Urban heat risk mapping using multiple point patterns in Houston, Texas
Mortensen, J. W., Heaton, M. J., & Wilhelmi, O. V. (2017). Urban heat risk mapping using multiple point patterns in Houston, Texas. Journal Of The Royal Statistical Society: Series C (Applied Statistics), 67, 83-102. doi:10.1111/rssc.12224
Extreme heat, or persistently high temperatures in the form of heatwaves, adversely impacts human health. To study such effects, risk maps are a common epidemiological tool that is used to identify regions and populations that are more susceptible to these negative outcomes; however, the negative... Show moreExtreme heat, or persistently high temperatures in the form of heatwaves, adversely impacts human health. To study such effects, risk maps are a common epidemiological tool that is used to identify regions and populations that are more susceptible to these negative outcomes; however, the negative health effects of high temperatures are manifested differently between different segments of the population. We propose a novel, hierarchical marked point process model that merges multiple health outcomes into an overall heat risk map. Specifically, we consider health outcomes of heat-stress-related emergency service calls and mortalities across the city of Houston, Texas. We show that combining multiple health outcomes leads to a broader understanding of the spatial distribution of heat risk than a single health outcome. Show less