The role of public health and how boundary analysis can provide a tool for public health investigations: The public health perspective

The rapidly expanding capabilities to analyze geocoded data are opening many possibilities to provide revolutionary improvements in the ability to monitor health events over time and space. The role of public health and what science based public health intervention means is reviewed. The type of information that is useful to public health planners is discussed. How geospatial analysis fits in with the process of developing public health programs and how the public health field can use these advances in analytical techniques, associated software and available geocoded data is discussed. The value of boundary analysis as an analytical tool is assessed from the public health perspective. Why the ability to determine geographically associated event clusters and to identify the boundaries of clusters, independent of any predetermined polygon, establishes the best information possible for assessing health event data, planning interventions and monitoring the outcomes of intervention efforts is discussed.