Intro GIS for Public Health

Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH 717 or SPHEH 730 or SPHEH 731) or consent of instructor. Students cannot receive credit for both SPHPH 737 and SPHEH 811 - This course teaches principles and applications of Geographical Information Systems to analyze public health and climate data. Skills learned include basic mapping, creation and management of geospatial databases, raster and vector data structures, network-based spatial analyses, spatial statistics tools, and professional presentations. Students develop a semester-long project applying GIS skills to their field of interest. Past topics included: climate change adaptation and mitigation, infectious disease transmission, health and health access disparities, sustainability studies, disaster preparedness, and chronic disease epidemiology. The course includes lectures and computer lab exercises, uses ArcGIS software, and requires PC computer access (not Mac), either personal or in the computer lab.