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Sarah Howell
HSCI 273
October 9, 2015

USING GIS FOR POPULATION HEALTH

1. What is GIS? 4 points

What are three uses of GIS? How might GIS be used in solutions to problems?
GIS stands for geographic information system, and it takes all the data that is collected
and it transfers it onto a map so you can visually see certain areas that are affected
more than others.
Three uses of GIS are to inventory, analyze, and manage many aspects of the world.
Taking the data that is collected and putting it on a map to see certain locations can be
extremely helpful.
GIS can be used in solutions to problems by seeing where certain events are happening
more so more attention can be brought. An example would be to see where more traffic
accidents are occurring by collecting data on tickets and then seeing over time where
the most accidents are occurring. Once it is seen then more traffic signals and stop
signs could be used to help prevent more accidents in the future.
2. Dr. Chetan Tiwari and Using Maps as Public Health Decision Support Tools 4
points
What examples did he use to demonstrate the use of GIS in health decision making?
What are the concerns about the data?

Dr. Tiwari uses cholera, tuberculosis, and HIV outbreaks as examples for use of GIS in
health decision making. He stated that you can gather the data and be able to tell where
the outbreak originated from, therefore making containment easier.
The concerns about the data is the privacy that comes along with health data. Making
sure that all the data is correct and that the data collected can be used and put into the
correct type of map to be useful for others to use.
3. Geographic Information Systems in Public Health - 4 points
Explain three examples listed in this presentation about the use of GIS in public health.
Public health uses GIS to show health trends in certain areas and how they can be
handled. GIS is used as a way to effectively display information to get information
across. In this presentation he uses diabetes and obesity as his main idea. One
example how he uses this is by tracking the diabetes mortality rate in the city of St.
Louis. Another example how he uses GIS is by looking at poverty status and seeing of
that correlates to diabetes. He also uses GIS to look at locations of fast food chains in
the area where diabetes is to see the correlation there.
4. Go to http://www.riversideca.gov/rpd/crstats/default.asp 6 points
a. Look at the crime map. Using Incident Layers make sure the following will appear:
breaking and entering, homicide, robbery, theft (all 3), sexual offense, assault, property
crime, family offense, weapons offense, quality of life (disorder, drugs, liquor). Move the
map so you can see Moreno Valley. Look at the area bounded by I-60 on the north,
Frederick on the west, Eucalyptus on the south, and the Indian on the east. What is the

most frequently occurring issue in this area (see the Incident Layers to understand
the iconsnot everything is crimeATTENTION TO DETAIL)?
The most frequently occurring issue in this area is theft. When I was looking at the
different crimes occurring in the area, theft came up the most times. There were several
icons that I had to click on that showed multiple crimes in that area. When it came to
theft there were different types of theft, including vehicle theft. After looking at all that
data it appeared that theft occurred more times than any other crime.
b. Why is this type of map useful in public and community health? Justify your
answer.
This type of information is useful in public and community health so that we know what
types of programs and services to offer in areas that are being affected with crime more
than others. For example if you know an area that is having more sexual offense crimes
than other areas then you know that there needs to be some sort of program for those
affected in that area. Information on how to protect yourself from assault is another thing
that could be offered. Once you know a certain area is being hit with more sexual
assault crimes then you can set up something that can provide self-defense classes to
people in the community.
5. a. Go to http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?
id=da76de09076b4959ad005e1dc2c48049
Click open below the map to see the household income map. Zoom in on California
and then San Bernardino county by clicking on the map. When the county is outlined a
pop up will show you the income (think about how to state income correctly) for the
county. What is the median household income?

When looking at the median household income for the county it is important to look at all
the areas in that county before deciding what the median income is. When looking at
San Bernardino County there are several different areas with different income amounts.
When the county is outlined is states that the median household income for San
Bernardino County is $53,364.
b. Why is this useful in public health/why do we need to use median household income
when we decide populations at risk or in need of services?? 6 pts
Median household income is important in public health because we need to know what
areas are in the most need for services. If there is an area that is well under the median
household income then there needs to be services there to help the people living there.
They may not have as much access to healthy foods since their income is so low, so
making sure that there is a way they can get that food is important.
6. Using online GIS mapping software 12 points
a. Go to http://www.cnngis.org/ and click on Launch Map Viewer. When the map
viewer comes up you will need to put the ZIP code from your earlier Excel assignment
in and click Find Zip. Then find 2010 Census Tract 06071004202 using the menu. You
will see two other census tracts-- 47 and 4201. One click on the screen will do what is
selected on the left menu. Using Layer List click on the places people could buy food
or go to get prepared food. Use the legend to see those. Select the following types of
locations. After each refresh the map so you can see those locations. Find these:
general grocery, convenience group, fast food/pizza/sandwiches, and WIC vendors.
b. On the lower portion of the map you will see Summarize Data and it shows the
categories of the food locations you chose. For WIC Vendor look to see the address

of the Stater Brothers on Highland. Go to a new browser window and Google that
address so you see the map and zoom in so you can see the street names and layout
of that neighborhood.
c. Go back to the browser window with the ZIP code and census tract map. Take a
screen shot that shows the map of food locations. Now using the Measure tab on the
right side and the Measure function on the left side of the map you will measure the
distance from a location and the Stater Bros grocer. For someone who lived at the
corner of W. 17th St and N. Perris St what is the distance for them to walk to the Stater
Brothers store? Map that along the road using several points along the way to keep the
plotter on the road and take a screen shot. Use Google map in the browser where you
have the address for the grocery and use the street view icon to see what that road
looks like. Why would that be a difficult walk to the store?
The distance to walk from the corner to the Stater Bros is about 0.6 miles. This would
be a difficult walk to the store for several reasons. One reason is that the elevation
changes throughout the walk therefore making it difficult to carry many groceries back
once you get to the store. Another reason this would be a difficult walk is that there
seems to be a lot of traffic walking on the major streets. This could be a potentially
dangerous situation with many cars on the road, someone could easily get hurt by a
speeding car. Also it appears that there are a few areas that do not have a sidewalk,
posing yet another dangerous situation.
d. Using Google street view follow the street down to 14 th and Massachusetts to see
the two grocery stores on that corner. Take a screen shot to use in your presentation.
What are the common ads on both markets?

Both markets advertise that they accept EBT, that they have beer and wine available,
they have ATM machines available and they offer money services such as western
union.
e. Think about the Excel assignment and the diseases you have been investigating.
What are the causes of those diseases from a social standpoint for populations? How
would you make the association between death by ZIP code and the availability of food
in 92411?
The causes for heart disease and diabetes from a social standpoint can be linked
directly to the type of foods that are being consumed. When there is not a wide variety
of stores to purchase healthy foods, people being to purchase what is available for
them, many times not being healthy options.
The association I can make between the death by zip code and the availability of food is
that in the area we looked at is there are not many healthy food options available. This
means that people are buying whatever food is available and close to them. They do not
have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, they are eating processed foods most of the
time. By continuing to eat like this people are more likely to develop diseases that can
cause death.
7. Go to http://www.walkscore.com/ 4 points
a. What is your walk score? My walk score for my neighborhood was 33.
b. Do you think your neighborhood is walkable meaning conducive to walking? I could
walk to certain areas in my neighborhood but overall it is not a good place to be able to
walk around.
c. Give examples to provide specifics to support your argument.

There are several reasons that the area I live in is not very conductive to walking. One
reason is that I live in an area that is not very developed yet. The area that my house is
in is only one small area that has been developed. The rest of the areas surrounding my
house are dark and provide no light for walking in the dark. If I wanted to walk in the
dark I would have to remain only in my small neighborhood is stay in the light. Another
reason that it is not conductive to walking is that there are very few sidewalks available.
Many of the areas only have a very small bike lane, but no sidewalk to be able to walk
on. This makes a dangerous situation if I needed to walk somewhere. Another factor
that would make walking difficult is that there are many hills in the area I live in. It would
make for good exercise but not for everyday if that was the only way I had to get
around.