Using GIS for Disease Mapping and Clustering in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

• Main Authors: Abdulkader Murad, Bandar Fuad Khashoggi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
• Subjects: GIS; urban health; health clusters; kernel density; hotspot analysis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/9/5/328

Geographic information systems (GIS) can be used to map the geographical distribution of the prevalence of disease, trends in disease transmission, and to spatially model environmental aspects of disease occurrence. The aim of this study is to discuss a GIS application created to produce mapping and cluster modeling of three diseases in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: diabetes, asthma, and hypertension. Data about these diseases were obtained from health centers’ registered patient records. These data were spatially evaluated using several spatial–statistical analytical models, including kernel and hotspot models. These models were created to explore and display the disparate patterns of the selected diseases and to illustrate areas of high concentration, and may be invaluable in understanding local patterns of diseases and their geographical associations.