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Utilizing GIS maps to translate the burden of falls among older adults into policy opportunities
Methods: Inpatient hospitalization data were used to compare fall-related injury rates for ages 65 and older by county. Population data from 2010 for each senate and house legislative district was used to calculate the percent of older adults among the adult population in each legislative district. Data was presented in four maps to allow for visual comparison.
Results: Policymakers were able to visually see by legislative district if there was a significantly high percent of older adult population and its relationship to the corresponding county hospitalization rate.
Conclusions: Based upon this analysis, potential was identified for also mapping the existing falls prevention programs by county as an additional overlay to determine if access to such programs was a factor in the hospitalization rate in a county.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsProgram planning
Learning Objectives:
Compare the burden of fall-related injuries among older adults in relationship to older adult population in legislative districts.
Assess GIS capabilities to develop audience-specific messages.
Keyword(s): Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Aging
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: as the Section Chief of the Violence and Injury Prevention Program (VIPP) at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, I have served in this program for 11 years. As the Section Chief, I supervise two full-time program administration staff and co-supervises a full-time statistical analyst for violence and injury prevention. The VIPP is the administrative lead for the PA Falls Free Coalition.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.