Special Issue "GIS in Public Health"
A special issue of ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (ISSN 2220-9964).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2013)
Sharing one world is no easy task. Living on a planet afflicted by aging populations, massive migrations, climate change and environmental degradation, public health has significant obstacles to overcome in providing for over 7 billion people. Thankfully, our ability to employ science and technology to solve public health issues is also increasing rapidly. Many of the challenges are geographical, hence part of the solutions can be sought with the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
For a long time public health has recognized that GIS provides powerful tools to map and visually summarize large amounts of spatial information. At the same time, geographers have recognized that the benefits of GIS in public heath extend well beyond these traditional tasks. Public health, like many other fields, can now count on virtually endless streams of data ("Big Data"), acquired from diverse sources, ranging from satellite imagery to mobile telematics and volunteered geographic information. This wealth of data is paralleled by accessible and inexpensive computational power, which allows for easy processing. Thus, the challenges of GIS have shifted to analysis, including concepts, representation, modeling and reliability. Further challenges are posed by GIS implementation in public health: ethical issues concerning the analysis of personal data; social and cultural spaces; and individual mobility. Today’s increasingly data rich environment offers a host of opportunities, and addressing these challenges can truly develop the potential of GIS in providing effective solutions in public health research and practice.
We welcome paper submissions addressing the opportunities and challenges of GIS implementation in public health research and practice. Topics include, but are not limited to:
•Geographical analysis of health telematics data;
•Spatial data mining of large amounts of health data;
•Environmental health risks analysis;
•Novel methods for spatio-temporal analysis of disease;
•Representations of spaces and places of public health;
•Ethical issues and the balance between individual privacy and spatial aggregation;
•Integrating qualitative analysis in public health GIS research
Dr. Stefania Bertazzon
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.