Remote sensing of environmental risk factors for malaria in different geographic contexts.

Background: Despite global intervention efforts, malaria remains a major public health concern in many parts of the world. Understanding geographic variation in malaria patterns and their environmental determinants can support targeting of malaria control and development of elimination strategies.

Methods: We used remotely sensed environmental data to analyze the influences of environmental risk factors on malaria cases caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax from 2014 to 2017 in two geographic settings in Ethiopia.

Spatial patterns of obesity and associated risk factors in the conterminous U.S.

Background: The obesogenic environment is hypothesized to increase obesity risk by discouraging physical activity and limiting the availability of healthy food.

Purpose: This research reports the prevalence of obesity and risk factors (physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption) by creating spatially smoothed maps and analyzing local autocorrelation and aims to examine associations of obesity and risk factors at the national level.

Methods: Data were obtained in 2008 from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for the years 2000-2006 aggregated to the county level.