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PubMedDate not supplied

[Usefulness of the geographic information system (GIS) in the identification of contributing factors to lead blood concentrations in a population of Venezuelan children].

OBJECTIVE: To identify environmental factors that contribute to blood lead levels (BPb) in children living in an urban area in Valencia, Venezuela, using a Geographical Information System (GIS) as an association tool. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An analytical-ecological study was carried out. POPULATION: 60 children. DATA COLLECTED: Demography, potential sources of environmental lead and BPb concentrations. An association was made between environmental variables and BPb, using a buffer analysis. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between BPb in males (11.1+/-3.1 microg/dl) compared to females (9.5+/-2.7 microg/dl). Average BPb of children living within the buffer areas (10.7+/-3.2 microg/dl) was higher than that of the rest of the children (9.9+/-2.5 microg/dl). Children with BPb levels higher than the permissible limit who live in the southern region of the area studied had an average BPb significantly higher than the rest. The GIS enabled the identification of a soldering/welding shop as the nearest source of exposure to the male children's homes. CONCLUSIONS: GIS made it possible to recognize sources of lead exposure in the area and its association with the BPb levels of children that live near such sources. It is suggested to further evaluate additional factors that could influence the risk of lead exposure.

Child↗
PubMed2004

How representative is the population covered by the RCGP spotter practice scheme? Using Geographical Information Systems to assess.

BACKGROUND: The Royal College of General Practitioners Weekly Returns Service (WRS) is a network of sentinel general practices providing weekly data on illnesses diagnosed in general practice across England and Wales. The WRS contributes to the surveillance of infectious disease, most notably influenza. We use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) techniques to establish whether the practice populations of the current WRS are representative of the general population. METHODS: This study compares the practice population with the general population using the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions (DETR) Indices of Deprivation 2000 scores for English wards. RESULTS: Comparisons at the national level reveal that the WRS population is less deprived than the general population. At a supra-regional level the WRS practice population shows the same North-South differences as the national population, but the proportions of patients in the more deprived and least deprived wards are more exaggerated in the WRS population. A supplementary analysis reveals that the WRS has no patients in the most deprived wards of London. CONCLUSION: The differences have implications for the future recruitment of practices to the WRS. Previous studies have demonstrated the effect of socio-economic deprivation on GP consultation rates. To ensure that the consultation rates reported by the WRS will better reflect consulting patterns in the general population the WRS will need to recruit practices with patients in the most deprived areas of the South and less deprived areas in the North of England. This study demonstrates the value of GIS in the establishment of surveillance systems.

Communicable Diseases↗
PubMed2006

Implementing an animated geographic information system to investigate factors associated with nosocomial infections: a novel approach.

BACKGROUND: Two million Americans acquire an infection in the hospital each year, resulting in an estimated 88,000 patient deaths per year. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to describe our initial experience using an animated geographic information system (GIS) to investigate factors associated with nosocomial transmission of resistant organisms. We used a descriptive study at a university-affiliated, county, teaching hospital. We studied all patients and nursing staff on 4 adult, general medicine wards from June through August 2004. RESULTS: We developed and implemented GIS software. GIS-generated animations demonstrated inappropriate patient placement for 19% of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and insufficient time for hand hygiene in 14% (6248) of health care provider-patient contacts. CONCLUSION: Animated GIS can uncover previously hidden factors that contribute to the spread of nosocomial infections. This technology may become a useful adjunct for the prevention of nosocomial transmission of infectious agents.

Computer Graphics↗
PubMed2001

[Surveillance of drinking water supply with a geographic information system: a pilot project of the of the Iogd NRM and the Hoxter district].

Drinking water surveillance includes the use of spatial data. A geographic information system (GIS) is a practicable tool for work with spatial data in the health sector as well. Co-operation between the Institute of Public Health for North Rhine Westphalia, the local health authority of the Hoexter district and the Institute for Geoinformatics of the University of Muenster started a project testing the use of GIS for drinking water surveillance. A special application was programmed. It includes functions of retrieval and classification of the measured values of drinking water wells, in order to show time trends in a diagram and to visualise the location of the wells and the analysis data in a map. The members of the Public Health Office accepted the method and started using it regularly. In addition, the collaboration between the health authority and other local authorities was strengthened. Several data sets were included in the GIS, such as wells and results of water analysis, water protection areas, land use data, and topographical maps. Basing on to the experiences with this project, the development of a standard application is planned that is supposed to be communicated to all local health authorities in North Rhine Westphalia.

Germany↗
PubMed2005

Lessons learned: geographic information systems and farmworkers in the Lake States.

Agencies serving the estimated 42,000 to 137,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the Lake States (Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota) face distinct challenges, including inadequate access to farmworker data to address their needs. This project developed and evaluated a geographical information system (GIS) database for compiling and displaying existing farmworker data in the Lake States. A three-step study was conducted in the Lake States: (1) a preliminary resource and needs assessment was conducted among agencies serving farmworkers, (2) a GIS product was created using data available from state agencies, and (3) the GIS product was evaluated by an advisory board of qualified occupational health and safety representatives for appropriateness, applications, and ease of use. Agencies participated by sharing their available farmworker data. The GIS product consisted of a CD-ROM with data displayed in a graphic format and downloadable spreadsheet files consolidated by county demographic, crop, housing, and migrant health clinic information. Evaluators of the GIS product found it to be an accessible, unique clearinghouse for farmworker-related data. The GIS product can become a valuable tool for agencies serving farmworkers and those researching farmworker-related issues. Agencies and health professionals require useful and comprehensive databases to track and serve farmworkers, and a multi-agency partnership using GIS technology could provide this capability. Further research is required with improved definitions and resources to apply the GIS product.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
PubMed2002

Using geographical information systems for management of back-pain data.

In the medical world, statistical visualisation has largely been confined to the realm of relatively simple geographical applications. This remains the case, even though hospitals have been collecting spatial data relating to patients. In particular, hospitals have a wealth of back pain information, which includes pain drawings, usually detailing the spatial distribution and type of pain suffered by back-pain patients. Proposes several technological solutions, which permit data within back-pain datasets to be digitally linked to the pain drawings in order to provide methods of computer-based data management and analysis. In particular, proposes the use of geographical information systems (GIS), up till now a tool used mainly in the geographic and cartographic domains, to provide novel and powerful ways of visualising and managing back-pain data. A comparative evaluation of the proposed solutions shows that, although adding complexity and cost, the GIS-based solution is the one most appropriate for visualisation and analysis of back-pain datasets.

Back Pain↗
PubMed2006

[Evaluation of visiting nursing care using geographical information system (GIS) technology].

PURPOSE: Previous evaluation studies of the visiting nursing program explained an average change of the participants' health status, without considering socio-ecological characteristics and their impacts. However, these factors must affect individual health problems and lifestyles. For effective and appropriate community based programs, the Geographical Information System (GIS) can be utilized. GIS is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that happen on earth, and integrates statistical analysis with unique visualization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate visiting nursing care and to advocate the usefulness of planning and evaluating visiting nursing programs using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) with GIS technology. METHODS: One hundred eighty-four elderly participants with cerebrovascular risk factors who lived in 13 areas of one community received visiting nursing care. The data analyzed characteristics of pre-post change and autocorrelation by ESDA using GIS technology. RESULTS: Visiting nursing care showed an improvement in the participants' lifestyle habits, and family management ability and stress level, while the improvements were different depending on the regions. The change of family management ability and stress level correlated with neighborhoods (Morgan's I= 0.1841, 0.1675). CONCLUSIONS: Community health providers need to consider the individual participant's health status as well as socio-ecological factors. Analysis using GIS technology will contribute to the effective monitoring, evaluation and design of a visiting nursing program.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Geographic Information Systems and the Selection of Priority Areas for Control of Tsetse-transmitted Trypanosomiasis in Africa.

In this paper, Tim Robinson describes the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to prioritize areas for tsetse and trypanosomiasis control in Zambia. Digital maps of land tenure, percentage agriculture, stocking rates and relative arable potential are combined within a GIS to identify areas where trypanosomiasis is a direct constraint to agricultural development and where the presence of tsetse prevents access to areas adjacent to those under high pressure from livestock and agriculture. The techniques described in this paper could be applied to a range of livestock diseases in many parts of the world.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

A river water quality model integrated with a web-based geographic information system.

Scientists often use mathematical models to assess river water quality. However, the application of the models in environmental management and risk assessment is quite limited because of the difficulty of preparing input data and interpreting model output. This paper presents a study that links ArcIMS, a Web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) software to ROUT, a national and regional scale river model which evolved from the US Environmental Protection Agency's Water Use Improvement and Impairment Model, to create a WWW-GIS-based river simulation model called GIS-ROUT. GIS-ROUT is used to predict chemical concentrations in perennially flowing rivers throughout the continental United States that receive discharges from more than 10,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The WWTP chemical loadings are calculated from per capita per day disposal of product ingredients and the population served by each plant. Each WWTP, containing data on treatment type and influent and effluent flows, is spatially associated with a specific receiving river segment. Based on user defined treatment-type removal rates for a particular chemical, an effluent concentration for each WWTP is calculated and used as input to the river model. Over 360,000 km of rivers are modeled, incorporating dilution and first order loss of the chemical in each river segment. The integration of spatial data, GIS, the WWW, and modeling in GIS-ROUT makes it possible to organize and analyze data spatially, and view results on interactive maps as well as tables and distribution charts. The integration allows scientists and managers in different locations to coordinate and share their estimations for environmental exposure and risk assessments.

Geographic Information Systems↗
PubMed2005

[Identification of places with potential transmission of dengue fever in Porto Alegre using Geographical Information Systems].

The social-environmental conditions that promote the continuity of Aedes aegypti in urban areas and its capacity for dengue transmission have yet to be determined. The aim of this work was to locate dengue cases and vector presence, then to identify social-environmental factors that characterize these sites, through Geographical Information Systems (GIS), with a view to developing a dengue fever prevention model. The vector was mainly located in south and east areas of the city, with a broad dispersion, while most of the cases were located in the central region of the city. The sectors with cases present characteristics of high income. Otherwise, sectors with vector present a predominance of houses and good sanitation infrastructure. The difference between cases and vector spatial patterns ensured for 2002 an absence of dengue transmission in the city.

Aedes↗
PubMed2001

[Different potentials of a geographic information system for studies in epidemiology: example of animal trypanosomiasis in the Sudan region].

The epidemiology of vector-borne diseases is complex due to variability in the ecology of the different actors involved, i.e., hosts, parasites and vectors. Transmission of animal trypanosomiasis in the West African savannah region is an excellent example of this complexity. Because of the importance of place and time in determining the interface between host and vector, a broad view of the overall environment is necessary to understand the variety of situations that can be encountered in an epidemiological system. Spatial distribution is a key factor for risk evaluation. State-of-the-art geographic information systems (GIS) have provided new insight into this complex epidemiology. GIS is a powerful technology that has been used mainly in map-making. An enormous amount of knowledge can be gained simply by geographical data projection. However GIS also allows juxtaposition of different types of information, creation of new variables, testing of theories and correlations, and generation of predictive models. The purpose of this article is to exemplify the potential applications of GIS using a recent study carried out on animal trypanosomiasis in a cattle-raising area of Burkina Faso.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Role of geographic information system (GIS) in watershed simulation by WinVAST model.

The uncertainty of modeling input will increase the simulation error, and this situation always happens in a model without user-friendly interface. WinVAST model, developed by the University of Virginia in 2003, treats an entire multi-catchment by a tree-view structure. Its extra computer programs can connect geographic information system (GIS). Model users can prepare all the necessary information in ArcGIS. Extracting information from GIS interface can not only decrease the inconvenience of data input, but also lower the uncertainty due to data preparation. The Daiyuku Creek and Qupoliao Creek in the Fei-tsui reservoir watershed in Northern Taiwan provided the setting for the case study reported herein. The required information, including slope, stream length, subbasin area, soil type and land-use condition, for WinVAST model should be prepared in a Microsoft Access database, which is the project file of WinVAST with extension mdb. In ArcGIS interface, when the soil layer, land-use layer, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) map are prepared, all the watershed information can be created as well. This study compared the simulation results from automatically generated input and manual input. The results show that the relative simulation error resulting from the rough process of data input can be around 30% in runoff simulation, and even reach 70% in non-point source pollution (NPSP) simulation. It could conclude that GIS technology is significant for predicting watershed responses by WinVAST model, because it can efficiently reduce the uncertainty induced by input errors.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2002

Assessment of land-use impact on macroinvertebrate communities in the Zwalm River basin (Flanders, Belgium) using multivariate analysis and geographic information systems.

Relationships between land-use and river water quality assessed by means of biological and physical-chemical variables and habitat characteristics were analysed for the Zwalm River basin in Flanders (Belgium). The research focussed on three zones within this river basin, each characterized by different land uses, and consequently, different types of pollution, mainly of diffuse origin. Environmental data have been integrated within a Geographic Information System. Possible relationships between aquatic ecosystem and land-use variables were searched for by means of multivariate analysis.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2005

Rapid assessment of soil erosion in the Rio Lempa Basin, Central America, using the universal soil loss equation and geographic information systems.

Soil erosion is a severe problem for many developing regions that lack adequate infrastructure to combat the problem. The authors established a first-order method for prioritizing areas to be examined and remediated using preexisting data and expert knowledge where data are lacking. The Universal Soil Loss Equation was applied to the Rio Lempa Basin in Central America using geographic information systems and remote sensing technologies, and the estimated erosion rates were compared with sediment delivery ratios. Spatial analysis indicates that agriculture on very steep slopes contributes only a small fraction to the total estimated soil erosion, whereas agriculture on gentle and moderately steep slopes contributes a large fraction of the erosion. Although much of the basin is in El Salvador, the greatest estimated amount of erosion is from Honduras. Data quality and availability were impaired by a lack of coordination among agencies and across countries. Several avenues for improving the authors' methods are described.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2004

Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst inactivation in field soil and its relation to soil characteristics: analyses using the geographic information systems.

The need exists to understand the environmental parameters that affect inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soil under field conditions. The inactivation of C. parvum oocysts placed in the natural environment was studied at a dairy farm in western New York State, USA. Seventy sampling points were arranged in a grid with points 150 m apart using the Geographic Information System. The sampling points were distributed among three distinct areas: woodland, corn field and pasture. Purified oocysts were inoculated into chambers filled with soil from each sampling point, and buried in the surface of each respective sampling point. To compare C. parvum oocyst survival with another organism known to survive environmental stresses, Ascaris suum eggs were also placed in soil contained in chambers and buried at the same sampling points as the oocysts. As controls oocysts and eggs in distilled water were also placed at each sampling point. Oocyst and egg viability, soil pH and percent gravimetric water content were measured at all sampling points at 0, 60 and 120 day sampling periods. Soil organic content was determined for each sampling point. At 120 days after placement, mean viability of C. parvum oocysts was 10% although at a few sampling points, 30% of oocysts were still potentially infective; whereas 90% of A. suum eggs were viable at all sampling points. Statistically significant differences were not observed among the three different sampling areas, and no statistically significant predictors were found by regression analysis. Results exemplified the heterogeneity of soil parameters and oocyst viability across a landscape; such results make predictive models for C. parvum inactivation problematical. The long-term survival of C. parvum oocysts in soil under field conditions, as this study demonstrated, emphasizes their potential as a risk to contaminate surface waters.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1996

The use of a geographical information system (GIS) to evaluate the distribution of tuberculosis in a high-incidence community.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the geographical distribution of tuberculosis in the two Western Cape suburbs with the highest reported incidence of tuberculosis. DESIGN: Descriptive illustrative study. SETTING: Two adjacent Western Cape suburbs covering 2.42 km2 with a population of 34,294 and a reported tuberculosis incidence of > 1,000/100,000. SUBJECTS: All patients notified as having tuberculosis over a 10-year period (1985-1994). INTERVENTIONS: None OUTCOME MEASURE: The geographical distribution of the cases was determined using a geographical information system (GIS) and the National Population Census (1991). RESULTS: One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five of the 5,345 dwelling units (34.3%) housed at least 1 case of tuberculosis during the past decade and in 483 houses 3 or more cases occurred. These cases were distributed unevenly through the community, with the tuberculosis incidence per enumerator subdistrict (ESD) varying from 78 to 3,150/100,000 population. CONCLUSION: In a small area with a high incidence of tuberculosis, the cases are spread unevenly through the community and there are certain houses where tuberculosis occurs repeatedly. This information should be used to direct health services to concentrate on certain high-risk areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Using geographical information systems and spatial microsimulation for the analysis of health inequalities.

The paper presents a spatial microsimulation approach to the analysis of health inequalities. A dynamic spatial microsimulation model of Britain, under development at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, uses data from the censuses of 1971, 1981 and 1991 and the British Household Panel Survey to simulate urban and regional populations in Britain. Geographical information systems and spatial microsimulation are used for the analysis of health inequalities in British regions in a 30 year simulation. The interdependencies between socio-economic characteristics and health variables such as limiting long-term illness are discussed. One of the innovative features of the model is the estimation of variables such as household income at the small area level, which can then be used to classify individuals. The health situation of different simulated individuals in different areas is investigated and the role of socio-economic characteristics in determining health is evaluated.

Adult↗