GIS Symposium on Public Health 2005

The 2nd Annual GIS Symposium on Public Health drew a mix of public health administrators, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty from

across the country. Participants came from schools of nursing, public health, and medicine as well as state departments of public health and hospitals.

The Annual GIS Symposium is an intensive three-day workshop for administrators and researchers on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This year's symposium took place from June 19th-22nd. Each day of the course offered forums, lectures, labs and activities that intersected in the areas of community

interest, public health research, and advanced technology. Topics covered included data access and data collection, raster and vector data GIS formats, and hot spot analysis, with lectures by prominent public health and GIS researchers on both conceptual and methodological issuses. The use of GIS in a range of public health projects was presented through various case studies. Participants also attended lab sessions in which they collected and analyzed real data using ESRI products ArcView 9, ArcPAD, and Spatial Analyst.

Supplementing the daily workshops were various evening activities in Philadelphia, including a mural tour.

Hosts
The Cartographic Modeling Lab, The College of General Studies

Sponsors
ESRI, EXPORT Center of Excellence,
The Graduate Program in Public Health Studies

Here are some of the things participants had to say in their evaluations after the symposium:

2005

"Excellent—thanks! The more real-life public health examples the better! I appreciate the speaker’s willingness to share their notes and how-tos."

"The examples used were excellent and helpful. The hands on activities were extremely beneficial."

"Great job. Fun group."

2004

"All of this was extremely well organized."

"Great symposium!... leaves you wanting more! Good blend of theory/research and applications."  

"Thanks!! I REALLY appreciate the thought & effort that went into planning this symposium." 

"The hands-on components of the Symposium were really outstanding. I learned a great deal from being able to work with the programs and datsets."

Next year

The CML and the College of General Studies expect to organize a series of GIS events next June. Topics for two to three day workshops including: introduction to GIS, working with the US Census, spatial data analysis, GIS applications in public health, and GIS applications in criminology. To receive mailings about future events, please email (someone at CGS or CML?).