GIS in Public Health - Preconference Workshops
- 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM: Registration Hours
- 8:30 AM –5:00 PM: An Overview of Open Source GIS Software – URISA Certified Workshop
- 8:30 AM – 12:00 Noon: Detecting Clusters of Adverse Health Outcomes using SaTScan™
- 1:00 – 5:00 PM: Geospatial Data Collection for Micro-Environments and Multiple Time Periods: The Use of Spatial Video
Take advantage of optional training and educational opportunities on Monday, June 17. Delve into these comprehensive and important topics to supplement the keynote addresses and breakout sessions during the next couple of days. Due to the classroom setting for these events, attendance is limited and a registration fee is required. Register early!
An Overview of Open Source GIS Software
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
A URISA Certified Workshop
Instructor: Carl Anderson, GISP, Spatial Focus, Inc., Sarasota, Florida
Free and open source software (FOSS) has been offering choices to computer users for a number of years. Over the past few years the open source choices in GIS have been broader and more capable than ever before. This workshop will focus on GIS open source software. It will give an overview of current developments from technical and management perspectives. Selected packages and their applications in various projects will be demonstrated and discussed.
Specific topics include:
- Open Source GIS background and development
- Overview of Open Source GIS spatial functionalities
- Live demonstration
- Interoperability: The Open Source GIS spectrum
- Planning and implementation issues
Intended Audience: Anyone interested in free and open source geographic information system software. The workshop will suit both managerial and technical needs and it does not require any prerequisites.
Full-day workshop fee: $145 (URISA member) / $195 (nonmember)
Two half-day opportunities are also scheduled. Take advantage of one or both of these educational programs! An additional fee is required and attendance is limited.
Detecting Clusters of Adverse Health Outcomes using SaTScan™
8:30 AM – 12:00 Noon
Instructor: Thomas Talbot, Chief of Environmental Public Health Surveillance Section, New York State Department of Health
This workshop will introduce participants to SaTScan™ software (http://www.satscan.org). SaTScan™ is free and has been widely used to perform geographical surveillance of a variety of adverse health outcomes by detecting spatial and space-time clusters and assessing the statistical significance. Participants will learn the statistical principles behind the method, how to properly format their data, and how to display the results in a GIS or a Google map.
The hands on training will use examples from the recently released block-group level cancer incidence data from New York State. Participants will need to bring their Laptop computer to the training. The software, sample data sets and training materials will be provided on flash drives at the workshop. Participants are also encouraged to bring their own data sets.
Half-day workshop fee: $75 (URISA member) / $100 (nonmember)
Geospatial Data Collection for Micro-Environments and Multiple Time Periods: The Use of Spatial Video
1:00 – 5:00 PM
Instructors: Andrew Curtis and Jacqueline Mills-Curtis, GIS of Health and Hazards Lab, Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH
At the end of this workshop, participants will have an understanding of how to use a spatial video approach in their research, and have enough training to immediately begin the collection, coding and analysis of their own primary data.
As an appreciation for fine geographic scale research, (e.g. building, block face, street segment) spreads through several disciplines all connected to health, one of the recurring challenges is how to collect primary data in a systematic and cost-effective way. There is also a related trend in developing mixed method approaches for this type of research as spatial and cultural context is necessary in understanding spatial and temporal dynamism in the relationship between micro-environments and health. This workshop will introduce a systematic and cost-effective data collection technology, spatial video, as well as a methodological approach that involves the creation of new spatial layers derived from spatial video surveys.
These data will be created in Google Earth and in a GIS. The means to geographically analyze these video-into-GIS data will also be described. This workshop will begin with several examples drawn from ongoing health and hazards projects being conducted through the GIS, Health & Hazards Lab at Kent State University (http://www.kent.edu/ghhlab/index.cfm). These case studies will then frame a detailed step-by-step progression through technology use to spatial analysis. The workshop will also include an exercise in video coding using real spatial video data. Finally, the workshop will conclude with a general discussion involving related topics such as spatial video as a geonarrative tool, and importantly, ethical considerations.
The workshop will conclude with three final topics for discussion:
- The use of spatial video as a geonarrative device – one of the benefits of the spatial video is that commentary can be recorded during video collection. Alternatively, video can be shown in a “safe environment”. Examples will be given, and then a discussion will be led as how these data can be best used in research.
- The use of spatial video as a public participatory geospatial data collection tool – as the technology is so easy to use, it is possible to have local area collaborators collect data. This makes data collection cheaper, possible for multiple time periods, and it also empowers local communities as they are part of the research approach. Examples will be given to generate a discussion on this topic.
- Ethical questions surrounding spatial video use – to what degree is it ethical to video people / landscapes? The ongoing debate around Google Street View (most recently with regards to Sandy) make this an important topic for debate. We will share our experiences from the field, and from working with IRB.
Participants will provide their own laptop. Instructions will be given pre-workshop for the loading of Google Earth and Contour Storyteller software. Each workshop participant will be given video samples on a flash drive for the workshop.
Half-day workshop fee: $75 (URISA member) / $100 (nonmember)
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