217346 Implementation of a Spatial Health Assessment and Research Program (SHARP)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Matt Simon, MS , NC Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Jennifer A. Horney, PhD, MA, MPH, CPH , North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
The North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness (NCCPHP) at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health has implemented a Spatial Health Assessment and Research Program (SHARP) that is dedicated to conducting community health assessments, topical surveys and other spatial analysis projects related to public health concerns of communities, counties and larger regional areas. Since 2003, North Carolina has been a national leader in the implementation of rapid assessments using random cluster sampling and GIS. However, reductions in federal public health preparedness dollars and turnover in key technical positions have diminished North Carolina's capacity to provide technical assistance to those at the local, regional, state or national level interested in conducting these assessments. However, conducting assessments remains a critical step in making data-driven public health decisions about the most effective and efficient ways of dealing with emerging infections such as H1N1, outbreaks of infectious disease or natural disasters. SHARP utilizes mobile GIS technology and a custom designed ArcGIS toolbar for rapid and efficient population-based cluster sampling of public health needs related to man-made and natural hazards and disasters. Random cluster sampling schemes, originally developed in the 1960s by the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have been validated and used effectively for rapid and representative estimation of population-level public health needs in many settings. The aims of SHARP are to build local and state public health capacity for carrying out rapid assessments using GIS by: 1) developing simple sampling, site selection, and surveying tools for data collection and analysis and 2) implementing these tools with public health agencies to inform decision-making. We will describe tools and present examples of implementation including an H1N1 vaccine intention survey, an assessment of reproductive health needs after flooding and a pre-hurricane preparedness assessment.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate a custom designed ArcGIS toolbar for rapid and efficient population-based cluster sampling for public health assessments. Describe implementation of tool for assessments of emerging infections such as H1N1, outbreaks of infectious disease, and natural disasters. Identify specific ways to build capacity to build public health capacity to carry out rapid assessments using GIS.

Keywords: Assessments, Geographic Information Systems

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract author because I am the director of the SHARP program, I designed and implemented the assessments to be presented, I did data collection and analysis on the assessments to be presented.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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