Mapping Technology
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 80% of information needed by local health system administrators involves geographical positioning—which means using maps in one way or another. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and health mapping are becoming powerful tools to add value to information required by health planners to make difficult decisions. Mapping is utilized to help/assist hospitals and health systems with strategic planning, marketing and to reveal/illuminate potential solutions to attack community health problems. GIS technologies can be used to locate new facilities and services as well as for making decisions that influence population health.
Maternal and Child Heath Index
The old management adage “You can’t manage what you can’t measure” has never been truer. Understanding this need, the Great Start Collaborative of Kent County (Michigan) partnered with the Community Research Institute (CRI) at Grand Valley State University to identify and develop a number of indicators to shape overall strategic planning efforts. One of the measures developed by this Center for the project was the Maternal and Child Health Index (MCHI). The MCHI was developed and mapped at the census tract level to permit quick comparisons so that stakeholders and policy-makers could readily identify areas with unmet needs within the county.
Click here to download a printable PDF Summary of the Maternal and Child Health Index.
Online Mapping
In addition to developing printed - static maps, we can also build quickly build dynamic maps for easy and effective public sharing or limited viewing by permitting access to a password protected site. Online sharing between individuals or groups can be a great way to facilitate collaborative efforts between stakeholders. Maps can even be embedded within your website or hosted externally, each fully customizable to meet the individual needs of your organization.
Click here to view an example of a recent online mapping project analyzing the spatial relationships of women receiving less than adequate prenatal care in Texas.