Spatially encoded video to map challenging environments: Examples from Bangladesh, Haiti and Kenya

Fine-scale and longitudinal geospatial analysis of health risks in challenging urban areas is often limited by the lack of available spatial data. Underlying population counts, residential context, and associated causative factors such as standing water or trash locations are often missing unless collected through logistically difficult surveys. The lack of spatial context also hinders designing intervention strategies structured around analytical insights. This paper offers a spatial video approach that can be used to improve analysis and involve participatory collaborations. Three case studies will be highlighted; environmental health risks associated with a cholera impacted town in Haiti, and alley and home spatial scale environmental risks along pathways in the informal settlements of Bangladesh and Kenya. For all of these case studies, spatial video is used to collect environmental data such as standing water, trash accumulation, presence of dogs, cohort specific population characteristics and general activity spaces. These data are digitized into Google Earth and then coded and analyzed in a GIS using different local area spatial analysis methods. The paper will also describe how the simplicity and flexibility of the technique means data can be collected by vehicle, by boat, or carried by hand. All data is archived through “the map”, allowing for easy access which facilitates training, intervention planning and coding-analysis validation. To summarize, spatial video is a tool that can be used in any environment to improve local area health analysis and intervention. The process is rapid and can be repeated in study sites through time to track spatio-temporal dynamics of the communities. Its simplicity also encourages local participatory collaborations.