Applying GIS Methods to Public Health Research at Harvard University

Abstract

The Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) at Harvard University supports research and teaching that relies on geographic information. This includes supporting geographic analysis for public health research at Harvard. This article reviews geographic concepts that apply to public health, pertinent data available in geographic format, and GIS analytical techniques. The work-flow methodology the CGA has developed for conducting research with geographic data will be presented, highlighting successful practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid. Applications of this work flow are illustrated through an in-depth discussion of specific case studies in public health research at the university.

KEYWORDS:

• Health datasets
• workflow
• projects
• geocoding
• collaborative
• webmap

Notes

1. ESRI 2009 International Users Conference Proceedings Web site: http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/health09/docs/monday/constructing_a_geospatial_database_of_united_states_local_health_departments.pdf

2. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts GIS Web site: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/

3. New York GIS Clearinghouse Web site: http://www.nysgis.state.ny.us/gisdata/

4. GeoNames Search Web site: http://geonames.nga.mil/ggmagaz

5. Oak Ridge National Laboratory Web site: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/landscan/

6. Demographic and Health Surveys Web site: http://www.measuredhs.com/

7. U.S. Census Bureau Web site: http://www.census.gov

8. United Kingdom Office for National Statistics Web site: http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/index.html

9. Israel Census of Population and Housing Web site: http://www.cbs.gov.il/mifkad/e-mifk.htm

10. Gridded Population of the World Web site: http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/gpw/

11. United Nations Population Information Network Web site: http://www.un.org/popin/

12. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency History Database of the Global Environment Web site: http://themasites.pbl.nl/en/themasites/hyde/index.html

13. U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base Web site: http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/index.php

14. World Health Organization Data and Statistics Web site: http://www.who.int/research/en

15. Demographic and Health Surveys Web site: http://www.measuredhs.com/

16. UNICEF Childinfo Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women Web site: http://www.childinfo.org

17. UNICEF Childinfo MICS Web site: http://www.childinfo.org/mics.html

18. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

19. Centers for Disease Control Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/maps/gis_data.htm

20. Centers for Disease Control Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System City and County Data Web site: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS-SMART/index.asp

21. Centers for Disease Control WONDER Online Database Web site: http://wonder.cdc.gov

22. Health and Medical Care Archive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Web site: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrWeb/HMCA/index.jsp

23. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Web site: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/survey/survey.shtml

24. Los Angeles County Public Health Assessment Web site: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/HA_DATA.htm

25. The University of North Carolina Population Center China Health and Nutrition Web site: http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/china

26. National Family Health Survey of India Web site: http://www.nfhsindia.org/odata.html

27. U.S. Census Bureau American FactFinder Web site: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en

28. GeoLytics Web site: http://www.geolytics.com

29. Social Explorer Web Site: http://www.socialexplorer.com/pub/home/home.aspx

30. Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Web site: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrWeb/ICPSR/

31. ESRI Community Analyst Web site: http://communityanalyst.esri.com

32. All China Data Center: China Data Online Web site: http://chinadataonline.org/

33. Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs Census of India Web site: http://censusindia.gov.in

34. U.S.G.S. EarthExplorer Web site: http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/NewEarthExplorer/

35. GeoEye GeoFUSE Online Maps Web site: http://geofuse.geoeye.com/maps/Map.aspx

36. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Web site: http://www.fao.org/corp/statistics/en/

37. United States Environmental Protection Agency Envirofacts Web site: http://www.epa.gov/enviro/index.html

38. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Geospatial Data Download Service Web site: http://www.epa.gov/enviro/geo_data.html

39. U.S. EPA EnviroMapper Web site: http://www.epa.gov/emefdata/em4ef.home

40. U.S. Geological Survey Board on Geographic Names, Foreign Names Web site: http://geonames.usgs.gov/foreign/index.html

41. U.S. Geological Survey Board on Geographic Names, Domestic Names Web site: http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/index.html

42. GeoNames Forum Web site: http://forum.geonames.org/gforum/posts/list/5.page

43. Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard University Web site: http://gis.harvard.edu

44. Best Practical RT: Request Tracker Web site: http://bestpractical.com/rt

45. Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard University Google Maps Tutorial Web site: http://maps.cga.harvard.edu/gmaps_instruction/

46. WorldMap Alpha Web site: http://worldmap.harvard.edu

47. NetApp Web site: http://www.netapp.com/us

48. American Academy of Pediatrics Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity Web site: http://www.aap.org/obesity/families.html?technology=1

49. National Institute of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Project Information Web site: http://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=7962059&icde=7202284

50. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts GIS Web site: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/

51. World Health Organization Safe Surgery Saves Lives Web site: http://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/en