GGR322H5 GIS and Population Health

GGR322 Course Desciption

Course Description

The purpose of this course will be to develop an appreciation for the conceptual and methodological intersections that exist between geographical information systems and population health. While population health can include incidence and prevalence of disease and ill-health, as well as concerns about service provision, this course will focus mainly on disease, injury, illness more broadly. The course will include both lectures, where foundational concepts will be introduced and related to practical lab sessions, where students will gain experience using GIS to map and study health information. Topics will include: spatial databases for population health, mapping health data, analyzing the spatial clustering of disease and/or injury, mapping and analyzing environmental and social risk factors.

Distribution Requirement: Social Science, Science

Lecture hours: 24

Practicum hours: 12

Prerequisite: (8.5 credits and GGR278H5) or permission of instructor

Recommended:  GGR276H5

Understanding access to health services and what populations are unhealthier is very important. In this course I learned about how GIS could be a useful tool in helping people lead healthier lives.

Guang Chui

Core Skills Developed

  • map making
  • spatial analysis of health processes
  • spatial clustering of health events
  • data exploration