Methodology

A SaTScan™ macro accessory for cartography (SMAC) package implemented with SAS^® software

Allyson M Abrams^1* and Ken P Kleinman^1,2

• * Corresponding author: Allyson M Abrams allyson_abrams@harvardpilgrim.org

Author Affiliations

¹ Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, USA

² Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT), HMO Research Network, Boston, USA

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International Journal of Health Geographics 2007, 6:6 doi:10.1186/1476-072X-6-6

Published: 6 March 2007

Abstract

Background

SaTScan is a software program written to implement the scan statistic; it can be used to find clusters in space and/or time. It must often be run multiple times per day when doing disease surveillance. Running SaTScan frequently via its graphical user interface can be cumbersome, and the output can be difficult to visualize.

Results

The SaTScan Macro Accessory for Cartography (SMAC) package consists of four SAS macros and was designed as an easier way to run SaTScan multiple times and add graphical output. The package contains individual macros which allow the user to make the necessary input files for SaTScan, run SaTScan, and create graphical output all from within SAS software. The macros can also be combined to do this all in one step.

Conclusion

The SMAC package can make SaTScan easier to use and can make the output more informative.