Faruque Fazlay S, Lofton Susan P, Doddato Theresa M, Mangum Carl
School of Nursing, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216-4505, USA.
J Community Health Nurs. 2003 Fall;20(3):179-91. doi: 10.1207/S15327655JCHN2003_04.
Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in health sciences is relatively new, but it appears to be expanding faster than any other areas of GIS application. Although health scientists have long been using geographic information conceptually, the current availability of user-friendly GIS tools has caused a rapid endorsement of GIS in community health research. Locations of disease incidence, surrounding environments, health care facilities, geographic boundaries of the communities, and other essential community infrastructures have always been essential components of epidemiological and health care studies. This article provides an example of the effective use of GIS in a community assessment project. The purpose of this project was to survey the households in Hinds County, Mississippi, to assess community health status and the under-utilization of health care services. Ultimately, the assessment will be used to positively influence health outcomes within defined geographic communities. Community assessment was accomplished using extensive face-to-face surveys coupled with GIS technology to optimize the process and to evaluate the results.
地理信息系统（GIS）在健康科学领域的应用相对较新，但它的发展速度似乎比GIS应用的其他任何领域都要快。尽管健康科学家长期以来一直在概念上使用地理信息，但用户友好型GIS工具的当前可用性促使GIS在社区健康研究中迅速得到认可。疾病发病率的位置、周边环境、医疗保健设施、社区的地理边界以及其他重要的社区基础设施一直是流行病学和医疗保健研究的重要组成部分。本文提供了一个在社区评估项目中有效使用GIS的示例。该项目的目的是对密西西比州辛兹县的家庭进行调查，以评估社区健康状况和医疗保健服务利用不足的情况。最终，该评估将用于对特定地理社区内的健康结果产生积极影响。社区评估是通过广泛的面对面调查结合GIS技术来完成的，以优化流程并评估结果。
