Gis and Public Health

by Cromley, Ellen K.; McLafferty, Sara L.

• ISBN13: 9781572307070
• ISBN10: 1572307072
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-02-06
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This clearly written resource provides a comprehensive introduction to the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in analyzing and addressing public health problems. The book guides the reader through basic GIS concepts and methods, with an emphasis on practical applications. Described are ways that GIS can be used to map health events, identify disease clusters, investigate environmental health problems, understand the spread of communicable and vector-borne infectious disease, and more. Numerous tables, figures, and concrete examples are included. The companion website features downloadable GIS databases that allow readers to practice a variety of spatial analytical techniques.

Author Biography

Ellen K. Cromley, PhD, is Professor of Geography at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, and is affiliated with the Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut. Her research is primarily concerned with geographical patterns of health and disease, health facility location, and GIS design to support public health surveillance and intervention programs. She has published in geography, epidemiology, public health, and health services journals.

Sara L. McLafferty, PhD, is Professor of Geography at the University of Illinois at Urbana/n-/Champaign, Urbana, Illinois. Her research explores the use of spatial analysis methods and GIS for health and social issues in cities, as well as gender and racial disparities in geographical access to services and employment opportunities. She has published in geography, epidemiology, and urban studies journals and serves on the editorial boards of <I>Economic Geography</I> and <I>Health and Place</I>.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
List of Figures	xiii
List of Tables	xix
Introduction	1	(1)
Geographic Foundations for Public Health	1	(11)
Organization and Scope	12	(1)
GIS and Public Health	13	(2)
Geographic Information Systems	15	(23)
Definitions of GIS	15	(3)
GIS Functions	18	(15)
Trends in GIS Applications	33	(2)
Public Health Applications of GIS	35	(2)
Conclusion	37	(1)
Spatial Data	38	(29)
Field and Object Data	39	(2)
Raster and Vector Data Structures	41	(4)
Measuring Location	45	(2)
Scale, Projection, and Symbols of Cartographic Data Sources	47	(9)
Geographic Data Quality	56	(6)
Spatial Databases in a Basic GIS Configuration for Public Health	62	(4)
Conclusion	66	(1)
Spatial Databases for Public Health	67	(31)
Foundation Spatial Data	67	(10)
Health Data	77	(7)
Health Services Data	84	(1)
Making Health Data Mappable	85	(6)
Database Integration	91	(3)
Data Sharing	94	(3)
Conclusion	97	(1)
Mapping Health Information	98	(32)
The Mapping Process	98	(2)
Representing Health Information	100	(13)
Viewing Health Information	113	(11)
GIS and Map Publication	124	(4)
Conclusion	128	(2)
Analyzing Spatial Clustering of Health Events	130	(28)
Analyzing Clustering Using Area Data	133	(9)
Methods for Analyzing Point Data	142	(11)
Uses of Spatial Clustering Methods	153	(2)
Challenges	155	(2)
Conclusion	157	(1)
Analyzing Environmental Hazards	158	(30)
How Environmental Agents Are Identified as Hazards	160	(2)
GIS Analysis of Source Locations of Environmental Hazards	162	(7)
Modeling Fate and Transport and Environmental Quality in a GIS	169	(5)
GIS and Exposure Modeling	174	(8)
GIS and Outcome Surveillance	182	(3)
GIS and Environmental Risk Management	185	(1)
Issues in Environmental Hazard Mapping	186	(1)
Conclusion	187	(1)
Analyzing the Risk and Spread of Infectious Diseases	188	(22)
Spatial Diffusion	190	(3)
Mapping Case Distributions	193	(5)
Mapping Variability in Disease Agents	198	(1)
Analyzing Temporal and Geographic Trends in Disease Outbreaks	199	(8)
Privacy and Confidentiality	207	(2)
Conclusion	209	(1)
Exploring the Ecology of Vector-Borne Disease	210	(23)
Case Definition for Vector-Borne Disease	211	(1)
Temporal and Spatial Integration of Surveillance Data	212	(2)
Identifying Areas of High and Low Incidence	214	(5)
Evaluating the Environmental Characteristics of Case Locations	219	(3)
Analyzing the Geographical Distributions of Vector and Host Populations	222	(4)
Global Change Affecting Vector Distribution	226	(4)
Environmental Impacts of Controlling Vector-Borne Disease	230	(2)
Conclusion	232	(1)
Analyzing Access to Health Services	233	(26)
Access	234	(3)
Mapping Service Locations	237	(1)
Mapping Health Needs and Services	238	(2)
Assessing Potential Access to Health Services	240	(3)
Potential Accessibility Measures	243	(6)
Analyzing Service Utilization	249	(9)
Conclusion	258	(1)
Locating Health Services	259	(29)
Health Care Shortage Areas	260	(1)
Components and Dimensions of Health Service Delivery Systems	261	(3)
Client Population Distribution	264	(1)
The Meaning of ``Centrality'' in Models of Health Service Facility Location	265	(2)
Normative Models of Facility Location and Service Delivery	267	(12)
Incorporating Normative Models of Facility Location and Service Delivery into GIS	279	(6)
Spatial Decision Support Systems	285	(1)
Conclusion	286	(2)
GIS and Community Health	288	(13)
Institutional Contexts and Public Participation GIS	289	(2)
GIS Access and Education for Community Groups	291	(3)
Community-Based Public Health GIS	294	(3)
Constraints on PPGIS	297	(1)
Conclusion	298	(3)
References	301	(28)
Index	329	(11)
About the Authors	340