Research ArticleOriginal Research

Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Understand a Community's Primary Care Needs

Michael F. Dulin, Thomas M. Ludden, Hazel Tapp, Joshua Blackwell, Brisa Urquieta de Hernandez, Heather A. Smith and Owen J. Furuseth
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine January 2010, 23 (1) 13-21; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2010.01.090135

Article Figures & Data

Figures

  • Figure 1.
    Figure 1.

    Overview of the Multiattribute Primary Care Targeting Strategy (MAPCATS). This process started with engagement of the community advisory board that guided and oversaw each step of the research process. The team selected the research question of “What geographic areas are in need of increased access to primary care services?”

  • Figure 2.
    Figure 2.

    Overview of the data processing for the Multiattribute Primary Care Targeting Strategy (MAPCATS).

  • Figure 3.
    Figure 3.

    Maps showing each attribute used to assess community-wide primary care need. A: Median household income by census tract. B: Population density by census tract. C: Emergency department patients, uninsured or using Medicaid, by census tract. D: Patient emergency department utilization for illness preventable or treatable through primary care, by census tract. E: Patient utilization of safety-net clinics by census tract.

  • Figure 4.
    Figure 4.

    Composite map showing overall community primary care need. A single map shows the final output based on combining the 5 selected attributes describing primary care need in Figure 3.

  • Figure 5.
    Figure 5.

    Factor analysis composite map showing overall community primary care need.

Tables

  • Table 1.

    Variance and Loading of Variables for Components in Factor Analysis

    VariablesSocioeconomic ComponentDensity Component
    Median household income−0.9060.126
    Population density0.3880.921
    Percent uninsured/Medicaid0.937−0.075
    ED utilization0.937−0.108
    Safety net clinic utilization0.791−0.090
    Percent of total variance explained67.0717.81

    • Items in bold represent the variables with the highest loadings in the component.

    • ED, emergency department.

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