Program Head, Child Health Analytics; Team Lead, Geospatial Health and Development; Kerry M Stokes AC Chair in Child Health
Pete Gething is the Kerry M Stokes AC Chair in Child Health and Professor in Epidemiology at Curtin University and Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia. With a background in geospatial modelling and epidemiology, he has worked on malaria and other vector borne disease since 2002. He leads the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP), an international collaboration providing geospatial intelligence on global malaria epidemiology and control and his group is also the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Geospatial Modelling. Pete obtained his doctorate at the University of Southampton, UK, and was based at the University of Oxford from 2008 until moving to Western Australia in 2019.
Find Pete on ORCID and Google Scholar.
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Projects
The DETECT-Schools Study was launched in May 2020 as a partnership between the WA Government Departments of Education and Health with the Telethon Kids Institute.
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Publications
August 2023
Trends in treatment-seeking for fever in children under five years old in 151 countries from 1990 to 2020
Access to medical treatment for fever is essential to prevent morbidity and mortality in individuals and to prevent transmission of communicable febrile illness in communities. Quantification of the rates at which treatment is accessed is critical for health system planning and a prerequisite for disease burden estimates.
Published research Geospatial Health and Development Child and adolescent healthAugust 2023Mapping tuberculosis prevalence in Ethiopia using geospatial meta-analysis\
Reliable and detailed data on the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) with sub-national estimates are scarce in Ethiopia. We address this knowledge gap by spatially predicting the national, sub-national and local prevalence of TB, and identifying drivers of TB prevalence across the country.
Published research Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Geospatial Health and Development Malaria Geospatial and TuberculosisJuly 2023Impacts on Human Movement in Australian Cities Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
No studies have yet examined high-resolution shifts in the spatial patterns of human movement in Australia throughout 2020 and 2021, a period coincident with the repeated enactment and removal of varied governmental restrictions aimed at reducing community transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We compared overlapping timeseries of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions, epidemiological data on cases and vaccination rates, and high-resolution human movement data to characterize population-level responses to the pandemic in Australian cities.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and Development COVID-19 Geospatial and TuberculosisMay 2023disaggregation: An R Package for Bayesian Spatial Disaggregation Modeling
Disaggregation modeling, or downscaling, has become an important discipline in epidemiology. Surveillance data, aggregated over large regions, is becoming more common, leading to an increasing demand for modeling frameworks that can deal with this data to understand spatial patterns.
Published research Geospatial Health and DevelopmentApril 2023Evaluating COVID-19-Related Disruptions to Effective Malaria Case Management in 2020–2021 and Its Potential Effects on Malaria Burden in Sub-Saharan Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to far-reaching disruptions to health systems, including preventative and curative services for malaria. The aim of this study was to estimate the magnitude of disruptions in malaria case management in sub-Saharan Africa and their impact on malaria burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used survey data collected by the World Health Organization, in which individual country stakeholders reported on the extent of disruptions to malaria diagnosis and treatment.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and Development COVID-19 MalariaApril 2023An archetypes approach to malaria intervention impact mapping: a new framework and example application
As both mechanistic and geospatial malaria modeling methods become more integrated into malaria policy decisions, there is increasing demand for strategies that combine these two methods. This paper introduces a novel archetypes-based methodology for generating high-resolution intervention impact maps based on mechanistic model simulations. An example configuration of the framework is described and explored.
Published research Geospatial Health and Development MalariaDecember 2022The overlapping burden of the three leading causes of disability and death in sub-Saharan African children
Despite substantial declines since 2000, lower respiratory infections (LRIs), diarrhoeal diseases, and malaria remain among the leading causes of nonfatal and fatal disease burden for children under 5 years of age (under 5), primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and Development MalariaOctober 2022Built Environments And Child Health in WalEs and AuStralia (BEACHES): a study protocol
Childhood obesity and physical inactivity are two of the most significant modifiable risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Yet, a third of children in Wales and Australia are overweight or obese, and only 20% of UK and Australian children are sufficiently active.
Published research Parenting & Families Child Physical Activity, Health and Development Geospatial Health and Development Child and adolescent healthAugust 2022Spatiotemporal mapping of malaria incidence in Sudan using routine surveillance data
Malaria is a serious threat to global health, with over 95 % of the cases reported in 2020 by the World Health Organization in African countries, including Sudan. Sudan is a low-income country with a limited healthcare system and a substantial burden of malaria.
April 2022A novel statistical framework for exploring the population dynamics and seasonality of mosquito populations
Understanding the temporal dynamics of mosquito populations underlying vector-borne disease transmission is key to optimizing control strategies. Many questions remain surrounding the drivers of these dynamics and how they vary between species-questions rarely answerable from individual entomological studies (that typically focus on a single location or species).
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and Development MalariaNovember 2021Built Environments and Child Health: A Policy Review’, Life Course Centre Working Paper Series, 2021-22
Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century and is affected not only by individual choice but also by societal and environmental influences. Childhood obesity is higher in children living in regional and remote compared with major cities, in one-parent families and for those with a disability.
Published research Nutrition Human Development and Community Wellbeing Child Physical Activity, Health and Development Geospatial Health and DevelopmentFebruary 2022Spatial codistribution of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in Ethiopia
HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are the three most important infectious diseases in Ethiopia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the spatial codistribution of these diseases is critical for designing geographically targeted and integrated disease control programmes. This study investigated the spatial overlap and drivers of HIV, TB and malaria prevalence in Ethiopia.
Published research Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Geospatial Health and Development Malaria Geospatial and TuberculosisJanuary 2022Acceptability of OP/Na swabbing for SARS-CoV-2: a prospective observational cohort surveillance study in Western Australian schools
When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, Governments responded with lockdown and isolation measures to combat viral spread, including the closure of many schools. More than a year later, widespread screening for SARS-CoV-2 is critical to allow schools and other institutions to remain open.
Published research Academic Biostatistics Infectious Diseases Human Development and Community Wellbeing School Attendance Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention COVID-19January 2022Western Australian adolescent emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been vast and are not limited to physical health. Many adolescents have experienced disruptions to daily life, including changes in their school routine and family’s financial or emotional security, potentially impacting their emotional wellbeing.
Published research Human Development and Community Wellbeing School Attendance Youth Health Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal Young People Geospatial Health and Development COVID-19October 2021Spatio-temporal patterns of childhood pneumonia in Bhutan: a Bayesian analysis
Pneumonia is one of the top 10 diseases by morbidity in Bhutan. This study aimed to investigate the spatial and temporal trends and risk factors of childhood pneumonia in Bhutan.
Published research Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Geospatial Health and DevelopmentOctober 2021A simulation study of disaggregation regression for spatial disease mapping
Disaggregation regression has become an important tool in spatial disease mapping for making fine-scale predictions of disease risk from aggregated response data.
Published research Geospatial Health and DevelopmentJune 2021Mapping malaria by sharing spatial information between incidence and prevalence data sets
As malaria incidence decreases and more countries move towards elimination, maps of malaria risk in low-prevalence areas are increasingly needed. For low-burden areas, disaggregation regression models have been developed to estimate risk at high spatial resolution from routine surveillance reports aggregated by administrative unit polygons.
Published research Geospatial Health and Development MalariaJune 2021Maps and metrics of insecticide-treated net access, use, and nets-per-capita in Africa from 2000-2020
Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are one of the most widespread and impactful malaria interventions in Africa, yet a spatially-resolved time series of ITN coverage has never been published. Using data from multiple sources, we generate high-resolution maps of ITN access, use, and nets-per-capita annually from 2000 to 2020 across the 40 highest-burden African countries.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and DevelopmentJune 2021Mapping the endemicity and seasonality of clinical malaria for intervention targeting in Haiti using routine case data
Towards the goal of malaria elimination on Hispaniola, the National Malaria Control Program of Haiti and its international partner organisations are conducting a campaign of interventions targeted to high-risk communities prioritised through evidence-based planning. Here we present a key piece of this planning: an up-to-date, fine-scale endemicity map and seasonality profile for Haiti informed by monthly case counts.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and DevelopmentJune 2021Global economic costs due to vivax malaria and the potential impact of its radical cure: A modelling study
An estimated 14 million cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria were reported from Asia, Central and South America, and the Horn of Africa. The clinical burden of vivax malaria is largely driven by its ability to form dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate to cause recurrent episodes of malaria. Elimination of both the blood and liver stages of the parasites ("radical cure") is required to achieve a sustained clinical response and prevent ongoing transmission of the parasite.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and DevelopmentMay 2021Space–time clustering characteristics of malaria in bhutan at the end stages of elimination
Malaria in Bhutan has fallen significantly over the last decade. As Bhutan attempts to eliminate malaria in 2022, this study aimed to characterize the space-time clustering of malaria from 2010 to 2019. Malaria data were obtained from the Bhutan Vector-Borne Disease Control Program data repository.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and DevelopmentFebruary 2021DETECT Schools Study Protocol: A Prospective Observational Cohort Surveillance Study Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 in Western Australian Schools
Amidst the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the transmission dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is key to providing peace of mind for the community and informing policy-making decisions. While available data suggest that school-aged children are not significant spreaders of SARS-CoV-2, the possibility of transmission in schools remains an ongoing concern, especially among an aging teaching workforce. Even in low-prevalence settings, communities must balance the potential risk of transmission with the need for students' ongoing education.
Published research Academic Biostatistics Influenza Infectious Diseases Human Development and Community Wellbeing Subsite: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Child Physical Activity, Health and Development Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal Young People Geospatial Health and DevelopmentJanuary 2021Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria intervention coverage, morbidity, and mortality in Africa: a geospatial modelling analysis
Substantial progress has been made in reducing the burden of malaria in Africa since 2000, but those gains could be jeopardised if the COVID-19 pandemic affects the availability of key malaria control interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate plausible effects on malaria incidence and mortality under different levels of disruption to malaria control.
Published research Infectious Diseases Geospatial Health and DevelopmentDecember 2020Global maps of travel time to healthcare facilities
Access to healthcare is a requirement for human well-being that is constrained, in part, by the allocation of healthcare resources relative to the geographically dispersed human population. Quantifying access to care globally is challenging due to the absence of a comprehensive database of healthcare facilities. We harness major data collection efforts underway by OpenStreetMap, Google Maps and academic researchers to compile the most complete collection of facility locations to date.
Published research Geospatial Health and DevelopmentSeptember 2019Malaria eradication within a generation: ambitious, achievable, and necessary
Momentum towards eradication has been building for decades, and more than half of the world's countries are now malaria free
Published researchJuly 2019Mapping the global prevalence, incidence, and mortality of Plasmodium falciparum, 2000-17: a spatial and temporal modelling study
High-resolution maps of P falciparum are a resource for informing global policy and malaria control planning, programme implementation, and monitoring initiatives
Published researchJuly 2019Mapping the global endemicity and clinical burden of Plasmodium vivax, 2000-17: a spatial and temporal modelling study
Our study highlights important spatial and temporal patterns in the clinical burden and prevalence of P vivax
Published researchApril 2019Mapping changes in housing in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2015
Our maps provide a baseline for measuring change and a mechanism to guide interventions during the era of the Sustainable Development Goals