Health and Human Services

Challenging issues such as homelessness; drug addiction, including the opioid epidemic; and food insecurity have only worsened during the pandemic. Having a spatial understanding of how these crises impact your community is key to making data-driven decisions about where to prioritize resources. GIS provides capabilities enabling the following:

• Geographic data collection, organization, and management 
• Root-cause analysis
• Real-time information updates
• Self-service apps the public can use to connect to community resources
• Communication that combats stigma and increases engagement

GIS technology helps uncover the social, racial, economic, and physical barriers to accessing health care and health-promoting services. Information that includes highly accurate travel times and distances is essential to ensure that no one falls through the cracks. Leverage GIS to

• Map people, providers, and programs.
• Calculate travel time and distance across multiple modes of travel and over various times of day.
• Test potential interventions for impact.

Health organizations are mission oriented and focused on preserving the length and quality of life for all. In addition to this overwhelming charge, they must also carefully control limited resources. GIS supports evidence-based planning to improve operations, manage assets, and chart goals for the future. Creating that future relies on possessing a clear understanding of demographic trends, knowing a way to handle complexity to make wise capital expenditures, using a balanced approach to territories and catchments, and having location-based infographics at your fingertips.

Everything about applying the geographic approach to health speaks to improving equity, including increasing access to care and services, performing gap analysis, and allocating resources based on need. A location-based strategy can help you assess health locally; analyze trends and anticipate future needs; share information with the public and solicit feedback; monitor performance against goals; respond to issues in real time; and, ultimately, achieve health equity.