Data Mining and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Investigate Public Health Information

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The purpose of this project is to develop a course that combines GIS (geographic information systems) with data mining and statistical analysis to examine public health data. Two graduate courses that integrate GIS and data mining will be offered in the summer, 2004 term. The courses will be taught by a team of faculty from the geography/geosciences and mathematics departments. The courses are fully integrated into degree programs currently offered at the University of Louisville. In particular, the Department of Mathematics initiated a PhD program in Industrial and Applied Mathematics in the fall, 2002 semester. The degree program includes a mandatory internship and 18 credit hours in an application area. Geography and GIS can easily comprise one application area for the degree. The instruction will include use of ArcView and SAS to examine data from real databases containing information on health outcomes. Students will learn to define association rules between environmental factors and health outcomes. They will also work with clustering techniques, kernel density estimation, and text mining. In geography, students will learn to use ArcView to construct maps using available data, and to manipulate maps to optimize information revealed. Upon completing the course, students will be encouraged to take internship positions that integrate statistics with GIS using real databases. Students will be encouraged to take additional courses in the mathematics and geography departments to further develop their skills.