Recorded presentation

Desiree Goetze, MPH¹, Barbara Seitz de Martinez, PhD, MLS, CPP², and Muralikrishna Tangirala, BAMS, MPH². (1) Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program / Indiana Prevention Resource Center, Indiana University, 2735 E. 10th Street, Rm. 110, Bloomington, IN 47408, (2) Indiana Prevention Resource Center, Indiana University, 2735 E. 10th Street, Rm 110., Bloomington, IN 47408, 812/855-1237, seitzb@indiana.edu

GIS analyses in a context of cooperation and local data sharing among agencies offer many potential benefits for public health. Spatial analyses inform decision-making. Resulting maps and tables convey in an immediate and cost-effective fashion relationships between data which would not otherwise be obvious or cost-prohibitive to obtain. Local data sharing between agencies exponentially increases potential benefits to public health.

This paper presents an example of such collaboration between prevention and law enforcement agencies. Prevention specialists, utilizing GIS software, analyze the data from a tobacco compliance inspection program and from meth lab busts to investigate impacts and inform prevention workers across the state about cautionary and current danger zones. Examples of danger zones are clusters of tobacco outlets found to be selling to minors, outlets located in close proximity to schools and selling to minors, and high or escalating numbers of meth lab busts. Environments where youth are disproportionately exposed to tobacco outlets, or where outlets were found to sell to minors in the recent past, are cautionary zones.

By maintaining the geocoded locations of meth lab busts, tobacco outlets, schools and youth serving agencies and organizations, environments are easily described, e.g., tobacco outlets in relation to places where youth congregate. This cooperative agreement allows the prevention agency to provide neighborhood schools and prevention workers with information on meth lab busts and tobacco outlets inspection results. The prevention agency also provides analytical data to the tobacco compliance program, e.g., about their intensity of inspections through analysis of their data.

Learning Objectives:

• „XUsing GIS to cut costs and increase efficiency
• „XUsing GIS for plotting current activity and trends
• „XUsing GIS for locating trouble spots (for flagging danger zones)
• „XUsing GIS for anticipating and preventing future problems
• „XUsing GIS for evaluation of program effectiveness by measuring trends over time
• „XLearn how to use GIS to maximize the synergy that results from interagency collaboration

Keywords: Geographic Information Systems, Youth Access

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment

Recorded presentation