Hygiena 2020, 65(1):5-9 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1739
Health and GIS: The present situation and future options in the Czech Republic
- 1 Krajská hygienická stanice Libereckého kraje se sídlem v Liberci, Liberec, Česká republika
- 2 Technická univerzita v Liberci, Liberec, Česká republika
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are currently used in a number of disciplines as effective methods of managing, analyzing, sharing and visualizing geographic data. At Regional Public Health Authorities in the Czech Republic, however, this positive trend in digitalisation of their work does not progress as intensively as in other disciplines. According to the probe, there are two objective reasons. Technical problems with the lack of appropriate technical equipment and, above all, shortcomings of personnel. Education belonging to the necessary measures to raise awareness of the advantages and opportunities of implementation of GIS methods was supported in the years 2018 and 2019 in Liberec by several events on the topic of GIS in public health. The result is also a better mapping of the situation in the Czech Republic and networking of participants with the potential to find a solution. The contribution is an evaluation of the current state of implementing GIS methods in the work of Regional Public Health Authorities in the Czech Republic according to the probe carried out in 2018 in cooperation with the Technical University in Liberec and the Regional Public Health Authority of the Liberec Region. The next section presents the focus, progress and results of two actions focusing on the issue of GIS in public health, which was organised by the Technical University in Liberec in cooperation with the Regional Public Health Authority of the Liberec Region in the years 2018 and 2019. That is followed by discussion and recommendations for further steps towards a future successful GIS implementation in the work of Public Health Authorities in the Czech Republic.
Keywords: health, geographic information systems (GIS), health protection bodies
Received: October 2019; Accepted: December 30, 2019; Published: February 29, 2020 Show citation
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