Introduction to Geoinformatics in Public Health

Abstract

Medical geography or health geography is a branch of human geography that focuses on the terrestrial aspect in the study of health prominence and the banquet of diseases. Additionally, it provides an idea of the location of individual health as well as its geographical distribution and its association with environmental factors. The concept of medical geography was first introduced by Hippocrates (5th–4th Century BCE). Today’s public health information is an embryonic field which emphasizes on the solicitation of information science and technology to public health rehearsal and investigation. The examination of public health data usually comprises the concepts and tools of epidemiology. With growing interest in “Medical Geography”, the epidemiological method, assumed in the field of geography of disease relied increasingly on the statistical modeling of the geographical dissemination of diseases and their distribution in time and space. Earth observation satellite allows us to quantify physical, chemical and biological factors when considering the association between climate and vector borne diseases, the succeeding associations among the distribution and life cycle of the vector, outbreaks of the disease. Conversely, the application of geographic information systems (GIS) to public health exercise has prodigious prospective for enlightening our understanding of the ecology and reasons of complex health problems, and for managing the policy and appraisal of effective population based programs and policies.