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Using GIS to Address Epidemiologic Research Questions

  • Epidemiologic Methods (P Howards, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

GIS provide us with a view of human health that cannot be obtained by other methods. The review considers recent uses of GIS to address epidemiologic questions by taking into account their spatial dimensions, highlighting the most commonly adopted methods and current trends.

Recent Findings

Methods for geocoding individual health data vary by place depending on the databases available and are not always described in sufficient detail. Open and proprietary online geocoding services are becoming more widely used, but they pose issues for health research. Spatial scan statistics have been joined by statistics measuring spatial autocorrelation as key methods for detecting clusters. Numerous studies revealing significant global and local patterns in health conditions are leading to increased interest in methods, such as geographically weighted regression, to explore spatially varying relationships between factors and outcomes. The software packages for clustering and geographically weighted regression analyses are generally available in free downloadable packages. Health research using these methods is now being conducted in every region of the world, but much of this work appears outside mainstream epidemiology journals.

Summary

The spatial data handling capabilities of GIS have made it possible to manage and analyze health data in new ways. Technological change affecting how health researchers acquire and process the digital spatial data required to use GIS to answer epidemiologic questions presents challenges for the future.

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  1. Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, 2006 Hillside Road, Unit 1248, Storrs, CT, 06269-1248, USA

    Ellen K. Cromley

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Correspondence to Ellen K. Cromley.

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Conflict of Interest

In regard to the references on the paper by Tamura et al. [66], Ellen K. Cromley declares that she has worked with Phil Troped and consulted on one of the NIH grants that collected the data for this study, but did not participate in any way in this paper. Kosuke Tamura is now working at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institutes with Tiffany Powell-Wiley [43], which Dr. Cromley was not involved with. Dr. Cromley is working with them to advise Kosuke on a project he is doing with data from the Jackson Heart Study but is not receiving any payment.

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Cromley, E.K. Using GIS to Address Epidemiologic Research Questions. Curr Epidemiol Rep 6, 162–173 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-019-00193-6

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