Optimizing the maximum reported cluster size in the spatial scan statistic for survival data

BACKGROUND: The spatial scan statistic is a useful tool for cluster detection analysis in geographical disease surveillance. The method requires users to specify the maximum scanning window size or the maximum reported cluster size (MRCS), which is often set to 50% of the total population. It is important to optimize the maximum reported cluster size, keeping the maximum scanning window size at as large as 50% of the total population, to obtain valid and meaningful results. RESULTS: We developed a measure, a Gini coefficient, to optimize the maximum reported cluster size for the exponential-based spatial scan statistic. The simulation study showed that the proposed method mostly selected the optimal MRCS, similar to the true cluster size. The detection accuracy was higher for the best chosen MRCS than at the default setting. The application of the method to the Korea Community Health Survey data supported that the proposed method can optimize the MRCS in spatial cluster detection analysis for survival data. CONCLUSIONS: Using the Gini coefficient in the exponential-based spatial scan statistic can be very helpful for reporting more refined and informative clusters for survival data. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12942-021-00286-w.