Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40436834›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Estimating small area population from health intervention campaign surveys and partially observed settlement data.

Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Amy Bonnie, Josiah Joseph, Ortis Yankey, Duygu Cihan, Assane Gadiaga, Hal Voepel, Thomas Abbott, Heather R Chamberlain, Mercedita Tia and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Advances in small area population estimation in the absence of national census data.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Chibuzor Christopher NnanatuWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. cc.nnanatu@soton.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5841-3700
Amy BonnieWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Josiah JosephNational Statistical Office, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Ortis YankeyWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0808-884X
Duygu CihanWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Assane GadiagaWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Hal VoepelWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7375-1460
Thomas AbbottWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Heather R ChamberlainWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0828-6974
Mercedita TiaUnited Nations Population Fund, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Marielle SanderUnited Nations Population Fund, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Justin DavisPlanet Labs, San Francisco, USA.
Attila N LazarWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2033-2013
Andrew J TatemWorldPop Research Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7270-941X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Effective governance requires timely and reliable small area population counts. Geospatial modelling approaches which utilise bespoke microcensus surveys and satellite-derived settlement maps and other spatial datasets have been developed to fill population data gaps in countries where censuses are outdated and incomplete. However, logistics and costs of microcensus surveys and tree canopy or cloud cover obscuring settlements in satellite images limit its wider applications in tropical rural settings. Here, we present a two-step Bayesian hierarchical modelling approach that can integrate routinely collected health intervention campaign data and partially observed settlement data to produce reliable small area population estimates. Reductions in relative error rates were 32-73% in a simulation study, and ~32% when applied to malaria survey data in Papua New Guinea. The results highlight the value of demographic data routinely collected through health intervention campaigns or household surveys for improving small area population estimates, and how biases introduced by satellite data limitations can be overcome.

Indexed as

Health PromotionBayes TheoremHumansMalariaPapua New GuineaRural PopulationSatellite Imagery

Identifiers

PMID40436834
PMCPMC12119932

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.