245112 Development of a GIS framework for childhood obesity analysis

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Ruth Steiner, PhD , Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Ilir Bejleri, PhD , Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Jeffrey Harman, PhD , College of Public Health and Health Professions, Department of Health Services Research, Management, and Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Jennifer Cannon, MURP , Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Juna Papajorgji, ADJ lecturer, MURP , Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Russell Watkins, PhD , Geoplan Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Jeff Roth, PhD , Director of the Maternal Child Health and Education Research and Data Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Nancy Hardt, MD , College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Anne Mathews, PhD, RD, LDN , Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
The high childhood obesity prevalence in different places stresses the importance of developing policy and interventions targeted specifically to unique circumstances of communities. Currently underutilized in childhood obesity prevention, GIS offers a method for visually comprehending the multiple spatial aspects of childhood obesity and the associated risk factors prevalent in different places. If used effectively, GIS has the potential to inform policy and interventions and ultimately, could be used to track progress (or lack thereof) with meeting intended objectives. Using the power of GIS, the University of Florida has developed a place-based interactive mapping and analysis system for analyzing Childhood Obesity issues and prevention measures. This system, referred to as Healthy Kids GIS, includes a tiered geospatial database and map prototypes at the national, state, and local map scales and GIS analysis tools tailored for different places. For example, a GIS reporting tool was developed that highlights the socioeconomic characteristics of schools with high obesity prevalence in the State of Arkansas and Alachua County, Florida. Representative of common childhood obesity measures, hundreds of geospatial datasets from public and private sources were collected, formatted, and organized to build a comprehensive geospatial database. This poster illustrates the conceptual framework guiding the development of this dynamic GIS, highlights important geospatial data resources for measuring childhood obesity, and visually demonstrates mapping and tool applications.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the conceptual framework for a GIS for childhood obesity and the interactions between end users, data resources, and common measures. 2. List resultant data resources in geospatial data library and compare the analysis capacity at the national, state, and local map scales. 3. Demonstrate geospatial tool capabilities and the potential outcomes (such as deriving a report that highlights underserved schools with high obesity prevalence in a state).

Keywords: Child Health Promotion, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am an Associate Professor at the University of Florida and am director of the Center for Health and the Built Environment. I conduct research related to health and the built environment and the health of children.
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.

See more of: Poster Session - Research & Data Analysis
See more of: Community Health Planning and Policy Development