GIS Mapping: Using Technology to Identify Health Needs and Expand Care Delivery in Rural Communities

Purpose: Where one lives can directly influence their health. Chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity are some of the most preventable chronic health conditions affecting morbidity and mortality of the world’s population. Individuals living in rural, underserved communities may have an increased chronic disease burden based on the limited availability of resources closest to where they live. To best understand how to effectively tailor health promotion efforts, it is important for clinicians and researchers to understand what resources and limitations exist within the geographic areas where people live. Investigators on this research team work with underserved populations and communities in the United States and globally. The team sought to understand what resources are available, to explore the challenges community members face in availing themselves of resources, and potential avenues within the community to expand care delivery through technology as well as explore variations and similarities between the two regions.  The purpose of this presentation is to explain how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping technology was used in an initial international research study exploring community resources and capacity for care delivery using technology in two unerserved rural communities, with primary emphasis on availability to nutritious foods and opportunities to engage in physical activity where they live. Data collection processes, lessons learned, and recommendations for the use of GIS mapping as a catalyst for future care delivery will be shared.

Methods: Data were collected using GIS mapping technology to conduct a community assessment related to food availability and access to physical activity in two rural community settings. Researchers collected data in a rural community in South Carolina, USA and in Eastern India. Variables included data regarding food availability, types of food, access to resources that promote physical activity, and community buildings. Trained study team members collected data using an application installed on smart devices that included photographic images and measurements for precise geographic location of resources. Data analysis will include the comparison of resources between these two communities and will also explore correlations between community-level chronic health indicators and availability of resources.

Results: Data collected in two rural, underserved communities, one in India and one in South Carolina indicate the nature and quality of resources available to community members for access to and provision of nutritious foods and the availability to engage in physical activity throughout their community. Preliminary findings have identified the scarcity of resources in the most underserved neighborhood tracts. Through this study, researchers have identified community-based locations that may be utilized as options for care delivery using technology.

Conclusion: GIS mapping technology is an inexpensive method to identify existing community resources that can influence health care and provides data. Results can offer those interested in improving community-level health insight into extant resources and the realities community members in gaining access to nutritious foods and engaging in physical activity based on availability throughout their communities. Furthermore, GIS mapping can help identify possible community locations where care delivery can be augmented using technology to improve access to care.