Integrating community resources to enhance management of dementia using GIS

San Bernardino is the largest county in the continental United States, encompassing 20,052 square miles. The 2 million people living in this area are widely distributed in terms of both geographical locations as well as demographic indicators. The elderly population accounts for a large percentage on this population. With the aging population rising exponentially, prevention and treatment of chronic diseases becomes an urgent concern. More and more it is becoming evident that the centerpiece of any effort in effective management, providing treatment, and reaching out to the aging population of a given community is a comprehensive understanding of the community itself. A workable model must establish and maintain a strong, coordinated relationship between the health/medical community and aging/human service providers, community resources and the families of the patients. This project will look at conceptual and illustrative demonstrations of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, methodology, and application to community assessment and social work research. Locations of social events, behavioral incidents, surrounding environments, social service and health care facilities, geographic boundaries of communities, and other essential community infrastructures are essential to community health or health services research. The software enables for statistical analysis of geographic data including the ability to do outlier detection, prediction, and analyze trends. We hope to lay the groundwork to truly understand the populations being served and effectively increase social capital of the patients and families.