A ``hotspot'' is defined as an area that exceeds a user-defined criterion with
probability of at least p. The criterion can be a function of one or two variables
derived from the model; where two variables are used then there are four possible
hotspot classifications, where only one is used then there are two classifications
(above or below the threshold).
The log-linear model can be divided into a set of multiplicative components:
(A) population density x (B) size of the area x (C) average disease rate x
(D) RR observed covariates x (E) RR latent process
A threshold can be any combination of these factors, or their difference over time.
The user can specify the combination using the labels
(A)x(C) poppp
(A)x(B)x(C) pop
(D) obs
(E) latent
in the argument to threshold.var as an additive sum. For example, to specify
the incidence (in person-days) as the variable 'poppp+obs+latent', or to specify
the overall relative risk of an area 'obs+latent'. To difference the variable with
respect to t time periods prior, add '+lag(t)'. So to use the incidence rate ratio
relative to 7 days prior, we can specify 'poppp+obs+latent+lag(7)'. The 'hotspot' is
an area where Pr(variable > threshold) > p.
Hotspots are labelled in the following way. For a single variable definition, the labels are given
as c(a,b) where
a = Pr(variable > threshold) <= p
b = Pr(variable > threshold) > p
For a two variable definition the labels are c(a,b,c,d) where
a = Pr(variable 1 > threshold 1) <= p1 & Pr(variable 2 > threshold 2) <= p2
b = Pr(variable 1 > threshold 1) > p1 & Pr(variable 2 > threshold 2) <= p2
c = Pr(variable 1 > threshold 1) <= p1 & Pr(variable 2 > threshold 2) > p2
d = Pr(variable 1 > threshold 1) > p1 & Pr(variable 2 > threshold 2) > p2
The labels do not need to be unique.