How is Silhouette Analysis Applied in Epidemiology?
In epidemiology, silhouette analysis can be utilized to validate clusters in various scenarios such as identifying disease outbreaks, evaluating the performance of risk stratification models, and understanding demographic patterns in disease prevalence. Here's how it can be applied:
1. Identifying Disease Outbreaks: By clustering cases based on geographic and temporal data, silhouette analysis can help validate the presence of an outbreak and the extent to which cases are related.
2. Evaluating Risk Stratification Models: When modeling risk factors for diseases, silhouette analysis can assess whether the risk groups formed are consistent and distinct from one another.
3. Understanding Demographic Patterns: Clustering populations based on demographic data (age, sex, socioeconomic status) and disease prevalence can be validated using silhouette analysis to ensure meaningful segmentation.
