The idea of ‘place’ as a central component of public
health analysis is not new. Its history dates
back to 1854, when Dr. John Snow plotted cholera deaths on a map of the Soho
district in
For those that have taken steps to implement geomatics[1] programs
within their organizations the three most significant challenges they have to
deal with are lack of awareness at all levels, issues with data (e.g.
sensitivity, availability, quality, currency), and cost. An additional challenge is that many
organizations do not have the capacity in terms of trained resources or
technology support to efficiently absorb geomatics applications into the
organization.
It is recognized throughout the public health geomatics
community that in order for geospatial analysis in decision making to move
beyond its nascent state there is a need to:
· build awareness of the business benefits within the executive levels of public health organizations;
· provide support to managers in implementing geomatics within their business processes; and
· educate public health practitioners in the use of geospatial information for operational decision making.
GeoConnections sponsored this
project as a means to provide interested parties with some direction in
addressing these needs and challenges.
GeoConnections
was established to foster the creation of the Canadian Geospatial Data
Infrastructure (CGDI) to enable online access and sharing of geographic information
and services from authoritative and comprehensive sources of Canadian
geospatial information to support decision-making. As a programme, GeoConnections selected
public health as a priority sector to support due to the significance of health
and well being to Canadians, the potential for geomatics to improve the
efficiency of public health services and interaction between health
jurisdictions across the country, and the spatial components within most health
data sets lend themselves to geospatial analysis and as a means of associating
with other types of related data.
The objective of this document is to provide readers
with an interest in public health geomatics with some insight into how to
address these challenges and needs. It
is targeted towards mid-level public health managers that need, or wish, to
become more familiar with implementing, entrenching, and eventually
institutionalizing the use of geomatics within their organization. Advice is offered in the form
of technical and non-technical resources as well as fundamental information
technology and information management practices thus aimed at improving the
success rate of those interested and/or required to implement geomatics.
Recognizing the breadth of both the audience and
subject matter, this document does not seek to provide a prescriptive approach
to implementing an operational geomatics program as it would not fit most
organizations needs. Rather, the
document presents the reader with sufficient knowledge, advice and links to
relevant resources to allow them to plan for, develop and implement their own
specific geomatics program that meets the business requirements of their
organization.
This project has taken advantage of the experiences,
systems, knowledge and expertise gleaned from GeoConnections’ projects as well
as research into the use of geomatics in the public health sector to address
the stated needs and challenges. The
document covers a large range of topics and provides the following:
·
An overview of geomatics in the public health
sector including the relevance of geomatics to public health matters,
the current status of public health geomatics use in
· Insight into application areas and considerations when applying geomatics in public health, as well as a review of GeoConnections funded projects pertaining to the public health sector including lessons learned and their significance. The objective of this review is to assist public health practitioners appreciate the breadth of geospatial applications and analysis techniques that have been developed and provide the reader with links to resources (people and documents) to further expand their geospatial knowledge and develop a network of support; and
· The challenges and best practice guidance to institutionalizing geomatics in public health organizations. Topics include data requirements, sharing sensitive data, meeting business requirements, development methodologies, the importance of standards, access to support networks and best practices. The objective is to provide managers with guidance and links to resources to assist them in establishing a sustainable geomatics program within their organization.
[1] The science and technology of gathering, analyzing, interpreting, distributing and using geospatial data. Geomatics encompasses a broad range of disciplines including surveying, global positioning systems, mapping, remote sensing and cartography. http://www.geoconnections.org/en/resourcetool/glossary;jsessionid=A4128C7656A61A2467BEC3594F8AFE08.app1#G