Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Dissertation Defense
Monday, May 20, 2024
1:00 PM-3:00 PM
"Bayesian Spatial Statistical Methods for Operationalizing and
Estimating the Impact of Racialized Economic Segregation in the US"
by Yang Xu, MS,
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Dissertation committee: Loni Philip Tabb, Leslie McClure, Issa Zakeri,
Harrison Quick, Jaquelyn (Jackie) Jahn, and Irene Headen
This dissertation consists of three studies that focus on the features and
statistical assumptions of the Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE)—an
operationalization of racialized economic segregation. Bayesian statistical
frameworks, including parametric and semi-parametric methods, are developed to
examine the relationship between the Index of Concentration at the Extremes and
various health outcomes. We start by developing a two–stage Bayesian
statistical framework that provides a broad, flexible approach to studying the
spatially varying association between premature mortality and ICE while
accounting for neighborhood–level latent health factors across US counties.
Then, we propose a Bayesian semi–parametric model for estimating the varying
relationship between ICE and COVID–19 death, which allows the effect of
racialized economic segregation to vary based on effect modifiers. Lastly, we
propose reformulating the ICE metric using a Bayesian methodological framework,
which will enable us to quantify the uncertainty and spatial correlation in the
data without losing the original interpretation of the ICE metric.
Yang is a PhD candidate in Biostatistics working under the supervision of
Dr. Loni Philip Tabb. During her doctoral program, Yang’s research focused on
using Bayesian spatial model for analyzing segregation data.
Zoom link
Contact Information
Nancy Colon-Anderson
nanderson@drexel.edu