Applications of Geographical Information Systems in Understanding Spatial Distribution of Asthma

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are becoming useful tools in making strategic decisions whenever data are found to have spatial distribution. Federal, state, and local governments are using GIS for assessment and planning in such areas as housing, healthcare, land use, natural resources, environmental monitoring and transportation. Companies are also using it to expand and consolidate existing businesses, perform market analysis, and to find optimum delivery routes. In this paper, we illustrate the usefulness of GIS in the analysis and presentation of spatially distributed asthma prevalence among school children (13-17 years) in the New York City area. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first presentation of asthma survey results distributed over the zip codes of a large city. Preliminary results show good correlation between asthma and poverty. They also correlate well with the spatial distribution of asthma hospitalization data. Results reveal an overall asthma prevalence of ∼ 16% as compared to the national average of ∼ 12% for a similar age group (5-17 years). When comparing asthma rates among the predominant racial groups of the city – Blacks and Hispanics are found to have a higher prevalence than Whites or Asians. The inner-city population shows a significantly higher asthma prevalence than those in the suburbs. This study shows our understanding of asthma prevalence in a dimension that could not have been possible prior to the availability of GIS. The results will help us making further decisions in planning for asthma research.