Essential R Packages for Machine Learning
Federica Gazzelloni · 2025
This chapter explores the key R packages essential for machine learning in infectious disease modelling. Foundational packages like {caret} and {tidymodels} provide streamlined workflows for model building and evaluation, while specialised tools such as {randomForest}, {xgboost}, and {keras} support advanced modelling tasks. Time series analysis is covered with packages like {forecast} and {prophet}, enabling readers to model temporal trends in disease data. Spatial tools like {spdep} are introduced for analysing geographic patterns. Through hands-on examples, readers learn how to harness these resources to enhance their modelling workflows and extract meaningful insights.