Building GIS Skills for Chronic Disease Surveillance in Health Departments

Geographic information systems (GIS) let public health workers see where disease is concentrated and why. CDC’s GIS Capacity Building Program helps staff in health departments and Tribal Epidemiology Centers build GIS into their daily work on the surveillance and prevention of heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases.

How it works

The program offers hybrid trainings, combining virtual and in-person workshops, as well as shorter online-only courses. It is run by CDC with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors and the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative at the University of Illinois Chicago.

What participants learn

Participants learn core GIS and cartography skills for making maps that show geographic patterns in:

• the burden of heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases;
• sociodemographic groups;
• community characteristics; and
• distance to health care and other facilities that can support or harm a population’s health.

They then put the skills to work on their own organizations’ priorities, making maps that document geographic disparities, inform program and policy decisions, and strengthen partnerships.

Goals

The program aims to help health department staff use GIS to:

• document geographic disparities in chronic disease;
• support collaboration within their agencies and with partners; and
• guide chronic disease policy and program development.

Examples of the work

Health departments’ uses of GIS are shared through MapLogs, a series of blog posts produced with the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, and through CDC’s Chronic Disease Map Gallery, GIS “hallmarks” and “snapshots,” along with tools such as its Rate Stabilizing Tool.

Sources

Based on "Building GIS Capacity for Chronic Disease Surveillance," Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.