Potential uses of the data for these organisations and end-users may include investigating ecological associations with additional area-specific data, or incorporating the data with their own GIS software to produce organisational relevant maps.
The National Cancer Atlas will be a digital product that provides appropriate and relevant visualisation tools showing the extent and patterns of spatial variations in cancer indicators including screening, incidence and survival, across Australia to a wide audience. The digital product will take into account the needs of multiple audiences including the general public.
In contrast to existing spatial estimates and atlases, the novelty of our data and visualisation products is the robust spatial models underlying the estimates, the probabilistic statements about associations and comparisons, and the inclusion of the uncertainty measures around the estimates, all of which will be incorporated into the Digital National Cancer Atlas.
Researcher Collaborators: Susanna Cramb (CCQ), Jessie Roberts (QUT), Nicole White (QUT), Peter Baade (CCQ), Kerrie Mengersen (QUT), Fiona Harden (QUT), Jo Aitken (CCQ), Earl Duncan (QUT)
4.1 Agriculture, National Resources
Soil Carbon is of interest both in agriculture for its direct contribution to soil health and fertility and more generally as a potential source or sink of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide depending on land use practises.
The BRAG collaboration with the Biomass Business Node of the Cooperative Research Center for Spatial Information addresses aspects of three objectives of this node.
These objective are to develop:
1) Knowledge of variability and trends in below ground Carbon in agricultural landscapes
2) Knowledge of the benefits and limitations of applying spatially-enabled processes to quantifying below ground Carbon and recommended processes for doing so
3) Knowledge of the transferability of derived below ground Carbon models from one location to another.
This collaboration stems from CRCSI P4.12 Biomass Business PhD Project 3.1.
Researcher Collaborators: Ben Fitzpatrick (QUT), Prof David Lamb (UNE), Prof Peter Grace (QUT) & Prof Kerrie Mengersen (QUT).
Bayesian Research & Applications Group 