The Spotlight is on Infonaut and Public Health
This month, Geocortex Internet Mapping News features a story on an Infonaut solution created for the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Public Health Division.

An early outcome from the deadly SARS virus in Toronto was the development of a web-based GIS tool – with a vision to enable staff to better understand and visualize the geographic factors that influence public health in Ontario.

The solution, called ‘Public Health WebGIS’, was first rolled out to a select group of users in 2004 and is fast becoming an important component of the decision-support strategy. This tool is now used in strategic planning, monitoring, and emergency response within the Public Health Division.

The value of GIS in Public Health has been gaining increasing approbation by government and research organizations around the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) cites examples such as determining geographic distribution of diseases, analyzing spatial and temporal trends, mapping populations at risk, stratifying risk factors, assessing resource allocation, planning and targeting interventions, and monitoring interventions over time.

There are 2 fundamental strengths of Public Health WebGIS. The first is the comprehensive data that has been made available in a secure environment to all registered users. The ability to layer context, needs, service providers and system performance makes this an extremely powerful tool for health professionals.

The second is what Infonaut refers to as ‘Ubiquitous GIS for a Common Operating Picture’. A key lesson learned from SARS was simply the importance of getting everyone on the same page. Better surveillance and communication are absolute requirements for effective strategy, monitoring, and – ultimately – emergency response.

Benefits of GIS in Public Health
Prior to the introduction of this tool, the insights and capabilities that GIS offers were limited to staff with specialized GIS skills, using high-end desktop applications.

The benefits of equipping all public health personnel with a ubiquitous mapping / GIS tool are numerous and distributed, reflecting the diverse type of work performed. The following are but a few examples of how the Infonaut’s GIS solution is transforming and improving how work is performed

Strategic Planning:

* Quick understanding of complex relationships between the Ministry, health units, hospitals, regional health authorities, and other health entities.
* Determining how funding correlates with population health.

Infectious Diseases:

* The application has been built for widespread dissemination of ‘Reportable’ metrics – including Blastomycosus, C. Difficil, HIV activity, and others.
* Surveillance activities can be monitored from anywhere, at anytime.

Emergency Management:

* Staff can quickly identify hotspots and potential problem areas, getting detailed information on an emergency area and who may be affected.
* Identification of geographic and temporal trends in resource allocation, identifying locations of personnel for outbreak planning & response.

The nature of this visual, interactive mapping tool introduces a new level of understanding, breaks down information silos by assimilating data across ministries and jurisdictions, and creates a new paradigm for working with public health data.

The benefits of Public Health Web GIS’s instant access ensures the right people become comprehensively informed about the health system and the geographic factors that influence public health – and are equipped to make faster, more informed decisions.

About Infonaut
Since 2003, Infonaut has been helping governments and health-related organizations make sense of previously overwhelming amounts of information – data that is vital to protecting peoples’ health.

Their development of GIS tools for Health and Pandemic purposes are helping to ensure sound decisions are made by those trusted with keeping the public safe.

Today, Infonaut has grown into a trusted partner for various government organizations, agencies, healthcare providers and related private-sector companies across Canada, and recently the USA.

Today, Infonaut CEO Niall Wallace led a workshop and presentation at NACCHO’s (www.naccho.org) Public Health Preparedness Summit in Washington DC.

At the GIS Ideas Exchange, co-sponsored by Infonaut and ESRI (www.esri.com), Niall delivered his presentation to Public Health professionals on ‘Post SARS in Ontario: A Geomatics Perspective’ – where he discussed outcomes in Health System Transformation, Monitoring and Response, and Infonaut’s concept of Ubiquitous GIS.

The interest and response was overwhelming, as many organizations at various levels throughout the United States are in the process of developing extensive plans to prepare for national emergencies, like an Avian Influenza Pandemic.

NACCHO’s summit is the largest gathering of Public Health professionals in history, featuring over 2500 participants from municipal, county, state and federal agencies across the USA. Infonaut was invited to participate and sponsor this event as they have a wealth of experience in helping Ontario respond to the various initiatives that have come out of the lessons learned from the SARS emergency.

For more information on Infonaut’s products and services, please contact us at info@infonaut.ca.