Download Aplication of the Geographic Information System as a

Aplication of the Geographic Information System as a New Approach for the Potable Water and
Hygiene Issues in the Republic of Panamá.
Ilenia Forero, MD1,2 Natalia Vega, BSc1,2 Semiha Caliskan MSc3 Benjamin Jacob3, PhD
1MSPH
in International Public Health, Research, Policy and Planning. College of Public Health, University of South Florida
2Internacional Scholarship Program IFARHU/SENACYT
3Deptartament of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida
,
LAND USE LAND COVER (LULC) MAPS
INTRODUCTION
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze and display spatial data. . These technology
provides analysis and mapping of spatial information related to disease incidences. Also, GIS can be used for developing predictive disease
models that can be used by decision makers for planning and distribution of health services.
Historical isolation of indigenous population due to their dispersion, lack of potable water and difficult access to sanitary services, could
explain difference between the reported causes of death for the provinces and country. These characteristics also impact the levels of
poverty and extreme poverty in these populations. According to statistical data gathered from the National Census of Population and
Housing of 2010 and the Ministry of Health, populations greatly affected by these problems are located in the Comarcas Ngäbe-Buglé and
Emberá. First, to analyze information for this study area data was collected at national level. The interpolation models and spatial analysis
tools in ArcGIS 10 were used to generate risk zones for the study area. According to the World Health Organization, diarrhea is among the
most common diseases in children worldwide. Eighty-eight percent of the cases are related to the use of unsafe water, inadequate sanitation
and hygiene, resulting in 1.5 million annual deaths, mostly in children.
Map 4.
• LULC for the Chagres National Park 2000
satellite map shows vegetation as the
predominant LULC (with tropical forest and
sparse trees standing out).
• Low rates of rural-to-vegetation LULC were
noted without any organized main road.
JUSTIFICATION
Hygiene and access to potable water indicate the socio-economic status of a country. Those two indicators are highly associated with high
rates of infectious disease such as gastrointestinal diseases. This research aims to contribute to:
• Provide more information on water and sanitary system issues in rural areas, especially the Comarcas
• Identify areas with the highest cases of mortality in rural areas, especially the Comarcas
• Utilize Geographic Information Systems technologies to solve public health problems
Map 4
Map 5.
• The 2000 satellite map for the Comarca NgäbeBugle and some areas of the provinces of Bocas
del Toro, Veraguas and Chiriquí reveal highly
impacted zones, with low vegetation coverage.
• Low image resolution did not allow
differentiating crop areas from those with low
vegetation and exposed soil. Nonetheless,
available data report that there are no extensive
crop areas and that agriculture is practiced by the
population as a means of survival.
• There are no adequate roads to ease
transportation in these areas.
OBJECTIVES
1.
2.
3.
4.
Remotely located areas with lack of potable water and deaths by diarrhea.
Identify type of predominant land-use and land-cover (LU/LC) on the areas affected by diarrheal cases
Analyze if unsafe water consumption is spatially related with mortality cases by diarrhea with the aid of the HotSpot GIS tool
Use interpolation methods of ArcGIS to identify areas (such as rural areas) or populations at high risk of mortality (such as indigenous)
by diarrhea
METHODOLOGY
Map 5
A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed with the utilization of the GIS technology to determine clustering areas with respect to
water and sanitation in indigenous populations under 1 year of age and its relation to deaths by diarrhea.
Information by district was collected from two different ethnic groups, Ngäbe-Bugle and Emberá, to create a geodatabase with the
following variables:
• Urban and rural areas in the country
• Availability of safe or potable water and sanitary facilities in the country
• Population under 1 year of age
• General mortality rate in the population under 1 year of age
• Diarrheal cases in the population under 1 year of age
• Deaths by diarrhea Cases in the population under 1 year of age
ANALISYS OF INTERPOLATION MODELS
DISTRIBUTION MAPS
Map 1. Map of the distribution of the availability of safe
water and plumbing by households:
The highest percentage of households without access to
potable water is shown in the Comarca Emberá with 72.4%,
followed by the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé with 61.4%. The
highest percentage of households without plumbing is
shown in the Comarca San Blas with 94.9%, followed by
the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé with 59.4%.
Map 6
Map 7
Maps 6 and 7. Interpolation Models in ArcGIS
ArcGIS posses different tools to make interpolation models depending on available data. Kriging allow us to make predictions and
customize maps base on the occurrence of a specific phenomenon to be studied, assuming that data closer to a reference point has the
greatest influence on the interpolation and that this influence decreases as they grew farther from the reference point. Different data were
used to generate HotSpot analysis maps, but when deaths by diarrhea cases in child population were added to data of areas without potable
water, better results were obtained.
Map 1
Map 2
Map 2. Distribution of Infant Mortality :
The map shows no clear spatial pattern between the covariate
population under 1 year of age and the Infant Mortality Rate.
Nonetheless, there are certain districts with low population under 1
year of age that have higher rate and are mostly rural.
Map 8
Map 3
Map 3. Distribution of Infant Mortality caused by diarrhea :
High prevalence of deaths due to diarrhea in the population under 1
year of age occurs mainly in the indigenous areas and especially
the Comarcas Ngäbe-Buglé and Emberá.
Map 8. Kriging Analysis
Similar to the findings in the HotSpot analysis, a trend revealed an
increase of deaths in population under 1 year of age in the areas of
Bocas del Toro and Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, although a lower trend is
seen in the Emberá areas.
Map 9
Map 9. HotSpots Analysis
• Deaths by Diarrhea and non-potable water distribution showed
no significant results in the Emberá area
• Significant p-values were observed in the province of Bocas del
Toro and the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé for the distribution of
diarrhea (0.0082, 0.0027) and in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé for
the non-potable water distribution (0.0014).
CONCLUSIONS
• LULC is an important tool to determine expansion of colonized or occupied areas by man and the impact of their anthropogenic
activities to the environment through time.
• Maps show a high mortality caused by diarrhea in rural areas, especially inside the Comarcas.
• HotSpots, Kriging and other interpolation models are useful tools that help display where outstanding clustering occur according to data
of interest as in this case, geographical location and epidemiological (morbidity and mortality rates by diarrhea) and socio demographic
data (potable water availability).
• Models suggest spatial relation between the lacks of safe water access for human consumption with diarrheal cases. However, it is
necessary to perform more detailed analysis through time for this relation to be confirmed.
• Epidemiological data captured and their generated reports must be improved in order to develop more precise predictive models through
time.
• This methodology can be applied to different diseases of relevance in Public Health and serve as a guide for adequate planning of the
limited resources of the country.