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. 2008 Jul;5(3):A97.
Epub 2008 Jun 15.

Use of BRFSS data and GIS technology for rapid public health response during natural disasters

James B Holt  1 , Ali H Mokdad, Earl S Ford, Eduardo J Simoes, George A Mensah, William P Bartoli
Affiliations

Use of BRFSS data and GIS technology for rapid public health response during natural disasters

James B Holt et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

Having information about preexisting chronic diseases and available public health assets is critical to ensuring an adequate public health response to natural disasters and acts of terrorism. We describe a method to derive this information using a combination of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and geographic information systems (GIS) technology. Our demonstration focuses on counties in states that are within 100 miles of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean coastlines. To illustrate the flexible nature of planning made possible through the interactive use of a GIS, we use a hypothetical scenario of a hurricane making landfall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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Figures

Map
Figure 1
Counties with population-weighted centroids within 50- and 100-mile radius of Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, 2000. Data from U.S. Census Bureau (12).
Map
Figure 2
Counties with population-weighted centroids within a 100-mile radius and major cities within a 200-mile radius of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 2000. Data from U.S. Census Bureau (12).
Map
Figure 3
Locations of hospitals, with number of beds per hospital, in states with land area within 100 miles of the coastline. Data from the American Hospital Association (13).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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