Geographic Information Giant Joins Fight Against COVID-19

Geographic Information Giant Joins Fight Against COVID-19

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When decision-makers have timely access to community health information it helps support situational awareness and extends the breadth and depth of understanding community needs. Emergency events like the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes, and severe weather all heighten the need to understand local impacts.

Location intelligence changes the fight against coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Maps and geographic information systems (GIS) provide valuable insights to help organizations respond to the crisis, maintain continuity of operations, and support the process of reopening.

A new solution will help health organizations collect community information, at the household-level, required for disaster response or health action plans. 

Esri, the international supplier of geographic information system software, web GIS and geodatabase management applications, has developed the system which will help Health and Human Services organizations to collect household-level community health information. The Community Health Assessment Solution delivers a set of capabilities that include: planning community health survey areas, collecting survey responses from households, and monitoring key indicators as the assessment occurs.

It follows the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) framework developed by the World Health Organization and adopted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

A CASPER survey calls for a two-stage cluster sampling methodology which is made easier with the Community Health Assessment Solution.  After cluster identification, health assessments are conducted, and the process is monitored in real-time, according to esri.com.