No abstract

No abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to show how geographical information systems (GIS) can be used to track and compare hospitalization rates for traumatic brain injury (TBI) over time and across a large geographical area using population based data.Results & DiscussionData on TBI hospitalizations, and geographic and demographic variables, came from the Ontario Trauma Registry Minimum Data Set for the fiscal years 1993-1994 and 2001-2002. Various visualization techniques, exploratory data analysis and spatial analysis were employed to map and analyze these data. Both the raw and standardized rates by age/gender of the geographical unit were studied. Data analyses revealed persistent high rates of hospitalization for TBI resulting from any injury mechanism between two time periods in specific geographic locations.ConclusionsThis study shows how geographic information systems can be successfully used to investigate hospitalizaton rates for traumatic brain injury using a range of tools and techniques; findings can be used for local planning of both injury prevention and post discharge services, including rehabilitation.

The Canadian Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI) aims to build historical data sets from the 1911-1951 Canadian census manuscripts. To enhance the meaning of the microdata, and to enable users to apprehend the spatial dimension of the phenomena they study, the CCRI integrates as much geographical information as the census can provide and also provides users with resources to map selected data or the results they get. A framework to conduct basic or sophisticated spatial analyses is also provided. The integration of geographical information necessitates the reconstitution of the entire geography of census taking, as well as of census dissemination, through the first half of the twentieth century. The raw material of the census manuscript is organized according to enumeration areas, whereas the basic spatial unit of dissemination is the census subdivision listed in the published aggregate census returns. [Ed. Census bureau terminology (from 1911 to 1951) used census district and census subdistrict for the two basic spatial units for census taking as well as compilation and dissemination. Hereinafter, we will use the present-day terminology-census division and census subdivision-favored by the CCRI and Statistics Canada.] To spatially process and map the microdata as entered and the aggregate data as published, polygon files are being created for nearly 32,000 subdivisions and managed within a geodatabase. The files form the fundamental fabric to which microdata and aggregate data are both linked. The authors address the unexpected challenges that arise from the realities of historical census data and provide an overview of the limitations and the technical framework of the overall geographical component of the CCRI.

Injury from causes such as falls, traffic accidents, or violence is a major public health issue globally. Injury prevention research aims to identify vulnerable populations and places by analyzing the spatial patterns of demographic and socio-economic risk factors associated with elevated injury rates. The stakeholders in injury prevention and control are often distributed across government and public health institutions, non-profits, and even the private sector (e.g. insurance firms). While this situation calls for distributed, online research tools, their implementation may conflict with health data confidentiality and license limitations for socio-economic data. In this article, we present the Online Injury Atlas for Ontario, which was designed with the explicit goal of making use of, and contributing to, the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure. We propose a service-based architecture that integrates publicly