Spatial management of health risk: Applying geospatial technology for risk visualisation, hotspot identification, and analysis of geographic variation

Start Date

1 September 2019

End Date

4 April 2023

Project Participants

HMS, University of Canberra

Status: Completed

Tags: dashboards, data analytics, data visualisation, digital health infrastructure, geospatial analytics, health system, healthcare data, healthcare utilisation, population health, social determinants of health

Opportunity 

Health systems collect vast amounts of information about healthcare use, yet often lack visibility of the geographic and environmental factors that influence health outcomes. Understanding where people live, move and access care can provide critical insight into disease risk, service demand and health inequities. This project explored how geospatial technologies can enrich health data to better support health planning and risk management. 

Project Objectives  

This project aimed to use HMS data collections to develop a Health Atlas: a comprehensive, interactive tool to help health planners visualise data and utilise geospatial factors to understand the health needs of a diverse population. 

Using innovative geospatial methods and interactive decision-support tools that combine health claims data with social, environmental and geographic information, the goal was to enable improved visualisation of health risks, identification of geographic hotspots and enhanced population risk stratification to support healthcare planning and resource allocation.

The project developed a geospatial analytics platform linking large administrative health datasets with environmental and social determinants of health. Researchers created interactive dashboards and visualisation tools to support analysis of medication adherence, healthcare accessibility, social vulnerability and residential mobility. The research team generated evidence regarding geographical factors and diabetes medication adherence, as well as mental health outcomes and residential mobility. 

The project demonstrated how spatial intelligence can help improve understanding of health service utilisation and population risk, with insights into where healthcare needs are greatest, where access barriers exist and how social determinants influence outcomes. The resulting methods and tools offer a framework for digital health applications that support better targeting of interventions, improved service planning and more efficient use of healthcare resources. 

Integrity, Excellence,
Teamwork and Authenticity

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