Journal of Biomedical Informatics 34, 195–219 (2001) doi:10.1006/jbin.2001.1015, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on METHODOLICAL REVIEW Health Geomatics: An Enabling Suite of Technologies in Health and Healthcare M. N. Kamel Boulos, 1 A. V. Roudsari, and E. R. Carson Centre for Measurement and Information in Medicine, School of Informatics, City University, London EC1V 0HB, United Kingdom Received March 7, 2001; published online September 20, 2001 This Methodolical Review describes how health geomatics can im- Space is an essential framework of all modes of thought. From physics to aesthetics, from myth and magic to common everyday prove our understanding of the important relationship between location and health, and thus assist us in Public Health tasks like disease life, space, in conjunction with time, provides a fundamental ordering system for interlacing every facet of thought.... In short, prevention, and also in better healthcare service planning. The reader is first introduced to health geography and its two main divisions, things occur or exist in relation to space and time. [1] R. Sack (1980) disease ecology and healthcare delivery, followed by an overview of the basic concepts and principles of health geomatics. Topics covered include geographical information systems (GIS), GIS modeling, and GIS-related technologies (remote sensing and the global positioning system). We also present a number of real-life health geomatics applica- INTRODUCTION tions and projects, with pointers to further studies and resources. Finally, we discuss the barriers facing the adoption of GIS technology in the health sector, including data availability/quality issues. The authors The concept that location can influence health is a very believe that we still need to combat many cultural and organizational barriers, including “spatial illiteracy” among healthcare workers, while old one in medicine. As far back as the time of Hippocrates making the tools cheaper and easier to learn and use, before health (ca. 3rd century BC), physicians observed that certain dis- geomatics can become a mainstream technology in the health sector eases tend to occur in some places and not others. In fact, like today’s spreadsheets and databases.  2001 Academic Press different locations on Earth are usually associated with dif- Key Words: geomatics; geographical information systems (GIS); ferent profiles: physical, biological, environmental, eco- remote sensing; global positioning system (GPS); spatial analysis; decision support systems; epidemiology; disease ecology; public nomic, social, cultural, and sometimes even spiritual pro- health; healthcare delivery. files, that do affect and are affected by health, disease, and healthcare. These profiles and associated health and disease conditions may also change with time (the longitudinal or temporal dimension) [2, 3]. 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at Centre for Meas- In 1854, a major cholera outbreak in London had already urement and Information in Medicine, City University, Northampton taken nearly 600 lives when Dr. John Snow, using a hand- Square, London EC1V 0HB, United Kingdom. E-mail: M.Nabih- Kamel-Boulos@city.ac.uk. drawn map, showed that the source of the disease was a 1532-0464/01 $35.00 195 Copyright  2001 by Academic Press All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.