LI Course
CE Hours: 3 contact hours

Partnership: Maternal and Child Health

Statement of Purpose and Institute Overview: The purpose of this Institute is to introduce reproductive health providers to Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS) using a web-based public health GIS resource provided by CDC. GISs can provide essential support for public health planning, management and evaluation. CDC’s Reproductive Health Atlas is a web-based interactive GIS for mapping reproductive health indicators such as infant mortality, fertility, and low birth weight. It is specifically designed for state and local reproductive health professionals in the United States to explore the spatial aspects of various reproductive health indicators associated with epidemiological investigations, allocation of services, needs assessments and other data driven analysis. The strength of the Atlas lies in the richness of its datasets. An almost infinite choice (over 6 million) of comparisons can be made between and among the risk and demographic characteristics. This data is compatible with locally developed databases that can be used to conduct additional investigations. The map views are geographic representations of data. This allows the viewer to easily identify and examine clusters and other spatial associations. An interactive table can be displayed in a separate window at the same time as an interactive map. Each window contains elements that can be manipulated independently. This allows the user to make specific types of comparisons across time, geography, and population groups. The Atlas provides accurate reporting and comparisons of specific reproductive health indicators for given time periods. The Atlas helps programs and managers to easily obtain data needed for decision making, especially when there is limited statistical or technological support.

Session Objectives: At the conclusion of this workshop, the student will be able to: 1. Describe and apply the use of GIS in reproductive health and community health assessment. 2. Use the Atlas to: • access reproductive health data for their local area as well as adjacent areas, and larger regional areas for comparison to their local area • produce maps for reports and presentations • compare reproductive health indicators across different demographic groups, and geographic areas 3. List and describe the strengths and limitations of the Atlas.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing