"A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data."
- This topic explores the relationship between disease patterns and human population distribution in space and time.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): An introduction to GIS software and its use in mapping and analyzing spatial patterns of diseases.
Epidemiology: The study of the distribution and determinants of diseases in populations, including analysis of disease incidence, prevalence, and risk factors.
Spatial Analysis: Techniques for analyzing spatial patterns of diseases, including spatial autocorrelation, hotspot analysis, and clustering.
Cartography: The art and science of map making, including the use of cartographic principles and techniques to communicate spatial patterns of diseases.
Remote Sensing: The collection and interpretation of data from satellite and aerial imagery, used in combination with GIS software to identify and analyze patterns of disease outbreaks.
Demography: The study of the size, composition, and distribution of populations, including analysis of population health patterns and trends.
Environmental Health: The study of the links between environmental factors and human health, including analysis of the impact of environmental pollution and toxins on disease outcomes.
Social Determinants of Health: The social, economic, and cultural factors that shape patterns of disease distribution and health outcomes, including analysis of disparities across demographic groups.
Health Services Research: The study of healthcare systems, including analysis of healthcare access, utilization, and outcomes in different geographic regions.
Spatial Epidemiology: The application of spatial analysis techniques to epidemiological data, used to identify and analyze patterns of disease incidence, prevalence, and risk factors across different geographic regions.
Endemic: This is a disease that is constantly present in a specific geographic location or population group.
Epidemic: This is a sudden and localized outbreak of a disease that affects a large number of individuals in a short amount of time.
Pandemic: This is an outbreak of a disease that spreads across multiple countries and regions, affecting a significant portion of the global population.
Spatial clusters: This is a pattern of disease that occurs in concentrated geographic areas.
Diffuse: This is a pattern of disease that occurs sporadically throughout a geographic region, without any discernible clusters.
Barrier: This is a pattern of disease that occurs in regions separated by a physical barrier, such as a mountain range, a river, or an ocean.
Urban-rural: This is a pattern of disease that is associated with differences in population density and access to medical care between urban and rural areas.
Ecological: This is a pattern of disease that is associated with changes in the natural environment, such as deforestation or climate change.
Socio-economic: This is a pattern of disease that is associated with differences in socio-economic status, such as income, education, or occupation.
Zonal: This is a pattern of disease that occurs in specific climatic zones, such as tropical or temperate zones.
Seasonal: This is a pattern of disease that exhibits seasonal variability in incidence or prevalence.
Travel-related: This is a pattern of disease that is associated with travel or movement of people, such as international travel or migration.
Nosocomial: This is a pattern of disease that is acquired in a hospital or other medical facility.
Vector-borne: This is a pattern of disease that is transmitted by a vector, such as a mosquito or tick.
Water-borne: This is a pattern of disease that is transmitted through contaminated water sources.
"[A GIS] consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data."
"Much of this often happens within a spatial database, however, this is not essential to meet the definition of a GIS."
"One may consider such a system also to include human users and support staff, procedures and workflows, the body of knowledge of relevant concepts and methods, and institutional organizations."
"The uncounted plural, geographic information systems, also abbreviated GIS, is the most common term for the industry and profession concerned with these systems."
"The academic discipline that studies these systems and their underlying geographic principles, may also be abbreviated as GIS, but the unambiguous GIScience is more common."
"They are attached to various operations and numerous applications, that relate to: engineering, planning, management, transport/logistics, insurance, telecommunications, and business."
"GIS and location intelligence applications are at the foundation of location-enabled services, which rely on geographic analysis and visualization."
"GIS provides the capability to relate previously unrelated information, through the use of location as the 'key index variable'."
"Locations and extents that are found in the Earth's spacetime are able to be recorded through the date and time of occurrence, along with x, y, and z coordinates."
"[x, y, and z coordinates representing] longitude (x), latitude (y), and elevation (z)."
"All Earth-based, spatial-temporal, location and extent references should be relatable to one another, and ultimately, to a 'real' physical location or extent."
"This key characteristic of GIS has begun to open new avenues of scientific inquiry and studies." Note: Since not all 20 questions can be answered directly by quotes from the paragraph, I have provided answers for the available quotes.