Applications of geospatial analysis techniques for public health

Abstract

Geospatial analysis is a generic term describing several technologies or methods of computational analysis using the Earth as a living laboratory. These methods can be implemented to assess risk and study preventative mitigation practices for Public Health. Through the incorporation Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing tools, data collection can be conducted at a larger scale, more frequent, and less expensive that traditional in situ methods. These techniques can be extrapolated to be used to study a variety of topics. Application of these tools and techniques were demonstrated through Public Health research. Although it is understand resolution, or scale, of a research project can impact a study’s results; further research is needed to understand the extent of the result’s bias. Extreme heat vulnerability analysis was studied to validate previously identified socioeconomic and environmental variables influential for mitigation studies, and how the variability of resolution impacts the results of the methodology. Heat was also investigated for the implication of spatial and temporal resolution, or aggregation, influence on results. Methods studying the physical and socioeconomic environments of Dengue Fever outbreaks were also studied to identify patters of vector emergence.