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PubMedDate not supplied

Public health education and practice using geographic information system technology.

The use of geographic information system (GIS) technology allows public health practitioners to explore disparities in health, analyze disease outbreaks, and prioritize the use of limited resources for improving population health. Nursing students benefit from use of World Wide Web GIS resources as they develop knowledge and skill in assessing population health and planning interventions. This article identifies the benefits of GIS for public health practitioners, presents a communicable disease control application of GIS, and discusses a GIS module used in an undergraduate nursing education course. Uniform standards for making health data available for public use with GIS are discussed.

Diffusion of Innovation↗

PubMed2003

A GIS-based modeling system for petroleum waste management. Geographical information system.

With an urgent need for effective management of petroleum-contaminated sites, a GIS-aided simulation (GISSIM) system is presented in this study. The GISSIM contains two components: an advanced 3D numerical model and a geographical information system (GIS), which are integrated within a general framework. The modeling component undertakes simulation for the fate of contaminants in subsurface unsaturated and saturated zones. The GIS component is used in three areas throughout the system development and implementation process: (i) managing spatial and non-spatial databases; (ii) linking inputs, model, and outputs; and (iii) providing an interface between the GISSIM and its users. The developed system is applied to a North American case study. Concentrations of benzene, toluene, and xylenes in groundwater under a petroleum-contaminated site are dynamically simulated. Reasonable outputs have been obtained and presented graphically. They provide quantitative and scientific bases for further assessment of site-contamination impacts and risks, as well as decisions on practical remediation actions.

Decision Support Techniques↗

PubMed1998

Prediction of villages at risk for filariasis transmission in the Nile Delta using remote sensing and geographic information system technologies.

Remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies were used to discriminate between 130 villages, in the Nile Delta, at high and low risk for filariasis, as defined by microfilarial prevalence. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data were digitally processed to generate a map of landcover as well as spectral indices such as NDVI and moisture index. A Tasseled Cap transformation was also carried out on the TM data which produced three more indices: brightness, greenness and wetness. GIS functions were used to extract information on landcover and spectral indices within one km buffers around the study villages. The relationship between satellite data and prevalence was investigated using discriminant analysis. The analysis indicated that the most important landscape elements associated with prevalence were water and marginal vegetation, while wetness and moisture index were the most important indices. Discriminant functions generated for these variables were able to correctly predict 80% and 74% of high and low prevalence villages, respectively, with an overall accuracy of 77%. The present approach provides a promising tool for regional filariasis surveillance and helps direct control efforts.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

The geographical accessibility of hospitals to the aged: a geographic information systems analysis within Illinois.

OBJECTIVE: This article uses geographic information systems and their related tools to empirically measure and display the geographic accessibility of the aged population to hospital facilities within Illinois. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: Geographic accessibility of Illinois' aged population is measured from each of the state's 10,796 census block groups to the state's 214 hospital facilities. Block group demographic compositions and centroids are obtained from 1990 census files. Hospital coordinates are obtained by the authors. STUDY DESIGN: Of five alternative measures of accessibility considered, empirical estimates are obtained for two: choice set and minimum distance. Access to both general hospitals and the subset having specialized geriatric facilities is measured with special attention to differences in accessibility between the aged within metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and those outside MSAs. Cumulative accessibility distributions and their summary statistics provide a basis of comparison among subgroups. DATA COLLECTION AND EXTRACTION: Geographic information systems (GIS) and their related tools are used as a means of efficiently capturing, organizing, storing, and retrieving the required data. Hospitals and census block groups are geocoded to specific locations in the database, and aspatial attributes are assigned to the hospitals and block groups. The GIS database is queried to produce shaded isarithm and point distribution maps that show the location of hospitals relative to surrounding aged populations. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of Illinois' aged population is within close proximity to hospital facilities. Eighty percent (1,147,504 persons) of the aged in Illinois are within 4.8 miles (7.7 km) of a hospital and 11.6 miles (18.7 km) of two hospitals. However, geographic accessibility differences between the aged living in MSAs and those living outside MSAs to hospitals offering geriatric services are substantial; but there is no evidence that the aged's geographical accessibility to hospitals is less favorable than that of the general population. Detailed accessibility measures permitted by geographic information system technology call into question the continued use of crude empirical accessibility measures.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

The use of a web-based interactive geographical information system for the surveillance of bluetongue in Italy.

Since 2000 Italy has experienced five epidemics of bluetongue, an arthropod-borne disease that affects primarily sheep and asymptomatically cattle, goats and wildlife ruminants. In four years the disease spread through Southern and Central Italy, involving 14 Italian regions out of 20. To control the disease, the Ministry of Health established a surveillance system that included clinical, entomological and serological surveillance elements. The National Reference Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology--Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise 'G. Caporale'--developed a Web-based National Information System (NIS) and a Geographical Information System (GIS)to collect and manage data from Veterinary Services across Italy. The system was designed to gather and spread information in order to support the management of control activities and to provide an early warning system. Surveillance data are displayed to the user in different ways: reports, tables and interactive maps.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

New modeling methods: geographic information systems and spatial analysis.

Geographic factors, such as the location of alcohol outlets or of neighborhoods with different socioeconomic status within an area, can influence the patterns of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in that area. Geographic information systems (GIS)--computer-based systems to capture, store, retrieve, analyze, and display spatial data--are increasingly used to investigate the effects of such geographic factors. GIS offer several key capabilities that facilitate alcohol-related geographic analyses, including geocoding (the linking of descriptive data, such as driving-while-intoxicated [DWI] events, to a location on a map), informative visual displays, and calculation of distance and adjacency. Using GIS-based data, researchers can perform complex spatial analyses of alcohol-related behaviors and problems, such as determining the correlation between DWI rates and geographic locations. These types of analyses may help investigators to understand environmental influences on alcohol-related problems and to plan and target appropriate prevention and intervention approaches.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed2004

Geographic information systems in public health and medicine.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are increasingly being used in public health and medicine. Advances in computer technology, the encouragement of its use by the federal government, and the wide availability of academic and commercial courses on GIS are responsible for its growth. Some view GIS as only a tool for spatial research and policy analysis, while others believe it is part of a larger emerging new science including geography, cartography, geodesy, and remote sensing. The specific advantages and problems of GIS are discussed. The greatest potential of GIS is its ability to clearly show the results of complex analyses through maps. Problems in using GIS include its costs, the need to adequately train staff, the use of appropriate spatial units, and the risk it poses to violating patient confidentiality. Lastly, the fourteen articles in this special issue devoted to GIS are introduced and briefly discussed.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗

PubMed2005

Visualizing nursing workforce distribution: policy evaluation using geographic information systems.

Health services literature suggests that geographic information systems (GIS) are useful policy evaluation tools when policy success is dependent on location. Nursing workforce distribution is an inherently local issue and nursing shortages present serious concerns for local, state and national governments. In 1991, Missouri enacted a nurse recruitment and retention policy targeting underserved (HPSA-designated) counties. Following Institutional Review Board approval, policy effectiveness was explored using a combination of GIS data visualization, spatial and classic statistics. Results of both data visualization and statistical methods do not demonstrate an expected trend of decreasing group differences between HPSA and non-HPSA-designated counties over time. Only two of the five time periods studied had significant group differences. Between 1993 and 1995, the loss in nurse to population ratios in HPSA counties was significant (U=1020, p<0.001); however, between 1999 and 2001, the growth in nurse to population ratio changes in HPSA counties was significant (U=1032, p=0.001). The GIS data visualization and statistical techniques performed suggest that current policy definitions of underserved areas may not be effective in defining areas of nursing shortages and the existing policy implementation may not be achieving the stated goals.

Geographic Information Systems↗

PubMed2001

Implementation of a medical geographic information system: concepts and uses.

This paper introduces a medical geographic information system which has been implemented to enhance public-health research by facilitating the modelling of spatial processes of disease, environment, and healthcare systems in a rural area of Bangladesh. In 1966, a surveillance system was implemented to record all vital demographic events in the study area. Selected information on reproductive and child health, socioeconomic conditions, and health and family-planning interventions is being collected for the surveillance database. This paper discusses the conceptual design of integrating the surveillance database with the medical geographic information system and its use in conducting multidisciplinary health research. The paper is intended to help those who wish to implement a health-based geographic information system to understand the links between people and their environments and to better meet the health needs of target communities.

Bangladesh↗

PubMed1993

Fasciolosis in cattle in Louisiana. II. Development of a system to use soil maps in a geographic information system to estimate disease risk on Louisiana coastal marsh rangeland.

A geographic information system (GIS) model of habitat for Lymnaea bulimoides, the snail intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica and the rumen fluke, Calicophoron microbothrioides, on the Chenier Plain of southwest Louisiana was revised to incorporate broad (greater than 100 m) chenier (relict beaches) along with adjacent marsh and transitional soils associated with spatial distribution of L. bulimoides habitat. The proportion of farmland comprised of soils of the GIS model coincided with actual habitat from a previous survey with a sensitivity of 91.3% and a specificity of 80.1%, and regressed significantly against the proportion of farmland comprised of L. bulimoides habitat (n = 12, P = 0.01, r2 = 0.50, slope = 0.015). A soil model index was calculated to incorporate (1) the proportion of farmland comprised of soils of the GIS model and (2) stocking rate. Fluke egg shedding indices (mean egg count multiplied by prevalence) were calculated for each fluke species on nine farms at four sampling times over a 2-year period. The maximum egg shedding indices for each farm, taken to indicate potential fluke transmission intensity, were correlated for the two fluke species on herds not recently treated for fasciolosis (n = 9, P = 0.004, r2 = 0.72, slope = 0.2), although at no one sampling period were shedding indices of the two fluke species significantly correlated. Egg shedding of C. microbothrioides by cattle correlated with the proportion of farmland comprised of soils included in the GIS model (n = 9, Spearman's rank coefficient was 0.7, P = 0.05). We conclude that (1) the maximum of several observations of the C. microbothrioides egg shedding index may be useful as a surrogate for F. hepatica in estimating risk from snail habitat on a farm when regular flukicide treatment interferes with F. hepatica egg shedding, and (2) the GIS model may estimate site-specific differences in fasciolosis risk to cattle operations in the Chenier Plain based on the association of certain soils with snail intermediate-host habitat.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

On epidemiology and geographic information systems: a review and discussion of future directions.

Geographic information systems are powerful automated systems for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of spatial data. While the systems have been in development for more than 20 years, recent software has made them substantially easier to use for those outside the field. The systems offer new and expanding opportunities for epidemiology because they allow an informed user to choose between options when geographic distributions are part of the problem. Even when used minimally, these systems allow a spatial perspective on disease. Used to their optimum level, as tools for analysis and decision making, they are indeed a new information management vehicle with a rich potential for public health and epidemiology.

Computers↗

PubMed2002

Geographic information system based manure application plan.

A geographic information system (GIS) based manure application plan has been developed for the site-specific application of animal waste to agricultural fields in the Westbrook sub-catchment of the Murray-Darling Basin, south-east Queensland, Australia. Sites suitable for animal waste application were identified using a GIS based weighted linear combination (WLC) model. The degree of land suitability for animal waste application was determined using a range of social, economic, environmental, and agricultural factors. As eutrophication and toxic blue-green algae blooms are a known problem in the catchment, the manure application rates were limited to the rate of crop phosphorus removal. Maximum manure application rate was calculated spatially by taking the crop nutrient (P2O5) requirement and the manure nutrient (P2O5) content into account. The environmental suitability of the fields receiving animal waste was considered in prescribing the final application rate of solid and liquid manures generated by local animal production facilities. The degree of site suitability of the agricultural fields was also used to suggest manure management practices to minimise the socio-environmental risks and increase the nutrient use efficiency of the applied manure. The amount of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) that would be added to the soil by satisfying the P2O5 requirement using manure sources was also calculated and an applied NH4-N map was created. This map could be used to assist farmers identify additional nitrogen requirements after manure application.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2006

Walkability of local communities: using geographic information systems to objectively assess relevant environmental attributes.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to objectively measure features of the built environment that may influence adults' physical activity, which is an important determinant of chronic disease. We describe how a previously developed index of walkability was operationalised in an Australian context, using available spatial data. The index was used to generate a stratified sampling frame for the selection of households from 32 communities for the PLACE (Physical Activity in Localities and Community Environments) study. GIS data have the potential to be used to construct measures of environmental attributes and to develop indices of walkability for cities, regions or local communities.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Using geographic information systems to design population-based interventions.

Geographic information systems (GIS) offer public health nurses a new technology to plan and implement interventions within communities. The present article gives a brief overview of GIS, describes a project designed to pilot-test the use of GIS for developing population-based interventions, and discusses lessons learned from the project that need to be applied to any future work. Using GIS to map the incidence and prevalence of disease, locate risk factors, and identify access to health care services is not difficult. Trying to move beyond that and use the technology to depict community networks and develop and implement population-based interventions is more problematic. The project identified specific questions that anyone involved in a planning or decision-making project in which GIS are used should ask.

Community Health Planning↗

PubMed2002

Regional variation in the incidence of symptomatic pesticide exposures: applications of geographic information systems.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the epidemiology of symptomatic human pesticide exposures using poison control center data and geographic information systems. METHODS: All symptomatic human pesticide exposures reported to the poison center during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2000 were included for analysis using geographic information systems. A space-time scan statistic was utilized to evaluate for clustering of symptomatic human exposures. RESULTS: Of 322 symptomatic pesticide exposures, 297 (92%) contained spatial identifiers that could be further analyzed using geographic information systems. A spatial and temporal cluster of symptomatic pesticide exposures was identified during the periodfrom April 1 to August 31, 2000, covering a large geographic area of eastern and predominantly rural regions of the state. The relative risk of reporting a symptomatic pesticide exposure among individuals living within this geographic area was 1.8 (log likelihood ratio = 18.5, P = 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: Geographic information systems can be effectively utilized by poison control centers to study regional and temporal variation in the incidence of human pesticide exposures. With the collection of more specific spatial identifiers, geographic information systems may have many additional applications in the surveillance and prevention of pesticide and other sentinel event exposures.

Cluster Analysis↗

PubMed1991

Geographic information systems: their application in animal disease control.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are computerised information systems that allow for the capture, storage, manipulation, analysis, display and reporting of geographically referenced data. They have been used in recent years for a wide variety of purposes, including town planning and environmental resource management. The technology has many features which make it ideal for use in animal disease control, including the ability to store information relating to demographic and causal factors and disease incidence on a geographical background, and a variety of spatial analysis functions. A number of possible veterinary applications are suggested, and three examples of the use of GIS in New Zealand are discussed.

Animal Diseases↗

PubMed2000

The use of a geographical information system in investigating dental services.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the value of a geographical information system (GIS) in investigating the provision of dental care. DESIGN: Information about dental need and provision of dental services was obtained from districts within the West Midlands. A Geographical Information System (Atlas GIS) was used to answer three different questions about dental services provision within the West Midlands. A GIS is an interactive system that allows data to be analysed according to regular or irregular geographical areas. Once the system is established, it is fairly simple and quick to use. However, the financial and training issues mean that it may not be viable for such a system to be available within each health trust or district, but more appropriately as a central facility which can be accessed by several users. CASE STUDIES: The way in which this system was used to answer three different questions about dental service provision within the West Midlands is demonstrated and evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a GIS presents information in a way that increases its usefulness in the planning of dental services.

Cleft Lip↗

PubMed2004

Using geographic information systems for exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology studies.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are being used with increasing frequency in environmental epidemiology studies. Reported applications include locating the study population by geocoding addresses (assigning mapping coordinates), using proximity analysis of contaminant source as a surrogate for exposure, and integrating environmental monitoring data into the analysis of the health outcomes. Although most of these studies have been ecologic in design, some have used GIS in estimating environmental levels of a contaminant at the individual level and to design exposure metrics for use in epidemiologic studies. In this article we discuss fundamentals of three scientific disciplines instrumental to using GIS in exposure assessment for epidemiologic studies: geospatial science, environmental science, and epidemiology. We also explore how a GIS can be used to accomplish several steps in the exposure assessment process. These steps include defining the study population, identifying source and potential routes of exposure, estimating environmental levels of target contaminants, and estimating personal exposures. We present and discuss examples for the first three steps. We discuss potential use of GIS and global positioning systems (GPS) in the last step. On the basis of our findings, we conclude that the use of GIS in exposure assessment for environmental epidemiology studies is not only feasible but can enhance the understanding of the association between contaminants in our environment and disease.

Cluster Analysis↗