Training on GIS in Health

About the Program

Geographical information system (GIS) is a collection of hardware software, and procedures to collect, manage, retrieve, manipulate, analyze and display spatial data. This training program will equip participants with skills and knowledge on how to apply GIS in public health and epidemiological research. They will learn how to work with spatial and non-spatial data, how to visualize it and map it. Participants will also be equipped with skill and tools for assessing Most at Risk Populations (MARPS) exposure to a range of environmental risks, and methodologies for spatial health risk assessment studies.

By the end of this training, the participants will be able to understand about:

1. Appreciate the role of geographic data and tools  for health decision makers
2. Communicate with technical specialists to develop program-specific geographic products
3. Investigate spatial patterns of health risks and disease rates
4. Work with and integrate spatial and non-spatial data
5. Undertake spatial analysis of environment and health data

Target Audience

• Epidemiologists
• Risk assessors
• Quantitative health geographers
• M & E Experts
• Public Health Officers
• Program Managers

Training Period

• Classroom: 5 Days
• Online: 7 Days

Modules

Module I:Introduction

• Dr. John Snow example
• Mapping and evidence based decision
• National spatial data infrastructure
• Strategic role of geography in health
• Spatial data concepts
• Process for using geographic data and tools

Module 2: Mobile based data collection for health applications

• Using Mobile Phones for GIS data collection
• Importing spatial data to Quantum GIS
• Using data from databases database management

Module 3: GIS in health applications

• GIS concepts
• Geo Data sources for HIV/AIDS and other health related issues
• Spatial data concepts
• capabilities of GIS
• GIS for health applications
• QGIS interface and map basics

Module 4: Working with tabular data

• Create new health-care map layers using internal and local data
• Spatially join and aggregate point data to create choropleth maps
• Working with spreadsheets data in GIS
• Building and coding the new variables

Module 5: GIS analysis and mapping techniques

• Prepare incidence and prevalence maps
• Investigate spatial patterns of uninsured and poor populations
• Import and project map layers for a local analysis
• Project maps for health-data analysis at different geographic scales
• Adding feature to GIS data
• Reducing GIS data from large coverage to an area of interest
• Techniques of overlying GIS data
• Extracting subsets of GIS data for mapping

Module 6: Designing maps for a health study

• Design and build numeric scales for mapping attributes
• Symbolize numeric scales for polygons using color ramps
• Symbolize numeric scales for points using size-graduated point markers
• Map the relationship of two variables
• Build professional map’ layouts for presentations and reports
• GIS mapping of most at risk populations (MARPS)
• GIS Mapping of health facilities and health resources

Module 7: Case study: Studying disease outbreaks

Delivery Method

This program is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group work and case studies. Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.

CERTIFICATION

Upon successful completion of the training, participants will be awarded a certificate of course completion