Prevention Center of Excellence
Annotated Bibliography: Geographic Information Systems & Public Health
Annotated Bibliography: Geographic Information Systems & Public Health
available in PDF.
(Download Acrobat Reader)
Compiled by Clare Desrosiers
March 1, 2006
Austin, S.B., Melly, S.J., Sanchez, B.N., Patel, A., Buka, S., &
Gortmaker, S.L. (2005). Clustering of fast-food restaurants around
schools: A novel application of spatial statistics to the study of food
environment. American Journal of Public Health, 95(9), 1575-1581.
The article presents a study that utilized GIS mapping to answer
research questions about clustering of fast-food restaurants around
schools.
Caley, L.M. (2004). Using geographic information systems to design
population-based interventions. Public Health Nursing, 21(6), 547-554.
The article describes a project designed to pilot-test the use of GIS
for development of population-based interventions. The author concludes
that GIS has potential for use in this manner, although there are a
number of challenges. She recommends ways to address these challenges to
ensure that GIS maps reflect what they are intended to reflect and can
be accurately interpreted. Finally, the author briefly discusses ethical
and confidentiality issues.
Cromley, E.K. (2003). GIS and disease. Annual Review of Public Health,
24, 7-24.
In this article, the author reviews the ways GISs are used to examine
the relationships of geographical environments to both health outcomes
and diseases or people who have diseases. She describes the kind of data
needed to do so and where to find some of the data. The author briefly
discusses problems that can arise when using zip codes as area
identifiers in GIS mapping.
Croner, C.M. (2003). Public health, GIS, and the Internet. Annual Review
of Public Health, 24, 57-82.
The author discusses the benefits of making geospatial data accessible
on the internet, methods for protecting confidentiality of the data, the
availability of public health geospatial data on the internet and
technological advances that need to be accomplished to overcome
barriers. The article provides website addresses for public health data
and statistics for GIS mapping. The author recommends that individual
agencies wishing to utilize GIS share resources and work together
because geospatial technologies are costly. The article includes a small
glossary of geospatial terms.
Elliott, P., & Wartenberg, D. (2004). Spatial epidemiology: Current
approaches and future challenges. Environmental Health Perspectives,
112(9), 998-1006.
The article presents the advantages and disadvantages of using GISs to
map diseases. The authors recommend several strategies to avoid
information errors commonly associated with GISs. See GIS research
options summary for additional information.
Fulcher, C., & Kaukinen, C. (2005). Mapping and visualizing the location
of HIV service providers: An exploratory spatial analysis of Toronto
neighborhoods. AIDS Care, 17(3), 386-396.
The article describes a study in which GIS mapping was used to locate
HIV service providers and determine the minimum distance from each
identified Toronto neighborhood to service providers in general and
specific types of providers. The authors describe the type of GIS map
and spatial statistics utilized in the study. GIS mapping was an
effective tool for answering the researchers’ questions.
Hassan, M.M. (2005). Arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh: Spatial mitigation
planning with GIS and public participation. Health Policy, 74, 247-260.
The article describes a qualitative study in which the author explored
the usefulness of a public participatory GIS (PPGIS), in collaboration
with local community members, to establish potential sites for deep
tubewells. The author concludes that the PPGIS was a useful tool because
it helped community members identify sites that would not necessarily
have been identified if their input had not been sought and a map had
not been presented to them before the sites were chosen.
Hendryx, M.S., Ahern, M.M., Lovrich, N.P., & McCurdy, A.H. (2002).
Access to health care and community social capital. Health Services
Research, 37(1), 87-103.
Although this study does not utilize a GIS, it does examine issues
related to accessibility. Specifically, what kind of relationship exists
between access to health care and community social capital. Authors
conclude that study findings suggest social capital may play a role in
access to health care.
Jacquez, G.M. (2000). Spatial analysis in epidemiology: Nascent science
or a failure of GIS? Journal of Geographic Systems, 2, 91-97.
The article describes the benefits and limitations of using GISs in
public health research, and specifically epidemiology. It lists several
types of spatial statistical models that can be used to analyze data.
Jarup, L. (2004). Health and environment information systems for
exposure and disease mapping and risk assessment. Environmental Health
Perspectives, 112(9), 995-997.
The article discusses how GISs can be used to make maps of exposure
and/or disease. Mapping strategies that could be used in prevention work
include: (1) identify possible disease clusters - to define and monitor
epidemics, provide baseline data on health patterns, and map changes in
disease patterns over time; (2) perform risk assessment – once baseline
pattern of disease is defined, continue mapping of disease pattern over
time, explore changes in disease patterns potentially associated with
changes in the environment. The author warns that small-area maps are
more difficult to produce and interpret in a meaningful way.
Jenks, R.H., & Malecki, J.M. (2004). GIS – A proven tool for public
health analysis. Journal of Environmental Health, 67(3), 32-34.
The authors discuss the advantages of using GIS for public health
analysis and provide a number of guidelines on how to do so effectively.
Kabateriene, N.B., Brooker, S., Tukahebwa, E.M., Kazibwe, F., & Onapa,
A.W. (2004). Epidemiology and geography of Schistosoma mansoni in
Uganda: Implications for planning control. Tropical Medicine and
International Health, 9(3), 372-380.
The article presents findings from a study that utilized a GIS to
examine the incidence and location of infections with schistosoma
mansoni. The GIS was a very effective way to answer some of the
researchers’ questions. The authors highlight how GISs provide policy
makers with a visual representation of problems in relation to the
natural environment and population.
Li, F., Fisher, K.J., Bauman, A., Ory, M.G., Chodzko-Zajko, W., Harmer,
P., Bosworth, M., & Cleveland, M. (2005). Neighborhood influences on
physical activity in middle-aged and older adults: A multilevel
perspective. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 13, 87-114.
The article reviews literature related to influences on physical
activity and research methods for examining those influences. The
authors discuss the use of GIS mapping as one technique for objectively
examining environmental and physical influences. From their review of
the research literature, they also discuss what type of geographic unit
should be used with GIS mapping. The authors recommend a multilevel
approach to research regarding physical activity. Their recommendations
for research could be applied to research related to substance abuse use
and availability of substance abuse prevention services.
Martin, D., Wrigley, H., Barnett, S., & Roderick, P. (2002). Increasing
the sophistication of access measurement in a rural healthcare study.
Health and Place, 8, 3-13.
The article reviews the ways in which access to health care has been
analyzed in the research literature, especially in relation to
measurement of distances traveled to health care facilities.
McLafferty, S.L. (2003). GIS and health care. Annual Review of Public
Health, 24, 25-42.
The article discusses the ways in which GISs are and can be used in
public health research. It provides numerous recommendations on how to
do so in a manner that will produce maps that accurately reflect what
they are intended to reflect. The article includes a description of
spatial analysis methods. The author notes that GIS has great potential
for identifying vulnerable populations in relation to geographical
access to quality services and treatments.
Noor, A.M., Zurovac, D., Hay, S.I., Ochola, S.A., & Snow, R.W. (2003).
Defining equity in physical access to clinical services using
geographical information systems as part of malaria planning and
monitoring in Kenya. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 8(10),
917-926.
The article reports on findings from a study on physical access to
clinical services and provides in depth information on how researchers
used GISs and spatial analysis to answer their research questions.
Authors conclude that their study demonstrated that spatial data on
population and health service location “can be used within GIS to define
physical access and that this corresponds closely to actual usage of
services for fevers.”
Phillips, R.L., Kinman, E.L., Schnitzer, P.G., Lindbloom, E.J., &
Ewigman, B. (2000). Using geographic information systems to understand
health care access. Archive of Family Medicine, 9, 971-978.
The authors describe a study in which they used a GIS to examine (1)
whether community health care centers, strategically placed in areas
with underserved populations, actually increased accessibility and (2)
the relationships between access to health care centers, poverty, and
political boundaries. The authors conclude that the use of a GIS was
helpful in answering research questions. Census block groups were used
to map locations of study subjects.
Pine, J.C., & Diaz, J.H. (2000). Environmental health screening with
GIS: Creating a community environmental health profile. Environmental
Health, 9-15.
The article describes how GISs can be used to examine relationships
between the public health and the environment as well as for risk
assessments. Authors assert that GISs can be very helpful in this
process.
Renger, R., Cimetta, A., Pettygrove, S., & Rogan, S. (2002). Geographic
information systems (GIS) as an evaluation tool. American Journal of
Evaluation, 23(4), 469-479.
The article describes a study in which a GIS was used to depict change
in a neighborhood revitalization area. The authors provide detailed
instructions on how they did this in the GIS. They demonstrate that it
is possible to represent change over a period of time with a GIS. The
article includes references for a number of data sources and resources.
Ricketts, T.C., Randolph, R., Howard, H.A., Pathman, D., & Carey, T.
(2001). Hospitalization rates as indicators of access to primary care.
Health and Place, 7, 27-38.
The article describes a study that used a GIS and statistical analyses
to examine access to primary care in relation to other variables. The
article is helpful because it provides a detailed description of the
analysis process.
Riner, M.E., Cunningham, C., & Johnson, A. (2004). Public health
education and practice using geographic information system technology.
Public Health Nursing, 2(1), 57-65.
The authors describe past, present, and future roles of GISs in public
health and present a public health situation in which a GIS was used.
One way in which the GIS was used, that could be relevant for prevention
research, is to locate “hot spots” of the target disease in the study
area and update with weekly overlays of new cases to ongoingly identify
areas of need and provide prevention services before the identified
problem gets too large.
Susi, L., Mascarenhas, A.K. (2002). Using a geographical information
system to map the distribution of dentists in Ohio. Journal of the
American Dental Association, 133, 636-642.
The article describes an analysis that used a GIS to examine the
availability of dental care at both county and zip code levels. An
important observation is that the analysis at the zip code level
revealed more disparities than that at the county level.
Telfair, J., Haque, A., Etienne, M., Tang, S., & Strasser, S. (2003).
Rural/urban differences in access to and utilization of services among
people in Alabama with Sickle Cell Disease. Public Health Reports, 118,
27-36.
The article describes a study that used GIS mapping to examine
associations between participants’ geographic location, socioeconomic
factors, and utilization of health care services. Zip codes were used
with a GIS to distinguish urban and rural locations. GIS was also used
to map distance from a participants’ geographic location and closest
medical/health clinic. Regression analysis was used to examine the
relationships between variables.
Yang, G., Vounatsou, P., Zhou, X., Utzinger, J., & Tanner, M. (2005). A
review of geographic information system and remote sensing with
application to the epidemiology and control of schistosomiasis in China.
Acta Tropica, 96, 117-129.
Authors review the ways in which GISs are used (1) to represent
infection risk and transmission and (2) identify and predict risk areas.
The research literature reviewed by the authors consistently
demonstrated the usefulness of GIS technologies to represent risk and
predict transmission. Such technologies could potentially be applied to
substance abuse prevention research in these two ways. The authors warn
that maps generated from population sizes that are too small or too
large can be misleading. They indicate that there are empirical ways to
overcome these problems. The authors also note that disease frequency
and transmission are influenced by multiple factors.
Zenk, S.N., Schulz, A.J., Israel, B.A., James, S.A., Bao, S., & Wilson,
M.L. (2005). Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and
the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit.
Research and Practice, 95(4), 660-666.
The article presents findings from the study described in the title. A
GIS was used to calculate distance between the centers of neighborhoods
and supermarkets. The article provides a detailed description of the
kind of data analyses used to answer study questions.
