Identify and discuss three current problems, challenges, or concerns with applications of GIS in public health and how you would propose to address each.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: One current problem, challenge, or concern with applications of GIS in public health is the misrepresentation of data and findings in maps to promote biased information. Metadata, detailed legends, and supplemental text information should be included in every map product to ensure ease of “fact checking”. Another current problem is the “digital divide” and “knowledge gap” in low resource settings regarding access to GIS technology, and education and training, respectively. These issues could be addressed through the promotion of GIS applications and career options in primary and secondary education, providing technical support through ongoing GIS workshops to local governments and community organizations, developing protocols for on-going technology transfer, and of course conducting evaluations of existing GIS programming in low resource settings to improve service models and outcomes for meaningful and beneficial implementation. Finally, scarce data and in certain public health contexts prevents the application of GIS methods to those issues. In this case, participatory GIS so that local communities design, collect, and steward their own data should be facilitated thorough community-research partnerships, facilitating more sustainable basis for GIS analysis to address communities’ needs and aspirations.