Putting Mental Health on the Map

Researchers at Digital Futures are using geospatial data to tackle mental health, uncovering where needs are highest and helping communities act faster.

It is commonly understood that infectious diseases, like COVID-19, have geospatial factors to their spread; population density, proximity to others, and patterns of movement all determine how quickly a virus can travel. Mapping these patterns has long been a cornerstone of epidemiology. What is less commonly understood is that mental health can also follow spatial patterns, and those patterns can be mapped, studied, and acted upon. The Digital Epidemiology (De) Lab has been doing just that.

The lab’s interdisciplinary approach has been applied to a wide range of challenges, from opioid overdose risk in Ohio, to HIV prevention in southern Africa, to pandemic preparedness strategies, but their recent project in Nepal demonstrates unique capabilities. Using data from the country’s 2022 national health survey, the team looked beyond national averages of anxiety and depression to connect individual survey responses with geography. The result was a granular, actionable, and deeply revealing mental health map of Nepal.

Mental health outcome estimation and hotspot map; A) Men, B) Women

These numbers align with social realities, not random chance. Among women, high-burden areas also saw elevated rates of intimate partner violence and lower levels of education and wealth. Among men, factors like heavy alcohol use, tobacco consumption, and poor self-reported health stood out.

By layering these patterns onto maps, the De Lab is able to point to solutions. In Nepal, the analysis suggests that outreach for women should integrate mental health and survivor support, while screening in primary care could help men’s concerns be caught earlier. In Ohio, similar mapping has guided naloxone distribution to overdose hotspots. In Africa, it has highlighted where combining HIV services with mental health care could break cycles of risk.

The Nepal study is a snapshot of what “digital epidemiology” can look like at its best: rigorous but accessible, technologically sophisticated but grounded in local context, and always pointed toward decisions that improve lives. On any given week, you might find them mapping overdose risk in Midwestern counties, testing surveillance strategies with partners in East Africa, and refining mental health analyses in South Asia, all guided by the same principle. Put people and place at the center. Let data sharpen, not overshadow, the story, and deliver insights that help communities act faster, fairer, and smarter.