ON EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEMS - A REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF FUTURE-DIRECTIONS

Geographic information systems are powerful automated systems for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of spatial data. Wh ile the systems have been in development for more than 20 years, recen t software has made them substantially easier to use for those outside the field. The systems offer new and expanding opportunities for epid emiology because they allow an informed user to choose between options when geographic distributions are part of the problem. Even when used minimally, these systems allow a spatial perspective on disease. Used to their optimum level, as tools for analysis and decision making, th ey are indeed a new information management vehicle with a rich potenti al for public health and epidemiology.