This lecture expanded on the methods that are used as well as important considerations in applying GIS to health geography. GIS can be used in spatial epidemiology, modelling and monitoring environmental hazards, modelling health services, and identifying health inequalities.
Spatial epidemiology is particularly interested in the spatial pattern and risk of disease at the individual level data and small area level. An example of this is John Snow's map of cholera deaths.
Environmental hazards involve hazard surveillance, exposure surveillance, and outcome surveillance. These can help us understand and even prevent the spreading or continuation of diseases or other hazards.
Modelling the distribution and success of health services is an important method that helps improve current health care systems. For example, the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) is a generic index of accessibility remoteness for all populated places in non-metropolitan Australia. This model helps identify health care accessibility among different groups or geographical locations. With this being said, GIS also allows us to see areas with health inequalities.
We also talked about epidemiology, the study of distribution and determinants of health-related states in populations, and the application to control health problems. The components of spatial epidemiology include disease mapping, cluster detection, spatial exposure assessment, and assessment of the risk of disease.
Learning Significance