JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Geotagging is the process of attaching geospatial tags to various media data types. In healthcare, the goal of Geotagging is to gain a better understanding of health-related questions applied to populations. Although there has been a prevalence of geographic information in public health, in order to effectively use and expand Geotagging across healthcare there is a requirement to understand other factors such as the disposition, standardization, data sources, technologies, and limitations.

Objective:

The aim of this paper is to consolidate basic knowledge to help start use Geotagging in healthcare. This paper is designed as a resource document by suggesting the optimal geocodes, their sources, and a rationale for use.

Methods:

A review of the literature was conducted to evaluate guidelines for Geotagging and online resources were curated to support the implementation of Geotagging practices. Summary tables were developed to describe the available Geotagging resources (free and for fee) that can be leveraged by researchers and quality improvement personnel to effectively carry out geospatial analyses primarily targeting the United States (US) healthcare.

Results:

The Geotagging resources were summarized in three distinct supplementary tables. The first table summarizes information on Geotagging base layers, which are used for placing information on a map in appropriate locations. The second table includes information that could be used for adjustments such as population statistics on disease incidence. A final table includes resources on healthcare data sources that could be used for showing outcomes in a geospatial analysis

Conclusions:

The purpose of this paper is to explain how Geotagging can be leveraged in healthcare and to offer the necessary initial resources to obtain geocodes, adjustment data, and health related measures. The resources outlined in this paper can support an individual and/or organization in initiating a Geotagging healthcare project.