Geographic information systems (GIS): an emerging method to assess demand and provision for rehabilitation services.
OBJECTIVE
To illustrate the application of geographic information systems (GIS) as a tool to assess rehabilitation service delivery by presenting results from research recently conducted to assess demand and provision for community rehabilitation service delivery in Ontario, Canada.


METHODS
Secondary analysis of data obtained from existing sources was used to establish demand and provision profiles for community rehabilitation services. These data were integrated using GIS software.


RESULTS
A number of descriptive maps were produced that show the geographical distribution of service provision variables (location of individual rehabilitation health care providers and location of private and publicly funded community rehabilitation clinics) in relation to the distribution of demand variables (location of the general population; location of specific populations (i.e., residents age 65 and older) and distribution of household income).


CONCLUSIONS
GIS provides a set of tools for describing and understanding the spatial organization of the health of populations and the distribution of health services that can aid the development of health policy and answer key research questions with respect to rehabilitation health services delivery. Implications for Rehabilitation It is important to seek out alternative and innovative methods to examine rehabilitation service delivery. GIS is a computer-based program that takes any data linked to a geographically referenced location and processes it through a software system that manages, analyses and displays the data in the form of a map, allowing for an alternative level of analysis. GIS provides a set of tools for describing and understanding the spatial organization of population health and health services that can aid the development of health policy and answer key research questions with respect to rehabilitation health services delivery.
Toronto Western Hospital , Toronto, ON , Canada .
Laura
L
Passalent
Emily
E
Borsy
Michel D
MD
Landry
Cheryl
C
Cott
D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D003710:Demography; D005544:Forecasting; D040362:Geographic Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D012046:Rehabilitation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000458:organization & administration; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology / Q000379:methods*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States