SPECIAL TOPIC

Putting Chronic Disease on the Map: Building GIS Capacity in State and Local Health Departments

This figure has examples of applied mapping skills from 3 state health departments:

1. The map of Michigan shows the age-adjusted heart disease death rate by county. Counties that are speckled have a rate above the national average of 225.0 per 100,000 people.
2. The map of Minnesota shows geographic areas within 30-minute and 60-minute drive times to 14 Primary Stroke Centers in Minnesota and 6 in neighboring states; 70% of Minnesota’s population and 16% of Minnesota’s land area are within 60 minutes of one of these centers, but only 58% of its population is within 30 minutes.
3. The map of North Carolina shows the locations of stroke support groups layered over the 2003–2007 stroke hospital discharge rates by county. The map highlights communities with the highest rates and fewest resources. Sources: 2003–2007 Stroke discharge data, North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics; North Carolina Stroke Rehabilitation Programs Directory, July 2009 (12).

Figure. Examples of how state health departments applied their new GIS capacity to priority issues.

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