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. 2015 Dec 22;13(1):ijerph13010002.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph13010002.

Statistical Validation of a Web-Based GIS Application and Its Applicability to Cardiovascular-Related Studies

Jae Eun Lee  1   2 , Jung Hye Sung  3   4 , Mohamad Malouhi  5
Affiliations

Statistical Validation of a Web-Based GIS Application and Its Applicability to Cardiovascular-Related Studies

Jae Eun Lee et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Purpose: There is abundant evidence that neighborhood characteristics are significantly linked to the health of the inhabitants of a given space within a given time frame. This study is to statistically validate a web-based GIS application designed to support cardiovascular-related research developed by the NIH funded Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Translational Research Network (RTRN) Data Coordinating Center (DCC) and discuss its applicability to cardiovascular studies.

Methods: Geo-referencing, geocoding and geospatial analyses were conducted for 500 randomly selected home addresses in a U.S. southeastern Metropolitan area. The correlation coefficient, factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha (α) were estimated to quantify measures of the internal consistency, reliability and construct/criterion/discriminant validity of the cardiovascular-related geospatial variables (walk score, number of hospitals, fast food restaurants, parks and sidewalks).

Results: Cronbach's α for CVD GEOSPATIAL variables was 95.5%, implying successful internal consistency. Walk scores were significantly correlated with number of hospitals (r = 0.715; p < 0.0001), fast food restaurants (r = 0.729; p < 0.0001), parks (r = 0.773; p < 0.0001) and sidewalks (r = 0.648; p < 0.0001) within a mile from homes. It was also significantly associated with diversity index (r = 0.138, p = 0.0023), median household incomes (r = -0.181; p < 0.0001), and owner occupied rates (r = -0.440; p < 0.0001). However, its non-significant correlation was found with median age, vulnerability, unemployment rate, labor force, and population growth rate.

Conclusion: Our data demonstrates that geospatial data generated by the web-based application were internally consistent and demonstrated satisfactory validity. Therefore, the GIS application may be useful to apply to cardiovascular-related studies aimed to investigate potential impact of geospatial factors on diseases and/or the long-term effect of clinical trials.

Keywords: Statistical validation; accessibility to healthcare facilities; density of fast-food restaurant; social determinants of cardiovascular disease; walkability; web-based GIS application.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Architectural design of the GIS application.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Screen capture for data input screen.
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