A geographic approach to public health gives you the advantage to gain a deeper understanding of your vulnerable communities and population’s health, assets and services.
Monitoring diseases and conditions that can cause serious public health threats is critical to building healthy communities. Tracking the source and spread of disease can be enhanced by adding location analytics and demographics. Location data tells a more complete story that can help communicate patterns and provide insights.
The dashboard on the left is an example of Esri technology tracking disease in action. Johns Hopkins University developed this dashboard to communicate information as the situation around COVID-19 rapidly progressed worldwide, and it became one of the most widely viewed public resources during the pandemic. In it you will find statistics about: total cases, case incidence, vaccinations, deaths and more.
The opioid epidemic constitutes a state of emergency in many places. GIS is a proven technology that benefits law enforcement, health organizations, and human services. Mapping and analyzing their data together clearly shows a crisis situation that requires local governments to look for insights, pinpoint the sources of the problem, and deliver effective response plans and allocation of resources.
The application on the left is Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Services’ Naloxone kit finder application. The tool allows the user to find a free Naloxone kit near to their location in order to support the province’s overdose prevention program.
To deliver programs and services that align with needs, it is critical to understand what your community's makeup is today and what it will be in the future. Data is the currency from which you can analyze how well you are placing health-related services in the paths of people and improving access. GIS allows you to match health and healthcare to population needs, address disparities in accessibility, provide health organizations with key metrics, and inform and educate constituents.
The story map on the left was produced by University of Toronto students as part of Esri Canada’s Geospatial Health Data Visualization Challenge. It explores the association between physical activity and neighbourhood-level factors to promote physical activity to inform city planning efforts and promote a healthy city in Toronto.
Environmental health agencies can use GIS to develop their practices by using insights into various business functions, such as facility assessments, hazardous waste, and policy development. In a sea of change, location plays an important part in the convergence of social and health services with people and communities.
The map on the left was developed by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources to show areas of Nova Scotia where people are more likely to be exposed to radon in indoor air.
The relationship between climate change and health is complex, as is emergency preparedness and resourcing. Investments need to be made to improve monitoring, data analysis, and situational awareness, so that communities can build resiliency to emergency events. GIS can distill complicated relationships into easy-to-understand visual representations to help guide public health and emergency preparedness.
The map on the left was created by the City of Montreal. It represents the urban heat island effect in Montreal, where the central portion of the city is more vulnerable to the urban heat island effect since it has higher population density and less vegetation.
