Using Maps to Monitor At-Risk Geographic Areas of Heart Disease: Tracking Access to Prescription Medication and Mortality Rates

Abstract

Please click here to download the map associated with this article.

This manuscript describes a method of identifying at-risk regions for heart disease morbidity and mortality in the United States using the creative combination of spatial visualization, spatial statistics, and two unique datasets. There are very few health surveillance systems in the United States that monitor the prevalence of major diseases and the geographic location in which they are most highly concentrated. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the world's largest ongoing system of tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the U.S. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010a), is arguably the gold standard of the existing disease surveillance systems currently in the United States, but it is not available at the sub-state level. Although there is a need for improved monitoring of morbidity, scientists must be even more creative in their assessments of medically underserved or deprived areas in regards to a crucial component of treating chronic illness: access to prescription medication. This article describes a methodology by which scientists can assess medically underserved regions with the use of maps in combination with disease-specific data on access to medication and mortality.