The Impact of Geospatial Data on Chronic Disease: Understanding the role of place and space in shaping the geographic distributions of chronic disease is critical to informing appropriate public health responses for chronic disease prevention and treatment.
This collection of 24 articles provides insight across three broad themes: 1) examining connections between community-level characteristics and population health, 2) developing and applying spatial statistical methods and new geospatial tools, and 3) using maps and geospatial results to guide program and policy decisions. These articles demonstrate the use of geospatial data to inform surveillance, epidemiologic research, program evaluation, resource allocation, program planning, and communication for chronic disease prevention and treatment.