Editor Note: Understanding the importance of this timely topic and to ensure that research is made available to the wider academic community, IGI Global has made a sample of related articles and chapters complimentary to access. View the end of this article to freely access this critical research.
Extreme measures are currently being used to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (including widespread quarantines and lockdowns), as there are countless deaths being reported around the world. But what if countries, governments, and healthcare professionals could have predicted the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak? Currently, ArcGIS and Johns Hopkins University are utilizing advanced GIS technology to track COVID-19 in real time as it spreads, including live data on newly identified cases, statistics on recoveries, and deaths.
If this crucial technology was utilized sooner during this global pandemic, the outbreak of COVID-19 could have been minimized drastically as GIS technology has rapidly advanced and can now aid researchers in the prediction and prevention of disease pandemics through data. Emerging research is available on this topic, including Advanced Systems for Improved Public Healthcare and Disease Prevention: Emerging Research and Opportunities (IGI Global), authored by Prof. Thierry Oscar Edoh, from Technical University of Munich, Germany. This publication provides research on care delivery issues in global public healthcare and explores information and communication technology-based solutions for public healthcare improvement and disease prevention. Below, how GIS mapping is crucial to the tracking and prevention of future epidemics of infectious diseases is explored.
How GIS Is Tracking COVID-19
The first case of COVID-19 was found in the Wuhan district, China and Chinese and international experts were able to follow the commercial transportation patterns of airplanes, trains, and buses through GIS, tracing the estimated 5 million people who left the area during the initial outbreak before widespread safety measures were implemented.
By using GIS, epidemiologists were able to analyze the dense populations in the areas most affected by the virus and areas where travelers potentially carrying the virus had arrived, and enact legislation (including travel bans, quarantines, and increased medical aid) that has been applauded by the World Health Organization as an unprecedented move to restrict the spread of COVID-19.
The tracker by ArcGIS and Johns Hopkins University is showing the aftermath of not utilizing this technology in the same way China did. Once experts knew those who were possibly contaminated left Chinese borders, the information could have been given to the appropriate local governments so they could enact the same policies China adopted to potentially stop the aggressive spread of COVID-19.
Technology for the Future
According to the chapter “Global Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Macrolevel Drivers and Policy Responses” by Prof. Catherine Machalaba, from EcoHealth Alliance and Future Earth oneHEALTH, USA, et al. from the Research Anthology on Healthcare Policy and Reform: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (IGI Global), the emergence of new and difficult to understand diseases has been on the rise for the past century, with outbreaks like AIDS and Ebola standing out as major epidemics in recent memory. Experts believe the continuous emergence of these difficult and deadly diseases is a trend that will not stop in the foreseeable future, citing a potential link to environmental and climate change in their development.1
Although, this technology is now being utilized, it was not implemented on an international scale from the initial outbreak leading to the mass spread of COVID-19. Not only could the spread of the virus have been mitigated, but it could have been prevented through the utilization of GIS technology. According to a recent Politico article, a U.S. research laboratory created an eerily similar simulation of a disease pandemic in 2019. This simulation predicted how the disease would spread through transportation channels, which would ultimately lead to the “stress [of] resources, bureaucracies and international relations.” Additionally, through this simulation, they were able to suggest guidelines on how to contain a disease or virus of this magnitude.
The benefits of actively using GIS mapping in disease prevention, healthcare, and government are seemingly endless, but according to the article “Geospatial and SpatioTemporal Analysis in Health Research: GIS in Health” by Prof. Dimitra I. Sifaki-Pistolla, from the University of Crete, Greece, et. al. from Research Anthology on Geospatial Intelligence: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (IGI Global), “they are useful in order to point out where and when to intervene, how to intervene and targeting whom, who should be involved and how, how to manage disease and health-related risks, how to organize and integrate healthcare services or units, etc.”2 This indicates that by using GIS mapping, better targeted care and preventative measures can be given before care is needed in astronomical numbers. In turn, this will reduce the severity and spread of these infectious diseases.
Because of the projection of new diseases and viruses like COVID-19 developing in the years to come, it is important to utilize technology in the most effective and efficient way possible to be able to curb the effects of a new disease before it reaches epidemic or pandemic levels. While COVID-19 can be seen spreading in real time and some travel bans and quarantines were enacted to slow the spread of the virus in China, there were other countries that could have benefited from utilizing these technologies in a similar way closer to the beginning of the outbreak.
The publications featured in this article, Advanced Systems for Improved Public Healthcare and Disease Prevention: Emerging Research and Opportunities (ISBN: 9781522555285 | EISBN: 9781522555292), authored by Prof. Thierry Oscar Edoh from Technical University of Munich, Germany, Research Anthology on Healthcare Policy and Reform: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (ISBN: 9781522569152 | EISBN: 9781522569169), and Research Anthology on Geospatial Intelligence: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (ISBN: 9781522580546 | EISBN: 9781522580553), edited by Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A, Executive Editor of IGI Global, USA, are currently available both in print and electronic format through IGI Global’s Online Bookstore at a 20% discount, and are featured in IGI Global’s InfoSci®-Books database (5,300+ e-books). Recommend these publications, the InfoSci-Books database, and the InfoSci-Journals database (185+ e-journals) to your library to have access to this critical research as well as thousands of other research resources, including the chapters and articles below.
Complimentary Research Articles and Chapters on GIS and the Spread of Disease:In response to the timeliness and importance of this topic, we have made all of the below articles and chapters complimentary to access. As such, please feel free to integrate these resources into your research and share them across your network. - “Novel Approach to Anticipate Emerging Infectious Diseases Spreading and Epidemics”
Prof. Thierry Oscar Edoh (Technical University of Munich, Germany)
Copyright: © 2018 |Pages: 35
- “Global Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Macrolevel Drivers and Policy Responses”
Prof. Catherine Machalaba (EcoHealth Alliance and Future Earth oneHEALTH, USA), et. al.
Copyright: © 2019 |Pages: 35
- “Geospatial and SpatioTemporal Analysis in Health Research: GIS in Health”
Prof. Dimitra I. Sifaki-Pistolla (University of Crete, Greece), et. al.Copyright: © 2019 |Pages: 22
- “Spatio-Temporal Hot Spot Analysis of Epidemic Diseases Using Geographic Information System for Improved Healthcare”
Prof. Uma V. (Pondicherry University, India) and Prof. Jayanthi Ganapathy (Anna University, India)Copyright: © 2019 |Pages: 33
- “Assessing Utilization and Effectiveness in Public Participative and Volunteered Geographic Information Systems for Environmental Data”
Prof. April Moreno (Claremont Graduate University, USA) and Prof. Sarah Osailan (Claremont Graduate University, USA)Copyright: © 2017 |Pages: 12
View All Chapters and Articles on This Topic The “View All Chapters and Articles on This Topic” navigates to IGI Global’s InfoSci-Demo Account, which provides a sample of the IGI Global content available through IGI Global’s InfoSci-Books (5,300+ e-books) and InfoSci-Journals (185+ e-journals) databases. If interested in having full access to this peer-reviewed research content, recommend these valuable research tools to your library. For Journalists Interested in Additional Trending Research: Contact IGI Global’s Marketing Team at marketing@igi-global.com or 717-533-8845 ext. 100 to access additional peer-reviewed resources to integrate into your latest news stories.
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Featured Publications Surrounding GIS and the Spread of Disease:
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| | Advanced Systems for Improved Public Healthcare and Disease Prevention: Emerging Research and Opportunities
Prof. Thierry Oscar Edoh (Technical University of Munich, Germany)
Copyright: © 2018 | Pages: 262 | ISBN: 9781522555285 | EISBN: 9781522555292
This publication provides emerging research on care delivery issues in global public healthcare and explores information and communication technology-based solutions for public healthcare improvement and disease prevention. While highlighting topics such as drug supply, infectious diseases, and pharmaceutical care, this publication explores the methods of global public healthcare provision, issues in healthcare access, and applications in overcoming the access issues. This book is an important resource for professionals, practitioners, researchers, academics, and graduate students interested in seeking current research on the various approaches towards improving public healthcare.About the Author: Thierry Edoh is an associate researcher at the University of Bonn (Germany)/department of pharmacy, visiting associate lecturer at the Institute of Mathematics and Physics (IMSP)/University Abomey-Calavi, (Benin-Africa), visiting lecturer at IUT Lokossa (Benin-Africa), and an associate researcher at Technical University of Munich/department of Applied Software Engineering (Germany)... Learn More. |
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| | Communicating Rare Diseases and Disorders in the Digital Age
Prof. Liliana Vale Costa (University of Aveiro, Portugal) and Prof. Sónia Oliveira (University of Aveiro, Portugal)
Copyright: © 2020 | Pages: 412 | ISBN: 9781799820888 | EISBN: 9781799820895
This publication is an essential reference source that uses computer-mediated communication to improve patient knowledge when afflicted or dealing with rare health conditions. Featuring research on topics such as support networking, eHealth management, and social computing, this book is ideally designed for health practitioners, physicians, patients, medical administrators, nurses, surgeons, infectious disease educators, hospital directors, world health organizations, academicians, students, and researchers seeking coverage on current advances in health communication, computer science, and epidemiology. |
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| | Handbook of Research on Optimizing Healthcare Management Techniques
Prof. Nilmini Wickramasinghe (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia & Epworth HealthCare, Australia)
Copyright: © 2020 | Pages: 431 | ISBN: 9781799813712 | EISBN: 9781799813729
This publication is a pivotal reference source that provides an extensive and rich compilation of various ICT initiatives and examines the role that ICT plays and will play in the future of healthcare delivery. It represents ways in which healthcare delivery can be made superior and the healthcare industry can begin to address the major challenges it faces in the 21st century so that ultimately the most important person in the web of healthcare players, the patient, can be confident about receiving high-quality, cost-effective healthcare. While highlighting topics such as e-health, medical informatics, and patient value, this publication explores the role of supportive technologies as well as the methods of focused, patient-centric outcomes. This book is ideally designed for doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, medical staff, hospital directors, medical boards, IT consultants, health practitioners, academicians, researchers, and students. |
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| | Research Anthology on Healthcare Policy and Reform: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A (Executive Editor of IGI Global, USA)
Copyright: © 2019 | Pages: 1,594 | ISBN: 9781522569152 | EISBN: 9781522569169
This publication is a comprehensive source of academic material on the importance of policy and policy reform initiatives in modern healthcare systems. Highlighting a range of topics such as public health, effective care delivery, and health information systems, this multi-volume book is designed for medical practitioners, medical administrators, professionals, academicians, and researchers interested in all aspects of healthcare policy and reform. |
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| | GIS Applications in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry
Prof. Somnath Chaudhuri (Maldives National University, Maldives) and Prof. Nilanjan Ray (Adamas University, India)
Copyright: © 2018 | Pages: 343 | ISBN: 9781522550884 | EISBN: 9781522550891
This publication is a vital scholarly publication that explores the applications of GIS to the leisure travel industry, specifically the importance of GIS in trip planning, online bookings, and location-based services. Highlighting coverage on a wide range of topics such as cultural heritage tourism, geospatial collaborative tourism recommender systems, and decision support systems, this book is geared toward business managers, academicians, researchers, graduate-level students, and professionals looking for current research on the impact of GIS on recreational travel. |
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| | Examining the Role of Environmental Change on Emerging Infectious Diseases and Pandemics
Prof. Maha Bouzid (University of East Anglia, UK)
Copyright: © 2017 | Pages: 327 | ISBN: 9781522505532 | EISBN: 9781522505549
This publication investigates the impact of climate change in relation to the emergence and spread of global diseases. Highlighting epidemiological factors and policies to govern epidemics and pandemics, this publication is a critical reference source for medical professionals, students, environmental scientists, advocates, policy makers, academics, and researchers. |
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| | Handbook of Research on Disease Prediction Through Data Analytics and Machine Learning
Prof. Geeta Rani (Manipal University Jaipur, India) and Prof. Pradeep Kumar Tiwari (Manipal University Jaipur, India)
Copyright: © 2020 | Pages: 400 | ISBN: 9781799827429 | EISBN: 9781799827436
This forthcoming publication investigates the impact of climate change in relation to the emergence and spread of global diseases. Highlighting epidemiological factors and policies to govern epidemics and pandemics, this publication is a critical reference source for medical professionals, students, environmental scientists, advocates, policy makers, academics, and researchers. |
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1Machalaba, C., Romanelli, C., & Stoett, P. (2019). Global Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Macrolevel Drivers and Policy Responses. In I. Management Association (Ed.), Healthcare Policy and Reform: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 38-71). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-6915-2.ch003
2 Sifaki-Pistolla, D. I., Pistolla, G. D., Chatzea, V., & Tzanakis, N. (2019). Geospatial and Spatio-Temporal Analysis in Health Research: GIS in Health. In I. Management Association (Ed.), Geospatial Intelligence: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 1559-1580). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-8054-6.ch069