Abstract

ArcGIS Applications in Public Health in Thailand
Track: Health and Human Services
Authors: Mark Leipnik, Falguni Mukherjee

ArcGIS and related ESRI GIS extensions are being used in the School of Public Health at Mahidol University in Bangkok Thailand for a variety of research projects and in educating a new generation of public health experts and administrators. The work is designed to tackle understanding the spatial issues related to several pressing public health challenges such as prioritizing public health outreach programs spatially among the provinces of Thailand, understanding the spread and containment of the HIV infection, mapping issues related to SARS and Avian Flu and the more regional issue of Dengue Fever. Methods include time series mapping, buffer zone generation and geostatistical methods. Findings include strong spatial relationships between occurrence of disease and proximity to areas of poverty, high population density and local conditions in the environment. This work is useful for other public health organizations.