Applications of geospatial analyses in health research among homeless people: A systematic scoping review of available evidence

BackgroundUnequal housing access resulted in more than 150 million homeless people worldwide, with millions more expected to be added every year due to the ongoing climate-related crises. Homeless population has a counterproductive effect on the social, psychological integration efforts by the community and exposure to other severe health-related issues. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have long been applied in urban planning and policy, housing and homelessness, and health-related research.MethodsWe used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to systematically review 24 articles collected from multiple databases (n = 10) that focused on health-related issues among homeless people and used geospatial analysis techniques in their research.ResultsOur findings indicated a geographic clustering of case study locations– 26 out of the 31 case study sites are from the USA and Canada. Studies used spatial analysis techniques to identify hotspots, clusters and patterns of patient location and population distribution. Studies also reported relationships among the location of homeless shelters and substance use, discarded needles, different infectious and non-infectious disease clusters.ConclusionMost studies were restricted in analyzing and visualizing the patterns and disease clusters; however, geospatial analyses techniques are useful and offer diverse techniques for a more sophisticated understanding of the spatial characteristics of the health issues among homeless people. Better integration of GIS in health research among the homeless would help formulate sensible policies to counter health inequities among this vulnerable population group.     

Optimizing access and configuration of trauma centre care in New South Wales

IntroductionGetting the right patient, to the right place, at the right time is dependent on a multitude of modifiable and non-modifiable factors. One potentially modifiable factor is the number and location of trauma centres (TC). Overabundance of TC dilutes volumes and could be associated with worse outcomes. We describe a methodology that evaluates trauma system reconfiguration without reductions in potential access to care. We used the mature trauma system of New South Wales (NSW) as a model given the perceived overabundance of urban major trauma centres (MTC).MethodsWe first evaluated potential access to TC care via ground and air transport through the use of geographic information systems (GIS) network analysis. Potential access was defined as the proportion of the population living within 60-min transport time from a potential scene of injury to a TC by ground or rotary-wing aircraft. Sensitivity analyses were carried out in order to account for potential pre-hospital interventions and/or transport delays; travel times of 15-, 30-, 45-, 60-, and 90-min were also analyzed. We then evaluated if the current configuration of the system (number of urban MTS in the Sydney basin) could be optimized without reductions in potential access to care using two GIS methodologies: location-allocation and individual removal of MTC.Results86% of the NSW population has potential access to a TC within 60 min ground travel time; potential access improves to 99% with rotary-wing transport. The 1% of the population without potential TC access lives in 48% of the land area (>384,000km2). Utilizing two different methodologies we identified that there was no change in potential access by ground transport after removing 1 or 2 MTC in the Sydney basin at the 30-, 45-, and 60-min transport times. However, 0.02% and 0.5% of the population would not have potential access to MTC care at 15 min after removing one and two MTC respectively.DiscussionRedistribution of the number of MTC in the Sydney basin could be achieved without a significant impact on potential access to care. Our approach can be utilized as an initial tool to evaluate a trauma system where overabundance of coverage is present.     

应用地理信息系统分析中国肾综合征出血热的空间分布

目的　利用地理信息系统 (GIS)技术分析中国大陆肾综合征出血热 (HFRS)的空间区域分布 ,建立HFRS危险区域分布图。方法　收集中国 41个HFRS监测点 1 995～ 1 998年的人群发病资料建立数据库 ,以中国省级、县级、一级河流数字地图为背景 ,在ArcGIS软件的支持下 ,与建立的数据库关联并对监测点人群发病资料进行反距离权重插值分析 ;收集 1 998年 6月SPOT4卫星覆盖东南亚地区的植被影像 ,逐一提取出各监测点监测区域的归一化植被指数 (NDVI) ,与 1 995～ 1 998年HFRS监测点人群平均发病率进行相关分析 ;根据不同流行强度监测区域的NDVI值 ,对遥感影像使用不同的颜色进行密度分割。结果　HFRS监测点人群发病资料的空间分析预测模型显示 ,中国HFRS主要分布于黑龙江流域、黄河中下游地区、长江中下游地区及京杭大运河 淮河流域地区 ,与1 995～ 1 998年全国各县HFRS平均发病率分布图进行比较 ,发现两者基本一致 ;相关分析显示HFRS发病率与NDVI之间呈现正相关 (r=0 .41 7,P <0 .0 1 ) ,根据各监测点NDVI的差异建立了中国HFRS危险区域分布图。结论　根据监测点数据采用GIS技术建立的预测模型对预测全国HFRS的分布情况有重要意义     

The geographic distribution of un-immunized children in Ontario,Canada: Hotspot detection using Bayesian spatial analysis

BackgroundIn Ontario, Canada, little is currently known about the extent to which un-immunized children may cluster geographically. Our objectives were to: describe the geographic distribution of fully un-immunized children; identify geographic clusters (hotspots) of un-immunized children; and to characterize the contribution of spatial effects and covariates on hotspots, where found.MethodsOur analytic cohort consisted of Ontario students aged 7–17 years in the 2016–2017 school year. We defined students as un-immunized if they had zero doses of any vaccine and a non-medical exemption recorded in Ontario’s registry. We calculated unadjusted proportions of un-immunized students by Census Subdivision (CSD) and then used a sequential approach to identify hotspots starting first with hotspot identification at the CSD level and then probed identified hotspots further by Dissemination Area (DA) and including covariates. Hotspots were identified using the Besag-York-Mollie Bayesian spatial model and were defined as areas with >95% probability of having two times the proportion of un-immunized students, relative to the province overall.ResultsWe identified 15,208 (0.94%) un-immunized children within our cohort consisting of more than 1.61 million students. Unadjusted proportions of un-immunized students varied greatly by geography, ranging from 0% to 21.5% by CSD. We identified 16 hotspot CSDs which clustered in five distinct areas, all of which were located in southern Ontario. The contribution of covariates and spatial effects on the risk of having un-immunized students varied greatly across hotspot areas.ConclusionsAlthough the provincial proportion (0.94%) of un-immunized students is small, geographical clustering of such students is evident in Ontario and in some areas presents an important risk for future outbreaks. Further qualitative work within these hotspot areas would be a helpful next step to better characterize the factors associated with vaccine refusal in these communities.     

Geographic Clustering Patterns in Mortality from Biliary Tract Cancer in Japan

We calculated the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of biliary tract cancer (BTC) in Japan from 1981 to 1990 and statistically analyzed the results according to 333 Secondary Areas of Medical Care, as well as sex and subsite [gallbladder cancer (GBC) and extrahepatic bile duct cancer (BDC)], in order to examine geographic clustering patterns of BTC. In GBC in both sexes, the Secondary Areas of Medical Care with high SMRs were clustered in the eastern part of Japan. In BDC in both sexes, the Areas with high SMRs were clustered between the northern and eastern parts of Japan. In comparison with GBC, this clustering favored the northern part of Japan. In males, the clustering pattern in mortality from BTC was mainly due to the occurrence of BDC. In females, the clustering pattern in mortality from BTC reflected that of GBC. The clustering of BTC, especially GBC, seems to be related to the distribution of plains, basins, and rivers.     

使用反距离权重内插法绘制中国1990年代肿瘤分布地图

目的 绘制中国1990年代死因回顾1／10人口抽样调查肿瘤分布地图，展示中国1990年代肿瘤的地理分布和区域性集中趋势。方法 利用1990年代的全国死因抽样调查数据，根据中国1964年人口年龄分布计算标准化死亡率，以中国1990年代数字地图为背景，在Arcview软件支持下，利用反距离权重内插法（IDW）预测非采样地区的死亡率数值，绘制肿瘤死亡分布地图。结果 现已完成全国1990年代肿瘤分布地图绘制，与填充法相比，IDW所绘地图死亡率分布边续且过渡平滑，显示出肿瘤地区分布特点。结论 利用IDW根据抽样区域数据预测其他区域数据，可以实现用抽样数据绘制全国肿瘤分布地图，结果仍可以较为准确地反映出肿瘤分布规律。     

疾病空间分布的“等值线－面积”多重分形模型及其应用

目的：探讨“等值线－面积”多重分形模型在识别疾病空间插值地图的绘图等级界限中的应用。方法：将分形理论与统计学方法相结合，以ArcGIS9.0为数据分析平台和绘图工具，构建疾病空间分布的“等值线－面积”多重分形模型。结果：构建了疾病空间分布的“等值线－面积”多重分形模型，提出了建模的基本步骤，并以肾综合征出血热空间异质性结构及其界限的识别为例，验证了模型的科学性和适用性。结论：利用“等值线－面积”多重分形模型所确定的疾病空间异质性结构及其界限能准确反映疾病空间异质性变化的本质规律。     

Landscape of NAT2 polymorphisms among breast cancer

PurposeThe prevalence of phenotypes of Arylamine N-acetyltransferase-2(NAT2) gene (i.e. fast, intermediate and slow acetylators) among ethnic groups, as well as the association studies regarding NAT2 polymorphisms and risk of breast cancer produced inconsistent results. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify whether the selected NAT2 phenotypes have an effect on the susceptibility to breast cancer.MethodsAfter aggregating the frequencies of fast, intermediate and slow phenotypes of NAT2 in breast cancer subjects, the odds ratio and relevant 95% confidence intervals were examined using combined data from all published 36 articles.ResultsOverall, our results did not produce statistical significance for the proposed association, suggesting that there is no association between the selected phenotypes of NAT2 polymorphisms and breast cancer. In subgroup analyses, it was revealed that, as compared with the fast phenotype, intermediate acetylator is protective of the vulnerable White population to breast cancer. In addition, an obvious ethnic/geographic difference was found in the prevalence of fast, intermediate and slow acetylators among world-wide populations.ConclusionsAlthough ethnic and geographic differences in NAT2 polymorphisms were present, this was not associated with the risk of breast cancer in general. Intermediate acetylator is protective for particular ethnic groups, a finding which should be carefully viewed and confirmed in the future studies.     

Effects of buffer size and shape on associations between the built environment and energy balance

Uncertainty in the relevant spatial context may drive heterogeneity in findings on the built environment and energy balance. To estimate the effect of this uncertainty, we conducted a sensitivity analysis defining intersection and business densities and counts within different buffer sizes and shapes on associations with self-reported walking and body mass index. Linear regression results indicated that the scale and shape of buffers influenced study results and may partly explain the inconsistent findings in the built environment and energy balance literature.