public health gis news and information may 2001 (no. 40) · esri health & human services gis...

PUBLIC HEALTH GIS NEWS AND INFORMATIONMay 2001 (No 40)

Dedicated to CDCATSDR scientific excellence and advancement in disease control and prevention using GIS

Selected Contents Events Calendar (pp1- 2) News from GIS Users (pp2-10) GISOutreach (pp10-11) Special Reports and GIS Literature (pp11-13) DHHS and FederalUpdate (pp13-17) Website(s) of Interest (pp17-19) Final Thoughts (pp20-23)

I Public Health GIS (and related)Events SPECIAL CDCATSDR GIS LECTURES

May 16 2001 ldquoAddress Coding and OtherGeoreferencing A Primer for EffectiveGeocodingrdquo by Frederick R Broome ChiefGeospatial Research and Standards Staff GeographyDivision US Census Bureau This program will beheld 200-330 PM at the NCHS AuditoriumRM1100 Hyattsville MD Envision is available tooffsite CDCATSDR locations See abstract thisedition Note Cosponsors to the NCHS Cartographyand GIS Guest Lecture Series include CDCrsquosBehavioral and Social Science Working Group(BSSWG) and Statistical Advisory Group (SAG)All NCHS GIS and mapping presentations are opento the public [Contact Editor Public Health GISNews and Information][Note Calendar events are posted as received for a more completelisting see prior two bimonthly reports at NCHS GIS website] GIS Applications to Bioinformatics VirginiaTech University May 16-17 2001 Blacksburg VA[See httpswwwcontedvtedusslgisbio-reghtm]

Second Colloquium on GIScience and Vector-Borne Disease sponsored by the UniversityConsortium for Geographic Information Science(UCGIS) and USGS May 22-24 2001 WarrentonVA [See httpucgis2org]

International Conference on the West Nile VirusNew York Academy of Sciences April 5-7 2001White Plains NY [See httpwwwnyasorg anddescription Section II this report]

Hazardous Materials and WasteConference National Environmental HealthAssociation July 1-3 2001 Atlanta GA [Seewwwnehaorg]

Twenty-First Annual ESRI International UserConference July 9-13 2001 San Diego CA [Seewwwesricomeventsuc]

The First National CDC Prevention Conferenceon Heart Disease and Stroke Building andExpanding Comprehensive State-BasedCardiovascular Health Programs National Centerfor Chronic Disease Prevention and HealthPromotion American Heart Association and theNational Heart Lung and Blood Institute August22ndash24 2001 Atlanta GA [See httpwwwcdcgovnccdphpcvdconferenceindexhtm]

The Third International Conference onOxygenNitrogen Radicals Cell Injury and Disease(ONRCID 2001) September 16-19 2001Morgantown WV [See httpwwwcdcgovnioshcelconfhtml]

2001 Annual Training Conference For AnalystsBy Analysts International Association of CrimeAnalysts (IACA) and the Southern California Crimeamp Intelligence Analysts Association (SCCIA)September 18-21 2001 Long Beach CA [SeehttpwwwIACAnet]

Geographic Information Sciences in PublicHealth-2001 First European Conference September


219-20 2001 Sheffield UK [See httpgissheffieldacuk]

21st Annual Meeting of the North AmericanCartographic Information Society October 3-62001 Portland OR [Contact James Meacham atemail jmeachamoregonuoregonedu]

International Conference on ObjectiveMeasurement Objective Health Care MeasurementFrom Theory to Application October 19-20 2001Chicago IL [See httpwwwraschorgicom_2001]

International Society of Exposure Analysis 2001Conference Exposure Analysis An Integral Part ofDisease Prevention November 4-8 2001Charleston SC [See httpwwwmusceduisea2001]

Federal Committee on Survey Methodology(FCSM) Research Conference November 14-162001 Arlington VA [See httpwwwfcsmgov]

ESRI Health amp Human Services GIS ConferenceNovember 12-14 2001 Washington DC [ContactJennifer Harar at voice (703) 506-9515 Ext 8055or email jhararesricom]

Annual American Water Resources ConferenceNovember 12-15 2001 Albuquerque NM [ContactMichael Campana at voice (505) 277-5249 or emailaquadocunmedu]

Fifth Annual International Crime MappingResearch Conference December 1-4 2001 DallasTX [See website httpwwwojpusdojgovcmrcconferencesCall4Papershtml]

Mobilizing for a SafeUSA A LeadershipConference to Reduce Violence and Injury inAmerica CDC cosponsored December 3-5 2001Atlanta GA [See httpwwwcdcgovsafeusaabstractshtm]

II GIS News (Please communicate directly with colleagues referenced below onany items please note that the use of trade names and commercialsources that may appear in Public Health GIS News and Informationis for identification only and does not imply endorsement by CDC orATSDR])

A General News and Training Opportunities1 From Eric S Jefferis Crime Mapping ResearchCenter National Institute of Justice I am pleased toannounce the release of a new publication by theNIJCMRC In Mapping and Crime Analysis byCommunity Organizations in HartfordConnecticut Tom Rich presents interestingfindings on the effect of placing basic crimemapping and analysis tools directly in the hands ofneighborhood-based organizations This innovativeuse of mapping technology will certainly be ofinterest to many members of this list and we inviteyou to download the report from the CMRC webpage at wwwojpusdojgovcmrc [Contact EricActing Director at email jefferisojpusdojgov]

2 From Susanne Stoiber Institute of MedicineldquoThrough a Kaleidoscope Viewing theContributions of the Behavioral and SocialSciences to Healthrdquo The Barbara and JeromeGrossman Symposium May 23 2001 at TheNational Academy of Sciences 2101 ConstitutionAvenue NW Washington DC Topics includeIntroduction to the subject What we know thetantalizing potential Interventions Why exploitingthis knowledge will be essential to achieving healthimprovements in the 21st century Priorityinvestments necessary to support rapid advances inthe behavioral and social sciences Understandingthe mechanisms through which social and behavioralfactors influence health need for research tools etcInvestments in longitudinal surveys databasesadvanced statistical research and computationtechnology Investments in research andInterventions at the community level and Reactorpanel for research funders [Contact SusanneExecutive Director at email sstoibernasedu]


33 From Richard E Hoskins Washington StateDepartment of Health (2001 Summer Institute forPublic Health Practice Applying GeographicInformation Systems to Define and Solve PublicHealth Problems June 11-15 2001) This coursewill emphasize instruction in how to use GIS in thereal world of public health The emphasis is on howto think with maps and how a public healthpractitioner can think geographically and spatiallyWe will show you how to do some statisticalmodeling simple statistical descriptions of spatialdata as well as make pretty maps With software apublic health practitioner with no specializedtraining can create geographic analysis and effectivemaps Relying primarily on experience and commonsense the major obstacles for public healthpractitioners to use GIS in their everyday work aregone Students are strongly encourage to have hadone or more courses in statistics and epidemiologyas well experience using a statistical softwarepackage such as SAS SPLUS SPSS SYSTATStata or EpiInfo This and other courses offered atthe University of Washington through theNorthwest Center for Public Health Practice areavailable at httphealthlinkswashingtonedunwcphp [Contact Dick at email richardhoskinsdohwagov]

4 From Erwin J Villiger George MasonUniversity (GIS Certificate Program) For the pastcouple of years George Mason University has beenoffering a Professional Certificate in GIS Thisprogram was created by Susan Jampoler ExecutiveDirector the University Consortium for GeographicInformation Science (UCGIS) and PresidentGeoKnowledge Inc It consists of a series of shortcourses covering some of the fundamental issues inGIS as well as an introduction to prominent GISsoftware packages The program emphasizescomprehensive instruction on all aspects of GIStechnology in-depth training in database design anddevelopment integration of GIS into managementinformation systems application of GIS as an

analytical and decision support tool and laboratoryexercises using a variety of commercial GISpackages Susan coordinates the GIS certificateprogram and teaches Introduction to GISComponents of Geographic Information Systemsand some Introduction to ArcView classes A newsequence of courses will be starting in May Moreinformation on the program can be found athttpgisocpegmuedu [Source Erwin at emailevilligeosf1gmuedu]

Editor There are other professionalcertificate programs available For example RutgersUniversity offers a Professional CertificateProgram in Geomatics GEOMATICS is a termused to describe the related fields of GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) Global PositioningSystems (GPS) remote sensing andphotogrammetry In many cases these disciplineshave been treated as separate fields however therelated techniques and applications achieve theirgreatest power when used in combination with oneanother [See httpwwwcrssarutgerseduprofcert]

5 Editor The NYCMap (pronounced nice map)is an interactive database a quilt of aerialphotographs layered with geographic informationall of it painstakingly assembled using complexalgorithms and simple shoe leather It spans almost35 miles-183421006 feet actually- but is accurateto within 12 inches At the moment impressive as itis the NYCMap is more a framework than anythingelse a composite photograph of the entire cityaligned with a precisely corresponding map ofstreets alleys driveways curbs tracks viaducts andrunways buildings bridges tunnels towers piersantennas subway entrances emergency exits andventilation grates cemeteries parks beaches andwetlands water bodies and topographic contoursOn this framework can be superimposed as manylayers of information as there are sources ofgeographic data water mains sewers andunderground utilities census tracts tax lotsproperty and ownership records even water depth


4based on bathymetric measurements by the ArmyCorps of Engineers

From a menu on screen viewers can choosewhich layers they want to see separately orsuperimposed Some layers will be confidentialhowever You dont want to let everybody know thelocation of all the valves for gas mains Mr DobrinCommissioner of the New York City Department ofInformation Technology and Telecommunicationssaid That includes potential terrorists Nonethelesshe said the idea is to open the NYCMap to wideuse Its important that the data be made available tobusinesses and residents Mr Dobrin said As webuild out the functions with your browser aloneyoull be able to analyze property values and censusdata Government is something youll do at home orfrom your business Itrsquos use will be free to thepublic

Hunter College part of the City University ofNew York is involved in the creation andmaintenance of the NYCMap through its Center forthe Analysis and Research of Spatial Informationdirected by Dr Sean C Ahearn [Source Excerptedfrom ldquoHey New York Nice Map Care to Give It aTryrdquo by David W Dunlap February 15 2001 seehttpwwwnytimescom20010215nyregion15NYCEhtml]

6 From Rachel Boba Police Foundation I wouldlike to announce the posting of another report oncrime analysis mapping from the Police FoundationsCrime Mapping Laboratory (CML) The CMLthrough funding from the Office of CommunityOriented Policing Services (COPS) has developed areport entitled Manual of Crime Analysis MapProduction Through discussion andcomprehensive examples this manual providesguidelines for introductory-level crime analysismapping for use in a law enforcement environmentTo produce accurate and effective crime maps thereare three initial factors to consider (1) the purposeof the map (2) the audience of the map and (3) thetypes of data to include in the map Theseconsiderations often dictate the type of map that willbe used and the method of presentation This manualbegins with a brief examination of these initialfactors follows with a discussion of the types ofmaps and design elements and concludes with fivecomprehensive practical examples that illustrate theprocess of crime analysis mapping This report isavailable in PDF format on the COPS Web site athttpwwwusdojgovcopscp_resourcespubs_prods45htm (sixth report down) [Contact RachelDirector Crime Mapping Laboratory at emailrbobapolicefoundationorg]

B Department of Health and Human ServicesAgency for Health Care Research and Quality

7 The International Conference on ObjectiveMeasurement Focus on Health Care will behosted by the Agency for Healthcare Research andQuality (AHRQ) the Department of VeteransAffairs (VA) Health Services Research andDevelopment Service the Institute for ObjectiveMeasurement (IOM) and the University of Illinoisat Chicago (UIC) on October 19-20 2001 One ofthe main conference goals is to provide educationalopportunities to maintain and increase theknowledge and skills of measurement professionalsand health care practitioners as technology advances[See Announcements Section I]


5Agency for Toxic Substances

and Disease Registry 8 The Winter 2001 edition of ATSDRrsquos newsletterHazardous Substances amp Public Health is devotedto ATSDRrsquos Nationwide Environmental HealthNursing Initiative a project begun seven years agoand designed to increase the competencies of nursesin the area of environmental nursing and health Avariety of activities have evolved from this nationalinitiative including the Howard University(Washington DC) Environmental Health andNursing curriculum a nursing listserv and a PublicHealth Training Network Satellite Broadcast thispast summer (ldquoEnvironmental Health A NursingOpportunityrdquo) The broadcast may be viewed onlineat httpwwwcdcgovphtnenvhealthnursinghtmor obtained as a videotape from email ATSDR-nursecdcgov [For more details about theMississippi Delta Project a partnership betweenATSDR The Howard University College of Nursingand the Minority Health Professions Foundation seeSection IIC this edition]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 9 International Conference on the West NileVirus April 5-7 2001 White Plains New York [aNew York Academy of Sciences conference co-sponsored with the New York State Department ofHealth New York City Department of Health andCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)]This conference was designed to review and updatethe state of knowledge on arboviruses in general andthe West Nile Virus in particular The conferenceprovided individuals and agencies working on thedetection surveillance control treatmentmanagement and other aspects of the WNV anopportunity to discuss their findings from theSummer of 2000 and earlier The meetingrsquos primarygoal was to enhance understanding of the problemsassociated with WNV and develop more effectiveand better-coordinated efforts to address futureconcerns Session themes included historicaloverview epidemiology distribution and spread of

the northeastern US outbreak 1999 and 2000surveillance mechanisms what are we looking forand how do we find it Human and veterinarypathology viral and vector biology Paneldiscussions on laboratory testing and interventionsand strategies for dealing with WNV in 2001 andother topics [See httpwwwnyasorg]

10 ldquoUsing PRIZM Lifestyle GeodemographicSegmentation to Profile Low Fruit and VegetableConsumption in California was held May 22001 sponsored by the Division of Nutrition andPhysical Activity NCCDPHP Based in San DiegoCalifornia Claritas Inc is a worldwide provider ofprecision marketing solutions developed in partthrough intricate customer segmentation systems andother such marketing tools Through contractualagreements CDC collaborates with Claritas Inc indeveloping profiles of various target audiences usingcensus demographics and lifestyle behavioral dataThese profiles are used in conjunction withsyndicated media and consumer surveys todetermine the best ways to reach target audiencesAfter an overview of the PRIZM segmentationsystem and description of its lifestyle clustersClaritas presented findings from a recentlycompleted PRIZM Target Analysis profiling lowfruit and vegetable consumption groups in Californiausing state BRFSS data Additional examples ofhow the target segments have previously been usedat CDC were presented with particular emphasis onthe risk areas of poor nutrition and physicalinactivity [For more information contact BillPollard at email bdp4cdcgov]

11 CDC and Emory Universitys Rollins School ofPublic Health will co-sponsor a courseIntroduction to Public Health SurveillanceJune 18-22 2001 in Atlanta GA The course isdesigned for state and local public healthprofessionals The course will provide practicingpublic health professionals with the theoretical andpractical tools necessary to design implement and


6evaluate effective surveillance programs Topicsinclude overview and history of surveillancesystems planning considerations sources andcollection of data analysis interpretation andcommunication of data surveillance systemstechnology ethics and legalities state and localconcerns and future considerations There is atuition charge Deadline for application is May 42001

12 GIS speaker sought for annual AssessmentInitiativeNAPHSIS Leadership Institute JointConference Sept 12-14 in Minneapolis MN Ifyou have experience in use of GIS to support publichealth surveillanceHealthy People 2010 activities atthe state level and broad knowledge of practicallow-cost GIS resources currently available to statehealth departments please consider sharing yourexpertise at our conference The general audiencewill consist of state NAPHSIS membersepidemiologists and other state health departmentstaff involved in public health assessment datacollection analysis and reporting We are mostinterested in a presentation highlighting 3-4 specificlow-costeasy-access GIS resources useful for statehealth departments in a public health surveillancecapacity Sharing examples of ways in which stateshave successfully used these systems is also highlydesirable [Anyone interested in potentially being apresenter may contact Pat Schumacher CDCrsquosEpidemiology Program Office at voice (770) 488-8375 or email prs5cdcgov]

13 The Third International Conference onOxygenNitrogen Radicals Cell Injury andDisease September 16-19 2001 Morgantown WV(sponsored by Centers for Disease Control andPreventionNational Institute for OccupationalSafety and Health West Virginia University Schoolof MedicineOffice of Continuing MedicalEducation West Virginia University School ofMedicineDepartment of PathologyResearch andGraduate Studies Department of Labor

Occupational Safety amp Health Administration andthe US Environmental Protection Agency) Thefirst conference in this series was held inMorgantown in 1993 and the second was held inDurham North Carolina in 1997 The thirdconference in 2001 promises to expand on thesuccess of those past meetings allowing scientistsand clinicians to interact and exchange the mostrecent information on new and emerging advancesconcerning mechanisms of disease development andits prevention Invited speakers will provide criticaldiscussion and debate concerning state-of-the-artapproaches and current hypotheses for the role ofoxidative stress in disease initiation and progressionOral and poster presentations in seven categorieswill allow debate and discussions in many aspects ofcurrent research Topics covered include Alzheimersdisease atherosclerosis diabetes disorders of theeye infectious diseases myocardial diseasesneoplasia neuro-muscular disorders nutritionaldisorders Parkinsons disease pulmonary disordersrheumatoid arthritis and skin disorders Proceedingsof the conference will be published inEnvironmental Health Perspectives [See httpwwwcdcgovnioshcelconfahtml]

14 CDC and Emory Universitys Rollins School ofPublic Health will co-sponsor the InternationalCourse in Applied Epidemiology September 24-October 19 2001 in Atlanta GA This basic coursein epidemiology is directed at public healthprofessionals from countries other than the UnitedStates Course content includes presentations anddiscussions of epidemiologic principles basicstatistical analysis public health surveillance fieldinvestigations surveys and sampling anddiscussions of the epidemiologic aspects of currentmajor public health problems in international healthIncluded are small group discussions ofepidemiologic case exercises based on fieldinvestigations Participants are encouraged to give ashort presentation reviewing some epidemiologicdata from their own country Computer training


7using Epi Info 2000 (Windowsregreg version) asoftware program developed at CDC and the WorldHealth Organization for epidemiologists is included[See httpwwwsphemoryeduEPICOURSES ore-mail pvalerisphemoryedu]

15 From Iris Shimizu NCHS Now posted on theWashington Statistical Society (WSS) MethodologySection web pages is the October 2000 tutorialData Presentation-A Guide to Good Graphicsand Tables by Marianne W Zawitz Bureau ofJustice Statistics Available for downloading are herslides and handouts as follows slide presentation ongraphics entitled Data Presentation A Guide ToGood Graphics handout entitled Good GraphicsSimplicity of Design and Complexity of Data slidepresentation on tables entitled Data Presentation AGuide To Good Tables and handout entitled GoodTables Numbers Have Architecture [SeeMethodology Section at httpwwwsciencegmuedu~wssmethodsindexhtml]

16 From Alvan Zarate NCHS Last week theGovernment Accounting Office (GAO) issued areport that has received a good deal of attention Anumber of NCHS staff contributed to itsdevelopment The report ldquoRecord Linkage andPrivacy Issues in Federal Research andStatistical Informationrdquo focuses on linkageprojects conducted under federal auspices thatproduce new research or statistical information Itdescribes (1) how record linkage can create newresearch and statistical information (2) why linkageheightens certain privacy issues (3) techniquesaddressing privacy issues and (4) how datastewardship might be enhanced This report shouldprove valuable in bringing together the practices andrestrictions involved in making the best use of theinformation we gather [See the full report at httpwwwgaogovcgi-bingetrptgao-01-126sphttp]

17 Editor The Sixth Workshop on Case Studies ofBayesian Statistics will take place on September 28-

29 2001 at Carnegie Mellon University PittsburghPA The Workshop will feature in-depthpresentations and discussions of substantialapplications of Bayesian statistics to problems inscience and technology and poster presentations ofcontributed papers on applied Bayesian work Inconjunction with the workshop the Department ofStatistics Sixth Morris H DeGroot memorial lecturewill be delivered by Sir David Cox [Seehttplibstatcmuedubayesworkshop2001Bayes01html]

National Institutes of Health 18 From Linda Anderson National CancerInstitute (Round Two of Applications Sought forGeographic-based Research in Cancer Control andEpidemiology) Applications are invited once againthat use the Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the UnitedStates 1950-1994 as a catalyst for research in canceretiology and control Two Program Announcements(PAS) were issued last year that invited investigator-initiated R01 and R03 (small grant) applications andoffered two dates for receipt of applications Thesecond and final opportunity to apply for researchfunding under these PASs is approaching Letters ofintent are due June 14 and applications are due July19 2001

Further epidemiologic research is needed toidentify the reasons for the geographic variation ofspecific cancers including the clustering of areaswith high or low incidence andor mortality rates Inaddition Geographic Information Systems (GIS)provide new tools to explore these patterns and foruse by cancer surveillance and control programsNCI wishes to stimulate research in three areas toencourage researchers to use the Atlas to speed theprocess of scientific discovery and applicationThese areas are (1) epidemiologic research to studydeterminants of the geographic patterns uncoveredby the Atlas (2) use of GIS for cancer research inresponse to the Atlas and (3) methodologic GISresearch needed to accomplish such research TheAtlas is available at httpwwwncinihgovatlas


8For more information refer to the PASs thatappeared in the NIH Guide for Grants and ContractsJuly 14 2000 httpgrantsnihgovgrantsguidepa-filesPAS-00-120html and httpgrantsnihgovgrantsguidepa-filesPAS-00-121html NCI has setaside about $3 million in total costs for the PASscombined for the first year of funding this secondround of applications subject to availability offunds [Contact Burdette (Bud) Erickson JrDivision of Cancer Control and Population Sciences(DCCPS) at email bericksomailnihgov]

19 From Dan Grauman National Cancer InstituteNCI has just released the Cancer Mortality Maps ampGraphs Web site (httpwwwncinihgovatlasplus)which is an enhancement to the Atlas of CancerMortality in the United States 1950-94 Web sitereleased in December 1999 The new site which hasbeen extensively tested for usability is more easilynavigable than its predecessor The data downloadinterface is easily accessible from the sitersquos HomePage Some of the new data available on the siteinclude Rates for blacks at the county level from1970 onward 5-year rates for the time periods 1950-54 through 1990-94 Rates for the 4 age groups 0-

19 20-49 50-74 and 75+ and Boundary files forArcView AtlasPro and MapInfo mapping softwareusers

One of the exciting new features is theinteractive cancer mortality charts and graphscreated for NCI by Corda Technologies of LindonUT (httpwwwcordacom) These charts arecreated ldquoon the flyrdquo over the Web in seconds andcome in the following file formats GIF (GraphicInterchange Format) which can easily be copied andpasted or saved PDF (Portable Document Format)which allows the user to view the document the wayit actually looks and which also has search copypaste and zoom capabilities and SVG (ScalableVector Graphics) which is like PDF but alsoincludes pop-up text boxes within the documentSVG files be viewed by downloading a free SVGviewer from Adobe (httpwwwadobecomsvgviewerinstall)

Another unique feature introducednationally by Corda Technologies on April 16) isthe [D]-Link which makes all the graphs and chartson the site accessible to the visually-impaired andblind through text files which are dynamicallygenerated at the same time that the graphs are andare then read to the visually-impaired user by ascreen reader This feature brings the CancerMortality Maps amp Graphs Web site into compliancewith Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act whichrequires all Federal Web sites to have this capabilityby June 21 2001

The maps available on the current site havealso been greatly enhanced by MapInfo Corporationof Troy NY (httpwwwmapinfocom) The usercan now generate multiple maps for the entire USor a specific region and animate the maps Maps canbe generated using individual scales or a commonscale across all maps The example shown here isuser created for county mortality rates melanoma ofthe skin white females 1950-94 The ldquoAtlas ofCancer Mortality in the United States 1950-94rdquowhich was the centerpiece of the original Web siteis now a link off the Home Page It has been greatlyimproved offering the user more intuitivenavigation and text maps and figures in severalformats Links to related US and international Web


9sites are also available on the site [Contact Dan atemail dan_graumannihgov]

C Historical Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs) and Other Minority Program Activites 20 Mississippi Delta Project Education andPreparation of Nurses (Project Description) TheMississippi Delta Project is a response in part toExecutive Order 128908 (February 11 1994) whichoutlines federal action to address environmentaljustice in minority and low income populationsAmong the areas of the country most threatened byindiscriminate prevalence of environmental hazardsare the 219 counties within the seven statescomprising the Mississippi Delta Region (MDR)Arkansas Illinois Kentucky Louisiana MississippiMissouri and Tennessee an area rich in agriculturalproduction corporate farming petroleum processingand other related industries These counties havedisproportionately high mortality and morbidity ratesfor diseases linked to a variety of excess hazardouschemicals found in the Mississippi Delta TheMinority Health Professions Foundation (MHPF)partnered with the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC) and the Agency for ToxicSubstances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) toaddress concern for the effects of environmentalpollutants on the health of residents of the Delta andthe role that health professionals might play inaddressing these concerns

In 1994 Howard University College ofNursing entered into an agreement with MHPF tospearhead a nursing initiative to increase a focus onenvironmental health with particular attention to theMDR Nursing the largest of the health professionsis well positioned as a primary conduit throughwhich prevention and health promotion messagesand strategies can be conveyed interventions can betargeted surveillance and case finding can beachieved and communities empowered to organizedto address current and potential threats Thecurriculum consists of six modules environmentalhealth of the Mississippi Delta the role of culture

poverty race and economic development onenvironmental health toxicology- major substancesaffecting the data assessing individual family andcommunity responses to toxic substancesenvironmental justice and community perspectives-organization empowerment partnering andeducation [Sources Howard University Division ofNursing at httpwwwnursinghowardedu andHazardous Substances amp Public Health Vol 11No 1 Winter 2001 at httpatsdr1atsdrcdcgovHEChsphhomehtml] 21 From Ronald Abeles NIH Researchersconducting behavioral and social sciences researchoften have questions about the applicability of theirresearch to the Federal regulations protecting humansubjects (research participants) Basic questions ariseincluding even Am I conducting research thatinvolves human subjects This document addressesmany issues including The definition of humansubjects What you need to do to comply withFederal requirements if your research involveshuman subjects The role of your InstitutionalReview Board (IRB) and the types of review itconducts How to decide if your research falls intoan exemption category and does not require IRBapproval Informed consent requirements Privacyand confidentiality including applying for acertificate of confidentiality Key points whenapplying for federal funding and Additionalresources The document is posted athttpobssrodnihgovIRBprotecthtm [ContactRon Office of the Director at email AbelesRODNIHGOV]

D Other Related Agency or Business GIS News22 From Mark E Reichardt Open GISConsortium Inc (OGC Seeks Input forGeographic Web Services Testbeds) The OpenGIS Consortium Inc (OGC) announces the releaseof a Request for Technology (RFT) for a major WebServices Initiative The RFT is available on the OGCwebsite at wwwopengisorg This set of six planned


10activities will extend OpenGIS standards enablingfreer access to web services that process geographicinformation The Web Services Initiative is part ofOGCs Interoperability Program a globalcollaborative hands-on engineering and testingprogram that delivers proven candidatespecifications into OGCs OpenGIS SpecificationDevelopment Program In OGCs InteroperabilityInitiatives international teams of technologyproviders work together to solve specificgeoprocessing interoperability problems posed bythe Initiatives sponsors The Web Services Initiativewill build on the results of previous OGC testbedsand pilot projects [Contact Mark Director ofMarketing and Public Sector Programs at emailmreichardtopengisorg]

23 From ESRI Redlands CA ESRI is pleased toannounce that ArcView 81 is now shippingArcView 81 is the most significant release in thehistory of ArcView software Using feedback andrequests from users ESRI has built ArcView 81with a host of improvements including on-the-flyprojection improved annotation management andexceptional map production tools Visit the ArcView81 page at httpwwwesricomsoftwarearcgisarcviewindexhtml For more information includingnew features licensing options systemrequirements and frequently asked questions seehttpwwwesricomextensions

24 Space Imagings IKONOS Satellite is ImagingEntire Country of Jamaica Space Imaging hassigned an agreement with the government ofJamaica to take 1-meter high resolution satelliteimages of the entire country The satellite imagerywould be used by all of Jamaicas land-related andmapping agencies The project which is worth morethan a million dollars will be the first time an entirecountry has been commercially imaged with 1-metersatellite imagery Shown here is the Montego Bayimage According to the Jamaican government thelast color aerial images assembled for the entire

4411 square mile island which is slightly smallerthan Connecticut was in 1991 The lastcomprehensive maps were made 20 years ago Nowby using current satellite imagery governmentagencies will join together to assemble informationfor many applications such as urban and cadastralmapping environment transmission systems designtelecommunications farming housing mining realestate public safety emergency response andpopulationdemographic assessment The projectincludes the delivery of 1-meter resolution precision

pan-sharpened as well as 4-meter multi-spectralimagery for the entire country [SeehttpnewswirespaceimagingcomimagesfeaturesJamaicamontego_bayjpg]

III GIS Outreach[Editor All requests for Public Health GIS User Group assistanceare welcomed readers are encouraged to respond directly tocolleagues] From Mark Schneider Kentucky InjuryPrevention and Research Center University ofKentucky Are any Public Health GIS Users awareof any websites that map traffic incidences withgeocoding [Contact Mark Director of Technologyat email mark1popukyedu]


11 From Tom Bryant Duval County Public HealthDepartment FL I will be developing a data centerfor the Duval County Public Health Department inthe upcoming months I am searching for sites andinfo to assist me in this endeavor Additionally canyou recommend a good comprehensive GIS trainingcourse for me I have a rudimentary understanding ofGIS with a background in research programevaluation statistics and database development I donot know the GIS software packages well My healthdepartment uses ArcView Also is there othertraining or books you would recommend [ContactTom at email Thomas_Bryantdohstateflus]

From Rich Ann Roche Texas State Departmentof Health Im in the midst of a potentialreorganization of our GIS unit Ive been asked ifother state health departments have centralized GISunits where on the department organizational chartare they located-information systems epi etc Iknow people at a couple of other state healthdepartments and can speak to their situation but Idont have time to collect data on more states Doother Public Health GIS Users have information onthis topic Even a guestimate as to how many statehealth departments are using GIS would be helpfulId appreciate any feedback [Contact Rich Ann atemail richannrochetdhstatetxus]

From Linda Balluz CDC I have a request froma person at the National Center for AtmosphericResearch (NCAR) about graphic spatialrepresentations of populations vulnerable to extremeweather For example the CDC has graphics ofmaps from which you can see globally where theareas of malaria risk exist among others Doesanyone know if anything like that exists forpopulations vulnerable to extreme weather events[Contact Lina National Center for EnvironmentalHealth at email lballuzcdcgov]

Technical Talk GML 2 On the Way to Adoption

Open GIS Consortium Inc (OGC) announces thatthe Geography Markup Language (GML) EditingCommittee completed its work on the GML 20Recommendation Paper This action paves the wayfor balloting to make the paper an official OpenGISImplementation Specification The recommendationpaper is available at httpwwwopengisorg GMLa structure for storing and sharing geographic datais an encoding of the OGC Simple Feature geometrymodel using Extensible Markup Language (XML)Geographic data stored in GML includes both thegeometry (location) and descriptive attributes of mapfeatures GML 20 significantly expands thecapabilities of GML 10 GML 20 is based on XMLSchema and enables the encoding of complexfeatures and feature associations Part of the allure ofGML is that software vendors who choose to supportit will be able to access data from any source thatpublishes data expressed in GML and then managedisplay and use this data as they like OGCrsquos visionis ldquothe complete integration of geospatial data andgeoprocessing resources into mainstreamcomputingrdquo [Contact Mark E Reichardt OpenGIS Consortium Inc at voice (301) 840-1361 oremail mreichardtopengisorg]

IV Public Health and GIS LiteratureEmerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases is indexed in IndexMedicusMedline Current Contents ExerptaMedica and other databases Emerging InfectiousDiseases is part of CDCs plan for combatingemerging infectious diseases one of the main goalsof CDCs plan is to enhance communication ofpublic health information about emerging diseasesso that prevention measures can be implementedwithout delay The online journal is located athttpwwwcdcgovncidodEIDindex htm TheMarch-April 2001 issue of CDCs journalEmerging Infectious Diseases (EID) is nowavailable at website httpwwwcdcgovncidodeidupcominghtm This issue contains proceedings fromthe 4th Decennial International Conference on


12Nosocomial and Healthcare-Associated InfectionsSelected articles include About the FourthDecennial International Conference Nosocomial Mtuberculosis in International Settings Pediatric ViralRespiratory Infections Tuberculosis Control in the21st Century Waterborne Infections in Health-CareSettings Applying Economic Principles to HealthCare Economics of Antimicrobial Resistance Cost-Effective Infection Control Surveillance DataFeedback for Infection Prevention ClinicalMicrobiology in Developing Countries MolecularApproaches to Infectious Diseases Infection ControlThrough Facility Design Managed Health Care andAssociated Infections and Infection PreventionBeyond 2000

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly ReportSelected articles from CDCrsquos Morbidity andMortality Weekly Report (MMWR) [Readers maysubscribe to MMWR and other CDC reportswithout cost at http wwwcdcgovsubscribehtmland access MMWR online at httpwwwcdcgovmmwr]- Surveillance Summaries Vol 50 NumberSS-2- Surveillance for Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm-Related Injuries-United States 1993-1998Appendix Standard Error Tables and Formulas forFatal and Nonfatal Firearm-Related InjuriesRecommendations and Reports Vol 50 No RR-4Prevention and Control of InfluenzaRecommendations of the Advisory Committee onImmunization Practices (ACIP) Vol 50 No 15- 50Years of the Epidemic Intelligence ServiceMortality During a Famine-Gode District EthiopiaJuly 2000 Fatal and Severe Hepatitis AssociatedWith Rifampin and Pyrazinamide for the Treatmentof Latent Tuberculosis Infection-New York andGeorgia 2000 Cluster of Tuberculosis CasesAmong Exotic Dancers and Their Close Contacts-Kansas 1994-2000 Outbreaks of Escherichia coliO157H7 Infections Among Children AssociatedWith Farm Visits-Pennsylvania and Washington2000 Surveillance Summaries Vol 50 No SS-1Malaria Surveillance-United States 1996 Malaria

Surveillance-United States 1997 Vol 50 No 14-Prevalence of Risk Behaviors for HIV InfectionAmong Adults-United States 1997 Human WestNile Virus Surveillance-Connecticut New Jerseyand New York 2000 Progress TowardPoliomyelitis and Dracunculiasis Eradication-Sudan1999-2000 Notice to Readers Revision ofGuidelines for Surveillance Prevention and Controlof West Nile Virus Infection Vol 50 No 13-Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence ofFoodborne Illnesses-Selected Sites United States2000 Occupational and Take-Home Lead PoisoningAssociated With Restoring Chemically StrippedFurniture-California 1998 Notice to ReadersSatellite Broadcast on a Public Health Response toAsthma Notice to Readers Epi Info 2000 A Coursefor Developers of Public Health InformationSystems Vol 50 No 12- Public Health DispatchUpdate Assessment of Risk for MeningococcalDisease Associated With the Hajj 2001 ApparentGlobal Interruption of Wild Poliovirus Type 2Transmission Severe Malnutrition Among YoungChildren-Georgia January 1997-June 1999 Noticeto Readers Publication of Surgeon Generals Reporton Smoking and Health Vol 50 No 11- World TBDay-March 24 2001 Tuberculosis TreatmentInterruptions-Ivanovo Oblast Russian Federation1999 Evaluation of a Directly Observed TherapyShort-Course Strategy for Treating Tuberculosis-Orel Oblast Russian Federation 1999-2000Influenza Activity-United States 2000-01 SeasonNotice to Readers World Water Day-March 222001 Vol 50 No 10- Lyme Disease-United States1999 Notice to Readers Update on the Supply ofTetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids and of Diphtheriaand Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular PertussisVaccine Vol 50 No 9- National Colorectal CancerAwareness Month-March 2001 Trends in Screeningfor Colorectal Cancer-United States 1997 and 1999Physical Activity Trends-United States 1990-1998Vol 50 No 8- Blood and Hair Mercury Levels inYoung Children and Women of Childbearing Age-United States 1999 Progress Toward Poliomyelitis


13Eradication-Afghanistan 1999-2000 Public HealthDispatch Outbreak of Poliomyelitis-DominicanRepublic and Haiti 2000-2001 Notice to ReadersInternational Course in Applied EpidemiologyNotice to Readers Introduction to Public HealthSurveillance Course

V Other Related PresentationsNCHS Cartography

and GIS Guest Lecture SeriesMAY 16 2001 ldquoAddress Coding and OtherGeoreferencing A Primer for EffectiveGeocodingrdquo by Frederick R Broome ChiefGeospatial Research and Standards Staff GeographyDivision US Census Bureau This The programwill be held at the NCHS Auditorium 200-330PM in RM 1100 Hyattsville MD AbstractPerhaps the most important tasks in making anyspatially referenced data useful to users areassociated with geocoding Geocoding is all aboutlocation Typical concerns of public healthdepartments and researchers are Where are thepeople in need of health services Where are theexisting health service facilities Who is in aspecific at risk location or area What is theproximity of cases to potential sources of exposureWhat are the potential health effects of theconstruction of new Interstate highways on theaccess of a community to medical service Theseand many more questions rely on locationinformation for the answer Unfortunately fewdatabases in the health field are constructed to allowfor location-based queries Fewer still provideeffective means to allow for the mining of the datafor epidemiological and other health studies whilemaintaining confidentially

This presentation will discuss how to turnaddresses into coordinates and use them to answerlocation-based questions The presentation will be intwo parts First the general principles of geocodingwill be described and include some readily availabletools for geocoding Then examples of howgeocoded address information can be used will be

demonstrated Emphasis will be on geocoding as ameans to allow the mining of individual datarecords for research studies while maintainingconfidentially Discussion will include cost-benefitconsiderations such as the effect of approximatelocations on a location-based study [Editor Thispresentation will prove invaluable to many PublicHealth GIS Users who want to startup or improveexisting geocoding capabilities Fred Broome is anational experts in this field He is one of thearchitects of TIGER teaches university courses onthe topic and serves as a technical consultant tomany government agencies in developing geocodingstrategies Fred also will devote time following theformal presentation to any geocoding concerns youmay wish to bring to his attention I encourageeveryone involved in GIS activities to join us for thisspecial program]

VI Related Census DHHS FGDC and Other Federal Developments

Update West Nile Activities

Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFrom budget to statistics CDC works daily toimprove the fight against West Nile virus It joinsforces with state and local health departmentsvarious federal agencies and international expertsIn 2000 West Nile virus has been identified in 188WNV-infected birds from 34 counties in fournortheastern states These include 128 birds fromNew York 54 from New Jersey four fromMassachusetts and two from Connecticut WNVpositive pools of mosquitos have also been detectedin New York state and Connecticut This monitoringeffort has provided public health officials an earlywarning and hint of the potential for transmission ofWNV to humans in the surveillance area Thiswarning has allowed careful targeting of preventionand protection efforts to reduce the risk of humaninfection from West Nile virus CDC continues itsefforts to reduce the risk of human WNV infectionCDC works with other federal agencies to support


14local and state health departments as they implementrecommended outbreak prevention and guidanceplans CDC works with national and internationalexperts from many disciplines to combat West NilevirusSummer 2000 Systematically fighting a newthreat (1) To date CDC has awarded 44 states 4cities and the District of Columbia grants totalingnearly $7 million The grants support state and localhealth departments in their efforts to track West Nilevirus and other mosquito borne viruses Grants havebeen extended to states beyond the Eastern seaboardinto the Midwest and across the West coast Thestates include Alabama Arizona ArkansasCalifornia Colorado Connecticut DelawareFlorida Georgia Idaho Illinois Iowa KentuckyLouisiana Maine Maryland MassachusettsMichigan Minnesota Mississippi MissouriNebraska Nevada New Hampshire New JerseyNew Mexico New York North Carolina NorthDakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon PennsylvaniaRhode Island South Carolina South DakotaTennessee Texas Utah Vermont VirginiaWashington Wisconsin and Wyoming The citiesinclude Houston Texas Los Angeles CoCalifornia New York City New York andPhiladelphia Pennsylvania (2) CDC worked withthe New York City health department to identify thefirst human case of West Nile virus in 2000 a 78-year old man from Staten Island New York (3)CDC continues to lead the West Nile viruscoordination committee This committee iscomprised of representatives from the Department ofHealth and Human Services including the CDC andthe National Institutes of Health the Department ofInterior including the US Geological Survey andthe National Park Service the Department ofAgricultures Animal and Plant Health InspectionService and the Environmental Protection Agency(4) CDC provides ongoing leadership throughweekly conference calls with state and local healthdepartments as well as other federal agencies todiscuss monitoring efforts and to share information

on the control and prevention work being conductedagainst West Nile (5) CDC continues to supplytechnical support and control and guidance to thestates A multi-agency team headed by CDCcontinues to analyze information on possible waysWest Nile entered the Western Hemisphere (6)CDC maintains a West Nile conference Web site forpublic health professionals involved in the WestNile prevention and control efforts that givesautomatic access to updated findings across a seriesof scientific disciplines [National guidelines forsurveillance prevention and control of West NilevirusldquoEpidemicEpizootic West Nile Virus in theUnited States Guidelines for SurveillancePrevention and Controlrdquo emphasize thatmonitoring for the West Nile virus should be a highpriority and offer guidance on the timing ofsurveillance based on geographic regions in theUnited States Guidelines are made available athttpwwwcdcgovncidoddvbidarbovirus_pubshtm]Summary Reports to be Produced by CDC and

the National Atlas (U S Geological Survey)A working list of basic summary reports (mapstables and graphs) includes data contained in themaster database of numerator and denominator data(ie data that have been approved and released bythe states) These reports are generated automaticallyeach week Maps are generated by USGSNationalAtlas Project staff and available on the NationalAtlas web site The National Atlas is a U Sgovernment-wide project directed by USGS Furtherinformation is available at httpwwwnationalatlasgovfederalhtml The basic set of dynamic maps andcorresponding graphs and tables are available on theNational Atlas web site by each Friday eveningAdditional maps are available by the followingTuesday evening

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)[The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is an interagencycommittee organized in 1990 under OMB Circular A-16 thatpromotes the coordinated use sharing and dissemination ofgeospatial data on a national basis The FGDC is composed of


15representatives from seventeen Cabinet level and independent federalagencies The FGDC coordinates the development of the NationalSpatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) The NSDI encompasses policiesstandards and procedures for organizations to cooperatively produceand share geographic data The 17 federal agencies that make up theFGDC (pending DHHS membership) are developing the NSDI incooperation with organizations from state local and tribalgovernments the academic community and the private sector Seehttpwwwfgdcgov]Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)

Progress Summary February 2001The FGDC was established in 1990 by OMBCircular A-16 The Circular called for improvedcoordination and collaboration in geographicinformation activities among federal agencies andwith non-federal sectors The revised Circular alsocalled for the eventual development of a ldquonationaldigital spatial information resourcerdquo now known asthe National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) TheFGDC includes members of 17 Federal Departmentsand Executive level Agencies and has establishedstakeholder relationships with national organizationsand over 30 State Geographic Information System(GIS) Councils The FGDC Staff and agency-ledSubcommittees and Working Groups establish andimplement policy strategic guidance and otheractivities to support the development of a NationalSpatial Data Infrastructure and to improvedcoordination of federal activities

While much still remains to be done toachieve the dynamic and robust spatial datainfrastructure that is envisioned much progress hasbeen made in the development and implementationof the NSDI The following is a brief summary ofsome of the progress and accomplishments of theagencies stakeholders and other partners who areworking collaboratively to make current andaccurate geographic information readily available tocontribute locally nationally and globally toeconomic growth environmental quality and socialprogress

Summary of ProgressAccomplishmentsThrough the coordinated activities of the manyparticipants of the FGDC the NSDI is growing andthe critical elements are now in place The NSDI

enables citizens and organizations across the nationto find access share and use geographic data Thisinfrastructure establishes the foundation for GISapplications and many other uses and services

Spatial Data infrastructure The FGDC is aleader in establishing national geographic datadocumentation and content standards that providethe basis for interoperability and efficient datasharing The FGDC established 16 Data Standardsfor use by Federal agencies and has an additional 16standards under development The FGDC metadataand other standards have been adapted by manystates and are the basis for input into internationalstandards activities

The FGDC established a spatial dataClearinghouse which is a distributed electronicnetwork of data repositories connected via theInternet The Clearinghouse is a standards-basedgeospatially-enabled search capability that allowssearches by geographic location and other user-defined queries The NSDI Clearinghouse Networkincludes 238 inter-connected data servers around thenation and the world containing thousands ofdatasets

Most GIS users have a need for similar basicgeographic data to use as a starting point for theirgeographic information activities The FGDC hasadopted a set of 7 specified data layers as the NSDIFramework The need for consistent Framework datais now well-recognized and approximately 20 stateefforts are in progress to develop framework datasets as partnership activities among all levels ofgovernment and non-government organizationsRecently OMB proposed a Geospatial InformationInitiative to further stimulate Framework and otherdata partnerships

Data policies that support greater efficiencydata sharing and improved access and use have beendeveloped and adopted by the FGDC Thesestatements build upon existing law and support theprinciples of full and open access to federalgeographic data


16

Category 4 - CanadianUS Framework

Category 2 - Clearinghouse Integration with Web Mapping

Category 1 - Metadata Implementation Assistance

2001 CAP Proposals

Enabling Communities The FGDC hassponsored a number of programs to buildpartnerships and to enable communities to moreeffectively use geographic information andtechnologies The Cooperative Agreements Program

(CAP) is a competitive grants program thatstimulates community partnership activities toimprove geospatial data sharing and use and tobegin implementing NSDI principles and practicesIn its 7 years of operation this program hasapproved over 300 awards totaling $9 millioninvolving about 1000 organizations across thenation There were 54 proposals received andawarded funds for the period ending March 152001 The attached map includes awards formetadata implementation assistance clearinghouseintegration with web mapping and a CanadianUSframework project Metadata trainer awards are notshown

The NSDI Community DemonstrationProject focused on the use of geographic informationto help communities address issues of concern SixCommunities were selected through a nominationprocess and dealt with issues such as communitygrowth flood hazards crime and environmentalrestoration

The FGDC conducted a study of issues and

alternative methods of financing the NSDI Fundingis identified as a fundamental barrier by manygovernment organizations The study performed bycontract identified many ideas and options forfinancing spatial data collection and use

Federal Agencies OMB Circular A-16identified 12 federal members when FGDC wasformed in 1990 Since that time 5 additionalagencies have joined and several others are possibleadditions in the future

Geospatial data and the NSDI have becomerecognized as foundations for electronicgovernment FGDC has recently been asked to workwith Federal E-Gov initiatives and with the Councilfor Excellence in Government to help ensure thatgovernments take advantage of this opportunity togeospatially enable e-gov

The OMB has increased its managementsupport of actions to coordinate geographicinformation and related spatial data activities TheOMB Information Initiative and the proposedrevision of Circular A-16 to update FGDC roles andFederal agency responsibilities will help secureincreased Federal agency support for NSDIimplementation

Engaging the Non-Federal SectorsImportant national stakeholders include theIntertribal GIS Council (IGC) the National StatesGeographic Information Council (NSGIC) theNational Association of Counties (NACo) theNational League of Cities (NLC) the InternationalCityCounty Managers Association (ICMA) theOpen GIS Consortium (OGC) the UniversityConsortium for Geographic Information Sciences(UCGIS) and over 30 Individual State GISCouncils

A few significant activities include Workwith the Intertribal GIS Council and the SouthwestIndian Polytechnical Institute to sponsor a quarterlybroadcast that focuses on geospatial initiatives andtraining to 32 Tribal colleges Sponsorship of theNational Geodata Forum to provide an opportunityfor addressing issues that cross all sectors The 1999


17Forum initiated the exploration of a new structure tofacilitate participation by all relevant and affectedparties in geospatial data across the nation Thisinitiative is developing a new publicprivatepartnership called the GeoData Alliance FGDC andstakeholder participation in the first CongressionalHearing on GIS held by Congressman Horn in June1999 The FGDC Chair along with participants fromother sectors discussed the value of geospatial dataand the need for enhanced coordination andcollaboration NSGIC and many states and theFGDC cooperatively participate in trainingconferences and in projects to implement NSDIpractices NACo NLC and ICMA established theLocal Leaders in GIS Forum to facilitate cooperationamong local governments as part of the NSDI TheOGC and FGDC have cooperated in establishing anInteroperability Testbed to try out new technologiesand procedures for improved use of data andtechnology An important ongoing activity is theWebMapping Testbed

International Activities The work of theFGDC and the Stakeholders has significant influenceinternationally Interest in international coordinationand collaboration has increased greatly in the past 2-3 years Approximately 40 other nations are eitherdeveloping or planning to develop a spatial datainfrastructure Most are adopting a form of the NSDImodel The FGDC provides leadership to theinternational community and supports the GlobalSpatial Data Infrastructure Steering Committee withSecretariat assistance The FGDC is also a criticalpartner in this past yearrsquos establishment of aPermanent Committee for Spatial DataInfrastructures in the Americas [Source March 132001 FGDC Coordination Group MeetingComplete FGDC Coordination Meeting minutes areavailable at httpwwwfgdcgovfgdccoorwg2001cwgmin_2001html]

Web Site(s) of Interest for this Editionhttpwwwfgdcgovnsdidocscommunications The

NSDI Communications Toolkit This is a set of threeinterrelated briefing materials that describe thepower of geospatial information and technologyThese communication tools have been developedthrough a cooperative partnership between theNational States Geographic Information Council(NSGIC) and the FGDC These materials areintended to assist you in educating managers andpolicy officials about the widespread potential ofspatial data and geospatial technology to assist theirdecision-making processes The tools are designedto help you familiarize officials with a moreeffective way of addressing real world problemsolving in the day-to-day business of governmentthrough the power of geographic information [ Toreceive the complete NSDI CommunicationsToolkit please send your request to National StatesGeographic Information Council 167 W MainStreet Suite 600 Lexington KY 40507-1324 or usevoice (859) 514-9208 or email Brian Doty atbdotyamrincnet]

httphealth-trackorg Health-Track Mapping Thisnew on-line mapping system offers easy access tocombined data on mortality rates for cancers knownor suspected to have environmental causes and toxicchemical releases of known or probable carcinogensThe maps allow the public to review rates of cancerdeaths and the emissions of certain toxic chemicalsin their communities simultaneously There arelimitations to the data and the system is not designedto provide cause and effect evidence Severalelevated cancer concentrations include bladdercancer in the Northeast breast cancer in theNortheast West Coast and Great Lakes regions andnon-Hodgkins lymphoma in the Northeast and GreatLakes regions

httpwwwithacamapsorg IthacaMapsOrg TheCity of Ithaca started developing its GIS mappingeffort in 1990 The Citys base map information isderived from photogrammetrically produced maps(flown in November 1991) as part of a county wide


18partnership The City is providing access to its GISdata via the World Wide Web Anybody with abrowser can view many of the layers of informationon the Citys GIS This is not a series of staticimages Users can zoom into an area they want clickon a building parcel street tree neighborhood orvoting district and get information and pictures

httpwwwscoringsciencecomproductsindexhtmlStone Analytics Scoring Science Building andDeploying an Aggregate Model using ScoringScience An aggregate model is designed to identifygroups based on individual data that is combined oraggregated The Census data contained on theBusiness Analyst CDs has a category called BlockGroups which is a geographical area of between 400and 700 households Block Groups will be used todefine our neighborhoods for building and deployingthe tutorial model This tutorial takes you screen-by-screen through the steps for building and deployingan aggregate model It uses as its example afictitious Texas healthcare agency preparing for thecoming flu season identifying neighborhoods in thestate where a high percentage of residents are likelyto receive a flu shot The agency has detailed flu-shot data for the Dallas area from a surveyperformed earlier in the year This data serves as thebasis for a model of the entire state Additionallythis model will use Census data on the entire state ofTexas that is included on the Business Analystdatabase CDs

httpnationalatlasgovnatlasnatlasstartasp Weagain feature the USGS National Atlas of the UnitedStates to call your attention to the vector-diseasesurveillance data on West Nile Virus and mosquitovectors These CDC surveillance data are postedregularly to the National Atlas and provide a goodsource to visualize spatial change through time Inthe Final Thoughts section this edition thediscussion is dedicated to the vector-borne diseaseinitiative by UCGIS and USGS

httpwwwojpusdojgovcmrcconferencesPapers2000html The Fourth Annual International CrimeMapping Research Conference proceedings are nowavailable for viewing online Pre-ConferencePrimers include Data Scrubbing Mapping forManagers Implementing GIS into a LawEnforcement Agency Hot Spot MethodsQuantitative Crime Analysis PrivacyConfidentiality and Data Display and GettingStarted with ArcView A Hands-on Workshop- PartI General Sessions (selected topics) include SchoolSafety Case Studies Journey to Crime and theGeography of Serial Offenders Census 2000 DataSources Analysis and Applications Evaluating theImpact of GIS Implementations Advanced Hot SpotMethods Interactive Web-Based MappingShowcase Mapping Across Boundaries Multi-Agency Applications Exploring the Role of RemoteSensing in Law Enforcement Crime Patterns inNon-Urban Settings and others

httpwwwschsstatencusSCHShealthstatsatlassyphilishtml Provides an animated time series ofsyphilis in NC The below maps are a staticrepresentation of primary and secondary syphilis inNorth Carolina 1980-1999 The North CarolinaHealth Atlas from which these graphics wereobtained contains maps of North Carolina thatdepict county level health and health-relatedinformation The primary purpose of the Atlas is toprovide a way to interpret visually a broad range ofdata and information about the health of NorthCarolinians Tthe North Carolina Health Atlascurrently includes over fifty maps portraying thestates Leading Causes of Death and Infant Mortality(LCDIM) for the period 1993-1997 and 1994-1998Also included is a set of maps that describes howmuch reduction in the county mortality rates isneeded to meet the national Healthy People 2010Objectives which were published in January 2000


19


20Final thought(s) UCGISUSGS Disease Symposiums

on GIScience and Vector-Borne DiseaseOne of the most important pieces of the emerging gestalt of GIS and public health is the research arena In theJanuary edition (2001 No 38) I spoke about the broad and potentially far reaching spatial data researchactivities of the Digital Government Consortium Now I want to direct your attention to a new researchinitiative that is focused on public health Specifically it is the recently convened symposia on GIScience andVector-Borne Diseases This initiative is cosponsored by the University Consortium for GeographicInformation Science (UCGIS) and the US Geological Survey (USGS)

The first in theseries was heldJanuary 3-52001 in La JollaCA The secondwill conveneM a y 2 2 - 2 4 2 0 0 1 i nWarrenton VAThis is a timelydevelopment forthe public healthcommunity Ith a s a l l t h eingredients forp u s h i n g t h eG I S c i e n c eenvelope beyondi t s c u r r e n tboundaries Thisi n i t i a t i v e i sd i r e c t e d a tbuilding a robustGIS scientificapproach to the

understanding and risks taxonomy measurement modeling and validation of vector- borne diseases onhuman and animal populations That may sound ambitious but the good news is that the first symposium brokeimportant ground in consensus building and defining the playing field It also produced a follow up agendafor filling in the some of the blanks Before reviewing these items Irsquoll begin with some backgroundinformation on the significance to public health of vector-borne diseases

Vector-Borne Disease Background1

What makes this initiative timely is there has been an emergence and resurgence of vector-borne parasiticbacterial and viral diseases beginning in the 1970s It has become especially intensified in the past 20 years


21Although the reasons for the failure of containment and elimination programs are complex and not wellunderstood two factors appear to have played important roles 1) the diversion of financial support andsubsequent loss of public health infrastructure and 2) reliance on quick-fix solutions such as insecticides anddrugs

What we do know is vector-borne diseases need a blood-sucking arthropod vector for transmission to humansHistorically malaria dengue yellow fever plague filariasis louse-borne typhus trypanosomiasisleishmaniasis and other vector-borne diseases were responsible for more human disease and death in the 17ththrough the early 20th centuries than all other causes combined By 1910 other major vector-borne diseasessuch as African sleeping sickness plague Rocky Mountain spotted fever relapsing fever Chagas diseasesandfly fever and louse-borne typhus had all been shown to require a blood-sucking arthropod vector fortransmission to humans However by the 1960s vector-borne diseases were no longer considered majorpublic health problems outside Africa The benefits of vector-borne disease control programs were short-lived

The resurgence of malaria in Asia in the late 1960s and early 1970s provides a dramatic example of howquickly vector-borne disease trends can change Malaria transmitted to humans by anopheline mosquitoesis the most common imported disease in the United States Approximately 1000 suspected malaria cases areimported into the United States each year associated with increased frequency of autochthonous cases since1987 16 incidents of autochthonous malaria have occurred in nearly all parts of the United States In eachincident however transmission was limited to only a few cases

Lyme disease a bacterial tick-borne infection was discovered in the United States in 1975 The disease hascontinued to increase in incidence and geographic distribution since national surveillance was initiated in1982 At that time 497 cases were reported compared with 11700 to 16455 cases each year between 1994and 1997 Approximately 90 of reported Lyme disease cases occur each year in the Northeast (ConnecticutMaryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York Pennsylvania and Rhode Island) upper Midwest(Minnesota and Wisconsin) and Northwest (California)

In late summer 1999 the first domestically acquired human cases of West Nile (WN) encephalitis weredocumented in the US The discovery of virus-infected overwintering mosquitoes during the winter of 1999-2000 predicted renewed virus activity for the following spring and launched early season vector-control anddisease surveillance in New York City and the surrounding areas These surveillance efforts were focused onidentifying and documenting WN virus infections in birds mosquitoes and equines as sentinel animals thatcould predict the occurrence of human disease By the end of the 2000 transmission season WN virus activityhad been identified in a 12 state area from Vermont and New Hampshire in the north to North Carolina in thesouth In 2000 there were 21 humans cases 63 horses 4304 birds (78 species including 1999 data) and 480mosquito pools (14 species) reported with WN virus This annual human case incidence now ranks WN virussecond only to LaCrosse encephalitis virus as the leading cause of reported human arboviral encephalitis inthe US

Reversing the trend of emergentresurgent vector-borne diseases remains a major challenge Vaccinesavailable for only a few diseases (yellow fever Japanese encephalitis tick-borne encephalitis tularemiaplague) are not widely used and vaccine prospects for major vector-borne diseases are not good With the


22exception of malaria few other vector-borne diseases have funding for vaccine research In the next decadevector control will be required to interrupt transmission of most emergentresurgent vector-borne diseasesEnvironmentally safe insecticides and research on alternative approaches (such as biological control) areneeded Integrated prevention strategies must be developed and implemented in endemicenzootic-diseaseareas In addition to economic support for research human resources are needed to develop and implementsustainable prevention programs Adequately trained personnel are lacking in most developing countries asare academic institutions with the programs to train them Policy changes must be made to support publichealth approaches to disease prevention All these factors are needed to rebuild the public health infrastructure

First Disease Symposium on GIScience and Vector-Borne Disease [January 3-5 2001]2

Major issues at the January symposium centered around several axes the first being data Guideline questionsabout data types concerned their type acquisition integration and management For example what are thekinds of data needed and how do they relate to a hierarchy of diseases risks and models Questions on dataacquisition concerned the usefulness of data given confidentiality constraints What would be appropriate orcost-effective sampling strategies and how might one estimate over or under reporting Data integrationquestions concerned the integration of multiple datasets at multiple geometries scales and resolutions Howcan space and time be linked Data management questions included how can data from multiple agenciesbe integrated How can data quality be measured and reported

The issue of models was a second axis Questions involved the science of models such as how can onedevelop spatially explicit epidemiological theories of vector-borne diseases In terms of spatio-temporalmodeling how does one model vectorhost spatiotemporal interactions And what is a useful diseasetaxonomy based on scale environment dynamics transmission vectorhost behavior How can we forecastthe future course of an outbreak The issue of model scale raised the question can scientists agree on amutually acceptable definition of scaleresolutionlevelhierarchy Further what are appropriate scale rangesfor analysis and interpretation In terms of modeling risk what is risk and how can it be measured andmapped What can science say about the possible success of an intervention

The third axis concerned knowledge such as the identification of successful GIScience to vector-bornediseases and effective communication techniques to insure dissemination and replication Questions oncollaboration included how does collaboration arise and how can barriers be minimized How cangeographys position at the interface between the physical natural and social sciences be instituted In termsof training what is the future supply and demand for GIScience skills and what is appropriate training forGIScientists How can practical experience be incorporated into education

Follow up agenda for Second Symposium on GIScience and Vector-Borne Disease [May 21-24 2001]3

The following items outline selected goals for the second symposium They include the need for specificprojects to advance participant knowledge demonstration projects case studies outlined and explained withanalytical techniques applied and outcomes identified in-depth specifics of current research projects andexamples of ongoing projects tutorials with existing software (ie Biomedware) presentations of practicalstudies from entomologist epidemiologist geographer geologist biostatistician presentations of potentialresearch projects hands on collaborative exercises in-depth breakout discussions of conceptual case studies


23using GIS hands on and an experimental data set methodological challenges analysis of sample datasets andothers

New developments will emerge from this initiative I am pleased to report that UCGIS will take a particularlyproactive role and provide a locus for its promotion Recommendations for UCGIS leadership include createand maintain a web site related to GIScience and vector-borne disease coordinate future meetings interfacewith funding agencies re appropriate proposal review for interdisciplinary proposals bring together variousdisciplines and facilitate multi-disciplinary dialogue encourage scientists to work together on specificprojects provide a link between federal academic and other interested scientists advocate federal levelsupport for data infrastructure and vector-borne disease programs develop clearinghouse or metadataprograms to help people find data already available find ways to communicate at state and local levelscoordinate grants to access data quality and prepare draft guidelines for practitioners act as a lobbying groupto support data availability and quality challenge members to come up with appropriate analytical techniquesand visualization tools and others [Editor Special recognition is accorded Suzy Jampoler ExecutiveDirector UCGIS for her excellent leadership of the symposium initiative Contact Suzy at the UniversityConsortium for Geographic Information Science 43351 Spinks Ferry Road Leesburg VA at voice (703) 779-7980 (888) 850-8533 or email execdirucgisorg]

Footnotes1Based on (1) ldquoResurgent Vector-Borne Diseases as a Global Health Problemrdquo by Duane J Gubler Emerging Infectious Diseases 4(3) July-September 1998 and (2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ldquoEpidemicEpizootic West Nile Virus in the United States RevisedGuidelines for Surveillance Prevention and Controlrdquo from a workshop held in Charlotte North Carolina January 31-February 4 2001 April20012See httpwwwucgisorg3See httpwwwucgisorgf2eventshtml for the entire program and symposium notes

Charles M Croner PhD Editor PUBLIC HEALTH GIS NEWS AND INFORMATION Office ofResearch and Methodology National Center for Health Statistics e-mail cmc2cdcgov While this reportis in the public domain the content should not be altered or changed This is the 40th edition

Please join us at NCHS May 16 2001 forthe NCHS Cartography and GIS Guest Lecture ldquoAddress Coding and Other Georeferencing A Primerfor Effective Geocodingrdquo This presentation will be envisioned to CDCATSDR and webcast nationally

Our Web Page is located at httpwwwcdcgovnchsaboutotheractgisgis_homehtm

I Public Health GIS (and related)Events

II GIS News

A General News and Training Opportunities

B Department of Health and Human Services

C Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Other Minority Program Activites

D Other Related Agency or Business GIS News

III GIS Outreach

IV Public Health and GIS Literature

V Other Related Presentations

VI Related Census DHHS FGDC and

Web Site(s) of Interest for this Edition

Final thought(s) UCGISUSGS Disease Symposiums on GIScience and Vector-Borne Disease


219-20 2001 Sheffield UK [See httpgissheffieldacuk]

21st Annual Meeting of the North AmericanCartographic Information Society October 3-62001 Portland OR [Contact James Meacham atemail jmeachamoregonuoregonedu]

International Conference on ObjectiveMeasurement Objective Health Care MeasurementFrom Theory to Application October 19-20 2001Chicago IL [See httpwwwraschorgicom_2001]

International Society of Exposure Analysis 2001Conference Exposure Analysis An Integral Part ofDisease Prevention November 4-8 2001Charleston SC [See httpwwwmusceduisea2001]

Federal Committee on Survey Methodology(FCSM) Research Conference November 14-162001 Arlington VA [See httpwwwfcsmgov]

ESRI Health amp Human Services GIS ConferenceNovember 12-14 2001 Washington DC [ContactJennifer Harar at voice (703) 506-9515 Ext 8055or email jhararesricom]

Annual American Water Resources ConferenceNovember 12-15 2001 Albuquerque NM [ContactMichael Campana at voice (505) 277-5249 or emailaquadocunmedu]

Fifth Annual International Crime MappingResearch Conference December 1-4 2001 DallasTX [See website httpwwwojpusdojgovcmrcconferencesCall4Papershtml]

Mobilizing for a SafeUSA A LeadershipConference to Reduce Violence and Injury inAmerica CDC cosponsored December 3-5 2001Atlanta GA [See httpwwwcdcgovsafeusaabstractshtm]

II GIS News (Please communicate directly with colleagues referenced below onany items please note that the use of trade names and commercialsources that may appear in Public Health GIS News and Informationis for identification only and does not imply endorsement by CDC orATSDR])

A General News and Training Opportunities1 From Eric S Jefferis Crime Mapping ResearchCenter National Institute of Justice I am pleased toannounce the release of a new publication by theNIJCMRC In Mapping and Crime Analysis byCommunity Organizations in HartfordConnecticut Tom Rich presents interestingfindings on the effect of placing basic crimemapping and analysis tools directly in the hands ofneighborhood-based organizations This innovativeuse of mapping technology will certainly be ofinterest to many members of this list and we inviteyou to download the report from the CMRC webpage at wwwojpusdojgovcmrc [Contact EricActing Director at email jefferisojpusdojgov]

2 From Susanne Stoiber Institute of MedicineldquoThrough a Kaleidoscope Viewing theContributions of the Behavioral and SocialSciences to Healthrdquo The Barbara and JeromeGrossman Symposium May 23 2001 at TheNational Academy of Sciences 2101 ConstitutionAvenue NW Washington DC Topics includeIntroduction to the subject What we know thetantalizing potential Interventions Why exploitingthis knowledge will be essential to achieving healthimprovements in the 21st century Priorityinvestments necessary to support rapid advances inthe behavioral and social sciences Understandingthe mechanisms through which social and behavioralfactors influence health need for research tools etcInvestments in longitudinal surveys databasesadvanced statistical research and computationtechnology Investments in research andInterventions at the community level and Reactorpanel for research funders [Contact SusanneExecutive Director at email sstoibernasedu]




























































































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public health gis news and information may 2001 (no. 40) · esri health & human services gis...

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