Development of a web based GIS for health facilities mapping, monitoring and reporting: A case study of the Zambian Ministry of health

Hilary Takudzwa Mushonga,Augustine Mulolwa,Faustin Banda

doi:10.4314/sajg.v6i3.4

Hilary Takudzwa Mushonga, Augustine Mulolwa + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4314/sajg.v6i3.4

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Abstract

Around the world health professionals and authorities, in many cases, do not have the ability to visualize health related spatial information to make time-sensitive decisions. The high cost of deploying a desktop Geographical Information System (GIS) for Public Health management coupled with the need for specialised training in order to use geospatial tools have contributed to the low uptake of GIS as a decision support tool in public Health management. Lack of a real time data collection and visualization tool for health facilities has in many cases led to late responses in situations where time critical decision had to be made. This research reviewed recent literature on GIS in health care with particular emphasis on web GIS technologies and how they can aid in analysing health care needs, access, and utilization to support in the planning and evaluation of new service locations as well as use of GIS in disease surveillance. This research is aimed at producing a Web based GIS that can be used to collect data from health facilities and in turn provide this data to public health administrators to support decision making, it also focuses on creating a portal for public interaction with health facilities spatial information.

Highlights

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a geospatial technology and science that can be utilized to identify and display geographic patterns of disease, assess environmental exposures, and estimate incidence, prevalence, and survival statistics as well as expose health disparities to communicate clearly with the public, business and political leaders (Gotz et al, 2009)
The research produced an online health facilities web GIS application with a hybrid architecture where, spatial functions are conducted on the client side to minimise data traffic between the web server and browser ensuring smooth operation without processing lag
On the server side of the system there is an apache server, which serves the application files to browsers and queries the database in response to requests made within the web GIS application

Summary

Introduction

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a geospatial technology and science that can be utilized to identify and display geographic patterns of disease, assess environmental exposures, and estimate incidence, prevalence, and survival statistics as well as expose health disparities to communicate clearly with the public, business and political leaders (Gotz et al, 2009). The primary objective of this research was to develop a prototype health facilities web GIS that would facilitate data collection, visualisation and reporting. This system will enable members of the public to access information on the location of health facilities and the services they offer. Health geography is an area of medical research that incorporates geographic techniques into the study of human health and the spread of diseases. The most notable early application of maps in health care is the use of a hand-drawn map by Dr John Snow in London in the mid 1850’s to analyse the geographic location of deaths caused by cholera (Green, 2012). A multitude of web based GIS have been developed for many applications including vehicle routing, crime mapping and utility

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