Antonio Garcia

HSCI 273 Saturday 1pm

1. What is GIS? Geographic information system (GIS) uses computers and
software to explore fundamental principle of geography. These locations are
important in peoples lives.
What are three uses of GIS? One use of GIS is that it can be used to
inventory, analyze, and manage many aspects of the world. One
example is if you drive down a highway, chances are that GIS
managed the signs along the way. Another use of GIS is that it can
make maps coded by values from the database to help illustrate
patterns. It also takes numbers and words from a database and puts

them on a map.
How might GIS be used in solutions to solve problems? - It can help
identify traffic accidents, for example, you can first grid collisions by
police grid. Then, they can be marked as hot spots using a different
color. Finally, you can enable it to see where citations are issued and

show accident locations over time.

2. Dr. Chetan Tiwari and Using Maps as Public Health Decision Support
Tools.
What examples did he use to demonstrate the use of GIS in health
decision making? One suggestion he gave was to make better maps
to support public health policy. Some examples of this is:
representative of the phenomena, control for differences in the
populations, provide a place context, automate, and be easy to use.

Control for differences in the populations can better be broken down to

the question, What if every place had the same population structure?
What are the concerns about the data? One concern is that some
maps are not very meaningful and sometimes are merely presenting
data rather than the actual process. Also, maps are not keeping up
with technology (data). If youre not careful of the choice of unit when
creating a map, you can end up with different maps. Population
structures are different and environmental risks are uneven over

geographic space.
3. Geographic Information Systems in Public Health.
Explain three (3) examples listed in this presentation about the use of
GIS in public health. One use in this presentation was by Michael
Elliot and it was on obesity trends among U.S adults. GIS was used
here as a way to effectively display information to get a point across.
Another example he used is to associating aspects of the
neighborhood (built environment) with behaviors and chronic diseases
(diabetes). He presents by starting with diabetes mortality rate within
the city, then looking at location of park to see if people are physically
active. Lastly, taking a look at locations of all fast food chains to see
how it relates to diabetes in certain neighborhoods.
4. Go to http://www.riversideca.gov/rpd/crstats/default.asp
What is the most frequently occurring issue in this area (see the
Incident Layers to understand the icons-not everything is crimeATTENTION TO DETAIL)? Assault is the most frequently occurring
crime within the area.

Why is this type of map useful in public and community health? It is

important because it allows the public to know what areas are
dangerous and at what certain times of the day. Also, to let law

enforcement patrol those areas that are heavy with crime.

5. Go to the following link: http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?
id=da76de09076b4959ad005e1dc2c48049
What is the median household income? The median household
income for San Bernardino is forty thousand nine hundred ten

($40,910).
Why is this useful in public health/why do we need to use median
household income when we decide populations at risk or in need of
services? This information can be useful in public health for many
reasons. One, it can help determine what types of grocery stores or
what types of shopping centers to build. You cant have or build
expensive stores for a county with a low median household. Also,
locations of hospitals play a huge factor because then health insurance
gets involved. Families with lower income cant afford or do not have

health insurance.
6. Using online GIS mapping software.
Go back to the browser window with the ZIP code and census tract
map. Take a screen shot that shows the map of food locations. Now,
using the Measure tab on the right side and the Measure function
on the left side of the map you will measure the distance from a
location and the Stater Brothers grocery store.

For someone who lived at the corner of W. 17 th St and N. Perris St

what is the distance for them to walk to the Stater Brothers store?
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The walking distance for these 2 locations would be 0.42miles, which

is 2,710 feet.
Map that along the road using several points along the way to keep the
plotter on the road and take a screen shot.

Use Google map in the browser where you have the address for the
grocery and use the street view icon to see what that road looks like.
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Why would that be a difficult walk to the store? It would be difficult to

walk this area because there are no lights in this area. Also, the roads
are in really bad condition that it makes it difficult to walk safely. You
would also have to cross over the freeway using the bridge where it is
heavy in traffic.
What is Screenshot? Screen shot allows you to capture an image of the display on a
computer screen.

Using Google street view follow the street down to 14 th and Massachusetts
to see the two grocery stores on that corner. Take a screen shot to use
in your presentation. What are the common ads on both markets?

What are the causes of those diseases from a social standpoint for
populations? The causes from a social standpoint can be due to very
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poor living conditions. The population in this area is high in Hispanics and
African-Americans.
7. Go to http://www.walkscore.com/
What is your walk score in your neighborhood? The walk score for my

neighborhood is 31.
Do you think your neighborhood is walk-able meaning conducive to
walking? It is not walk-able because most errands require a car, it is a

low walk score.

Give examples to provide specifics to support your argument. An
example why it is not walk-able is because the nearest grocery store is
5 miles away. This makes it difficult to walk back home with groceries
for such long distance. Also, there is two major intersections that are
extremely busy throughout the day that will make it difficult to run
errands in my neighborhood.