Karin E. Johnson, DrPH, Department of Nursing, Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21801, 4105436411, kejohnson@salisbury.edu, Mara Chen, PhD, Department of Geography, Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21801, Colleen Parrott, MS, Somerset County Health Department, 7920 Crisfield Highway, Westover, MD 21871, and Steve Marshall, Somerset County Emergency Services, 11916 Somerset Avenue, Princess Anne, MD 21853.

Increasing demands are being placed on emergency planning offices and health departments to be prepared not only for naturally occurring emergency and health risks, but also for threats posed by weapons of mass destruction. The need has never been greater for an accurate and comprehensive data base that can address the time, place and person components so critical to rational emergency and health response planning. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have the potential to provide such computing technolgy to analyze and display a wide array of information effectively, accurately and in a timely manner. The usefulness of this technology is largely dependent on the quality of the empirical data that is available as well as information provided by real-time observations and historical records. Often, small rural counties are unable to access the data, technologies and expertise necessary to incorporate GIS applications into their emergency planning and preparedness activities. The proposed presentation will outline a partnership between a rural county health department, the emergency preparedness office and a local university as a case study of the development of GIS capabilities of a small, coastal, resource-poor Maryland county. Special emphasis will be given to outlining the challenges encountered in identifying appropriate data sources as well as to issues of data accuracy and consistency and to project implementation. The presentation will conclude with some strategies and solutions to these problems, lessons learned from the experience and with current and proposed uses of GIS in public health and emergency planning.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

1)List five potential cahllenges to the application of GIS technology in a resource-poor coastal county,2)Identify three problems of data accuracy and their possible solutions,3)Describe five application of GIS technology in public health and emergency planning,
• Articulate at least two advantages of the proposed collaborative model

Keywords: Geographic Information Systems, Public/Private Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.