GIS Internet Map Servers for Health Applications Carol L. Hanchette, Ph.D. Rebecca D. Martin, Ph.D. Research Triangle Institute Research Triangle Park, NC
Dec 22, 2015
GIS Internet Map Servers for Health Applications
Carol L. Hanchette, Ph.D.Rebecca D. Martin, Ph.D.
Research Triangle InstituteResearch Triangle Park, NC
GIS and Health Services Research
Physician/facility location and allocation Market and hospital service areas Delivery of health and community services to
welfare recipients (DSS clients, childcare, employment, public transit)
Census tract rankings for family services (factors identified, ranked, mapped by quintile)
Health and Risk Factor Data to ID High Risk Areas
Childhood lead poisoning Immunization “Pockets of Need” (logistic
regression model used with immunization survey, birth certificates, census data)
Prediction of Teen Live Birth Rates using Census Data (logistic regression using 4 indicators)
Health and Risk Factor Data to ID High Risk Areas
What is GIS?
A set of tools for processing spatial data into information for enhanced decision making
A relational database management system where each record in every database is tied to a geographic location
Spatial and Attribute Data
Spatial data contain information about location, dimensions, shape, associations and relationships.
Attribute data describe the non-spatial components of the database.
Linked through a geocode (e.g. county, zip code, street address)
Spatial and Attribute Data
Barriers to GIS Use
Lack of trained GIS staff
Cost of unavailibility of spatial
data
Costs of purchasing GIS software
GIS Technology Trends
Mini-computers Unix
workstations PCs
Command line Graphical User
Interfaces Internet Map Server
Internet Map Server Technology
Hardware, software and data reside on GIS server
Mapping and spatial analysis capabilities are accessed via Web browser
Access: public OR password-protected
No training needed Customization/tool development
Internet Map Server Technology
National Cancer InstituteAtlas of Cancer Mortality
Venipuncture Project Management
Venipuncture Project Management
Central Cancer Registry Operations Management
Central Cancer Registry Operations Management
Iowa: patients, cities, hospitals and reporting rates
Central Cancer Registry Operations Management
Tennessee: View all patients within 75 miles of Johnson City
Central Cancer Registry Operations Management
Spatial Query of Reporting Rate
Visualization and Analysis of Cancer Data
Spatially enabling cancer data:
• Automated geocoding• Address matching• Data aggregation to
maintain confidentiality• Provision of services
• Distance to patient
• Access to care
Visualization and Analysis of Cancer Data
• Link to census and health outcomes data
Visualization and Analysis of Cancer Data
Quality Control of Geographic Identifiers
Geocode data
Use polygon overlay techniques or spatial query to examine correspondence of geographic identifiers (geocodes)
Overlay GIS county boundary file to assign correct county to patient records, then compare.
North Carolina Toxic Release Inventory Sites
Sites (represented by pink dots) that lie outside North Carolina have incorrectlatitude/longitude coordinates.
Over 1300 sites in NC, more than 100 located outside of state.
Greenland sites: reversed lat/longs
Quality Control of Geographic Identifiers
North Carolina state agency health database example
265,492 records
Only 158,552 (59.72%) with zip code, county and city correspondence
County of patient vs. county of health department
Duplication of county/city names: Henderson County in western North Carolina; town of Henderson in north-central North Carolina
Duplicate place names: 9 Bethel, 9 Five Points, 9 New Hope
Different coding schemes (use Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) whenever possible