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NEPHO PH&I Training Day Using GIS to Visualise Data Part2. 8th December, 2009 Alison Copeland. What is a GIS?. The various types of data referenced spatially in a GIS system are often referred to as "layers". Similar to an Overhead Projector, with a series of transparencies laid upon it.
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NEPHO PH&I Training Day Using GIS to Visualise DataPart2 8th December, 2009 Alison Copeland
What is a GIS? • The various types of data referenced spatially in a GIS system are often referred to as "layers". • Similar to an Overhead Projector, with a series of transparencies laid upon it.
What is a GIS? Vital Data Births Deaths Disease Demographics Clinical Data Labs Radiology Inpatient Outpatient Employer Data Location Health Plans Demographics Employee Locations Geographical Data PCTs SHAs Postcode Street Provider Data Locations Hospitals Physicians Ancillaries Financial Data HRG Costs Hospital Spending Prescription Costs Demand Data Caseloads Procedures Diseases Facilities Data Floor Plans Assets Resources Market Data Age/Sex Income Education Ethnicity Social status Environmental Data Air & Water Quality Biological Hazards Infectious Diseases Client Data Demographics Admissions Clinical Outcomes
Task • You have been asked to assist the local health authority to create some maps to help in the location of a new drug treatment centre in your area. • What information might be of use in this task?
Getting started with GIS… you will need… • GIS Software • Spatial Data • Database or spreadsheet to store attribute data • Training • Time and perseverance
GIS Software • MapInfo Professional http://www.mapinfo.com • ESRI’sArcView http://www.esri.com (MapInfo is used by the majority of NHS users) • GRASS GIS http://grass.itc.it/ (available free) • Instant Atlas http://www.instantatlas.com/
A map is an abstraction from reality, to inform us about some aspect of reality.
Spatial Data 3 Major types of data: Boundaries (and other vector) data • Counties • Local Authorities • PCTs • LSOA Road networks Background mapping (raster) data • 1:50,000 colour raster map • Points • Postcodes (e.g. NHS Postcode Directory)
Making Maps Things to Remember • It must be clear what is being shown on the maps Colours: • Avoid red & green together (colour-blindness) • Choice of colours may prejudice interpretation
Making Maps Classifications and ranges • Don’t choose too many (or two few) ranges Think about how these are classified: • Is your choice justified, or is the map a kind of LIE? What about your choice of area unit?