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 Table of Contents  
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Year : 2016  |  Volume : 4  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 72-73

Geographic information system as a potential tool for defining "hotspots" in road-traffic accidents


Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry, India

Date of Web Publication1-Jun-2016

Correspondence Address:
R Vishnu Prasad
Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry - 605 014
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/2347-9019.183234

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How to cite this article:
Prasad R V, Muthukumar T, Samuel AK, Singh Z. Geographic information system as a potential tool for defining "hotspots" in road-traffic accidents. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage 2016;4:72-3

How to cite this URL:
Prasad R V, Muthukumar T, Samuel AK, Singh Z. Geographic information system as a potential tool for defining "hotspots" in road-traffic accidents. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage [serial online] 2016 [cited 2024 Mar 28];4:72-3. Available from: https://www.ijhsdm.org/text.asp?2016/4/2/72/183234

Dear Sir,

Geographic information system (GIS) is a powerful information technology tool used most commonly in the field of Geoinformatics and Geography. GIS applications help to integrate, edit, analyze, interpret, and visualize information more readily than traditional methods. GIS technology has contributed tremendously in the field of Geography. However, its use is not limited only to this field; various researchers have identified its potential to be used in various other sectors including health services management, [1] public health, epidemic/outbreaks, seasonal trends of disease, and high-risk zone for acquiring disease. The WHO reports state that 1.24 million people die each year as a result of road-traffic accidents (RTAs) worldwide. A vast majority of 20-50 million people suffer nonfatal injuries many of which ultimately ends in disability. [2] With the current trend, RTAs are predicted to result in 1.9 million deaths annually by the year 2020. Every day, 3400 lives are lost as a result of RTA all over the world. [3] Certain areas on a highway or city roads may be considered potentially high-risk areas for accidents. Such areas are usually labeled as "hotspots" for accident proneness. Most accident victims were taken to the nearest health facility immediately after the incident. Spatial distribution of emergency medical service centers can be done using GIS. [4] Health information system when used effectively can aid program managers in planning strategies. [5] It is possible to have a map of the regions which the hospital service covers in the hospital. Retrospectively, accident victims may be asked to exactly mark on the map the place of incident. Such data can also be obtained from the persons who witnessed the incident or who transported the patient to the hospital. With the help of these map markings, latitude, longitude, and elevation coordinates can be obtained through online portals and various websites which can be stored and interpreted using GIS application. Time, spatial, geographic, and climatic information can also be obtained by either such a procedure or historical data. A GIS application integrates all these data and analyzing it might be helpful in identifying specific hotspots with respect to time and climatic conditions, where the incidence of accidents was significantly higher. Kernel density estimation analysis may be used for this purpose. Urban planners may consider environmental engineering measures that can be done in these identified hotspot regions so as to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

 
  References Top

1.
Kenneth E. Foote and Margaret Lynch, The Geographer′s Craft Project, Department of Geography, The University of Colorado at Boulder. Available from: http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/intro/intro.html. [Last accessed on 2015 Mar 21].  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Road Traffic Injuries. WHO. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs358/en/. [Last accessed on 2015 Aug 21].  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Violence and Injury Prevention. Available from: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/en/. [Lasr accessed on 2015 Mar 10].  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Ferdosi M, Yarmohammadian MH, Karimi S, Rastin G, Artang M, Mohammadi F, et al. Spatial distribution of prehospital emergency medical services bases in Isfahan province in 2012 using GIS. Int J Health Syst Disast Manage 2013;1:184.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. Need of a sound health information system in public health: Program managers. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage 2014;2:127-9.  Back to cited text no. 5
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