Implementation of an Internet-based geographic information system: the Florida experience
Meade Grigg1, Bill Alfred, Chris Keller
1Office of Planning, Evaluation and Data Analysis, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, USA.
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice : JPHMP
|February 16, 2006
Summary
Florida CHARTS enhanced its web-based public health data system with geographic information capabilities. This improves community health assessment and planning by addressing data display, confidentiality, and geographic coding challenges.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Informatics
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Health Data Dissemination
Background:
- Web-based systems are increasingly vital for public health information dissemination.
- Florida CHARTS is a web-based data query system.
- Integrating GIS enhances data visualization and analysis capabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe Florida's experience augmenting the Florida CHARTS system with a GIS component.
- To focus on user needs for community health assessment and improvement planning.
- To explore challenges and solutions in displaying and analyzing health data geographically.
Main Methods:
- Augmenting a web-based data query system with GIS functionality.
- Developing methods for data display tailored to community health needs.
- Investigating issues related to small data counts, confidentiality, geographic units, and data coding.
Main Results:
- Established several data display methods for community health assessment.
- Explored the impact of small numbers of events on data display and confidentiality.
- Addressed the selection of appropriate geographic units for analysis.
- Developed techniques for geographically coding public health data.
Conclusions:
- Integrating GIS into web-based public health systems enhances data utility for assessment and planning.
- Addressing challenges like data confidentiality and small numbers is crucial for effective geographic health data dissemination.
- User-driven system development ensures relevance and usability for public health professionals.
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