Pete Gething
Program Head, Child Health Analytics; Team Lead, Geospatial Health and Development
Professor Pete Gething is John Curtin Distinguished Professor at Curtin University and Professor in Epidemiology at The Kids Research Institute Australia in Perth, Western Australia. With a background in geospatial modelling and epidemiology, he has worked on malaria and other vector borne diseases since 2002. He Co-heads the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) with senior researcher Dr Susan Rumisha. MAP is 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.
Projects
Development of a universal aftercare model for people who have presented to the emergency department for a suicidal crisis in WA
The Mental Health Commission (MHC) of Western Australia has provided funding to The Kids Research Institute Australia to undertake exploratory research to inform a WA approach to aftercare.
Modelling the COVID pandemic with the Geographical COVID-19 Model (GEO-COV)
Researchers have developed a new model for simulating covid-19 outbreaks in Western Australia.
BEACHES: Built Environments and Child Health in WalEs and AuStralia
Malaria Atlas Project (MAP)
The Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) aims to disseminate free, accurate and up-to-date geographical information on malaria and associated topics. Our mission is to generate new and innovative methods to map malaria, to produce a comprehensive range of maps and estimates that will support effective planning of malaria
August 2021
DETECT Schools
The DETECT-Schools Study was launched in May 2020 as a partnership between the WA Government Departments of Education and Health with The Kids Research Institute Australia.
July 2021
Empowering school communities to Support Student Mental health and Wellbeing: Development and Testing of the Online Assessment, Support and Implementation System (OASIS)
Published research
Estimating the impact of imported malaria on local transmission in a near elimination setting: a case study from Bhutan
Bhutan has achieved a substantial reduction in both malaria morbidity and mortality over the last two decades and is aiming for malaria elimination certification in 2025. However, a significant percentage of malaria cases in Bhutan are imported (acquired in another country). The aim of the study was to understand how importation drives local malaria transmission in Bhutan.
Fine-scale maps of malaria incidence to inform risk stratification in Laos
Malaria risk maps are crucial for controlling and eliminating malaria by identifying areas of varying transmission risk. In the Greater Mekong Subregion, these maps guide interventions and resource allocation. This article focuses on analysing changes in malaria transmission and developing fine-scale risk maps using five years of routine surveillance data in Laos (2017-2021). The study employed data from 1160 geolocated health facilities in Laos, along with high-resolution environmental data.
Cholera risk in Lusaka: A geospatial analysis to inform improved water and sanitation provision
Urbanization combined with climate change are exacerbating water scarcity for an increasing number of the world’s emerging cities. Water and sanitation infrastructure, which in the first place was largely built to cater only to a small subsector of developing city populations, is increasingly coming under excessive strain.
Geospatial joint modeling of vector and parasite serology to microstratify malaria transmission
The World Health Organization identifies a strong surveillance system for malaria and its mosquito vector as an essential pillar of the malaria elimination agenda. Anopheles salivary antibodies are emerging biomarkers of exposure to mosquito bites that potentially overcome sensitivity and logistical constraints of traditional entomological surveys.
A situational assessment of treatments received for childhood diarrhea in the Federal Republic of Nigeria
We assess progress towards improved case management of childhood diarrhea in Nigeria over a period of targeted health systems reform from 2013 to 2018. Individual and community data from three Demographic and Health Survey rounds are leveraged in a geospatial model designed for stratified estimation by venue of treatment seeking and State.
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.
Mapping 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.
Impacts 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.
disaggregation: 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.
Evaluating 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.
An 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.
The 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.
Built 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.
Spatiotemporal 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.
A 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).
Built 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.
Spatial 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.
Acceptability 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.
Western 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.
Spatio-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.
A 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.
Mapping 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.
Maps 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.
Mapping 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.
Global 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.
Space–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.
DETECT 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.
Indirect 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.
Global 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.
Malaria 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
Mapping 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
Mapping 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
Mapping 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