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Geographic information systems (GISs) and geographic information science (GIScience) combine computer-mapping capabilities with additional database management and data analysis tools. Commercial GIS systems are very powerful and have touched many applications and industries, including environmental science, urban planning, agricultural applications, and others. Public health is another focus area that has made increasing use of GIS techniques. A strict definition of public health is difficult to pin down, as it is used in different ways by different groups. In general, public health differs from personal health in that it is (1) focused on the health of populations rather than of individuals, (2) focused more on prevention than on treatment, and (3) operates in a mainly governmental (rather than private) context.〔O’Carroll, P.W. (2003). Introduction to public health informatics. In P.W. O’Carroll, Y.A. Yasnoff, M.E. Ward, L.H. Ripp, and E.L. Martin (Ed.), Public Health Informatics (pp. 1–15). New York, NY: Springer.〕 These efforts fall naturally within the domain of problems requiring use of spatial analysis as part of the solution, and GIS and other spatial analysis tools are therefore recognized as providing potentially transformational capabilities for public health efforts. This article presents some history of use of geographic information and geographic information systems in public health application areas, provides some examples showing the utilization of GIS techniques in solving specific public health problems, and finally addresses several potential issues arising from increased use of these GIS techniques in the public health arena. == History == Public health efforts have been based on analysis and use of spatial data for many years. Dr. John Snow (physician), often credited as the father of epidemiology, is arguably the most famous of those examples.〔Lumpkin, J.R. (2003). History and significance of information systems and public health. In P.W. O’Carroll, Y.A. Yasnoff, M.E. Ward, L.H. Ripp, and E.L. Martin (Ed.), Public Health Informatics (pp. 16–38). New York, NY: Springer.〕 Dr. Snow used a hand-drawn map to analyze the geographic locations of deaths related to cholera in London in the mid-1850s. His map, which superimposed the locations of cholera deaths with those of public water supplies, pinpointed the Broad Street pump as the most likely source of the cholera outbreak. Removal of the pump handle led to a rapid decline in the incidence of cholera, helping the medical community to eventually conclude that cholera was a water-borne disease. Dr. Snow's work provides an indication of how a GIS could benefit public health investigations and other research. He continued to analyze his data, eventually showing that the incidence rate of cholera was also related to local elevation as well as soil type and alkalinity. Low-lying areas, particularly those with poorly draining soil, were found to have higher incidence rates for cholera, which Dr. Snow attributed to the pools of water that tended to collect there, again showing evidence that cholera was in fact a water-borne disease (rather than one borne by 'miasma' as was commonly believed at the time.〔Hanchette, C.L. (2003). Geographic Information Systems. In P.W. O’Carroll, Y.A. Yasnoff, M.E. Ward, L.H. Ripp, and E.L. Martin (Ed.), Public Health Informatics (pp. 431–466). New York, NY: Springer.〕 This is an early example of what has come to be known as disease diffusion mapping, an area of study based on the idea that a disease starts from some source or central point and then spreads throughout the local area according to patterns and conditions there. This is another area of research where the capabilities of a GIS have been shown to be of help to practitioners. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「GIS and public health」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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