It was determined that local health departments (LHDs) lacked the skills, resources, and infrastructure necessary to use sophisticated information management systems, particularly those that incorporated spatial dimensions of public health practice.
Many geographic information system (GIS)–based projects have been successful in supporting public and environmental health practice, including those investigating toxic exposure, – vector-borne disease, – health information access, and the built environment.,After significant hurricane-induced flooding in 1999, the North Carolina Division of Public Health organized a series of disaster response review meetings with the affected counties. Understanding the spatial components that characterize public health and environmental issues allows policymakers to implement more realistic and more meaningful programs, with ensuing improvements in service delivery. PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES are responsible for disseminating information to and conducting analyses for decisionmakers and the general public. Keys to success included (1) methods training rooted in problems specific to the LHD, (2) required project identification by LHD staff with associated timelines for development, (3) ongoing technical support as staff returned to home offices after training, (4) subgrants to LHDs to ease hardware and software resource constraints, (5) networks of relationships among LHDs and other professional GIS users, and (6) senior LHD leadership who supported the professional development activities being undertaken by staff. The project provided health department personnel with the skills and resources required to use sophisticated information management systems, particularly those that address spatial dimensions of public health practice.This capacity-building project helped LHDs incorporate GIS technology into daily operations, resulting in improved time and cost efficiency.
Project elements included procuring hardware and software, conducting individualized and group training, developing data layers, guiding the project development process, coordinating participation in technical conferences, providing ongoing project consultation, and evaluating project milestones.
State government, university, and local health department (LHD) partners collaborated to build the geographic information system (GIS) capacity of 5 LHDs in North Carolina.
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