"This paper describes a variety of resources available for the health research and public health sector to use for managing and sharing their data. The Go-Geo! service is one resource which offers an SDI for the eclectic range of... more
"This paper describes a variety of resources available for the health research and public health sector to use for managing and sharing their data. The Go-Geo! service is one resource which offers an SDI for the eclectic range of disciplines using GIS in UK academia, including health informatics.
The benefits of data management and sharing are immense, and in these times of cost restraints, these resources can be seen as solutions to find cost savings which can be reinvested in more research."
Page 1. HealthCyberMap: Mapping the Health Cyberspace Using Hypermedia GIS and Clinical Codes Maged Nabih Kamel Boulos MBBCh, MSc (Derm & Vener), MSc (Medical Informatics) A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Philosophy Doctor (PhD) City... more
Page 1. HealthCyberMap: Mapping the Health Cyberspace Using Hypermedia GIS and Clinical Codes Maged Nabih Kamel Boulos MBBCh, MSc (Derm & Vener), MSc (Medical Informatics) A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Philosophy Doctor (PhD) City University, London, UK Centre for Measurement and Information in Medicine (MIM), School of Informatics December 2002 Page 2.
Abstract HealthCyberMap (URI: http://healthcybermap. semanticweb. org) aims at mapping health information resources in cyberspace in unique and novel ways, and deliver a semantically superior experience to consumers of these resources.... more
Abstract HealthCyberMap (URI: http://healthcybermap. semanticweb. org) aims at mapping health information resources in cyberspace in unique and novel ways, and deliver a semantically superior experience to consumers of these resources. This paper describes the work undertaken in Protégé-2000 to develop a Dublin Core metadata set ontology for HealthCyberMap and a Web resource metadata collection form based on it.
1. Distance and Flexible Education 2. Presentations, Panels and Discussions (unlike conventional video conferencing over the Web, virtual worlds offer and add:(a) emotion/pseudobody language communication to meetings (thanks to... more
1. Distance and Flexible Education 2. Presentations, Panels and Discussions (unlike conventional video conferencing over the Web, virtual worlds offer and add:(a) emotion/pseudobody language communication to meetings (thanks to sophisticated, highly customisable avatars—closer to face-to-face contacts, but less “threatening”/with more “protection” for those needing this), as well as (b) a shared pseudo-physical 3-D space that can be used in a variety of ways)
Abstract This hybrid review-case study introduces three-dimensional (3-D) virtual worlds and their educational potential to medical/health librarians and educators. Second life (http://secondlife. com/) is perhaps the most popular virtual... more
Abstract This hybrid review-case study introduces three-dimensional (3-D) virtual worlds and their educational potential to medical/health librarians and educators. Second life (http://secondlife. com/) is perhaps the most popular virtual world platform in use today, with an emphasis on social interaction.
Background HealthCyberMap http://healthcybermap. semanticweb. org webcite aims at mapping parts of health information cyberspace in novel ways to deliver a semantically superior user experience. This is achieved through" intelligent"... more
Background HealthCyberMap http://healthcybermap. semanticweb. org webcite aims at mapping parts of health information cyberspace in novel ways to deliver a semantically superior user experience. This is achieved through" intelligent" categorisation and interactive hypermedia visualisation of health resources using metadata, clinical codes and GIS. HealthCyberMap is an ArcView 3.1 project. WebView, the Internet extension to ArcView, publishes HealthCyberMap ArcView Views as Web client-side imagemaps.
ABSTRACT Second Life ( http://secondlife. com/) represents a relatively new 3-D virtual learning environment that has not been fully tested yet, and in which there is enormous potential for the development of creative and dynamic... more
ABSTRACT Second Life ( http://secondlife. com/) represents a relatively new 3-D virtual learning environment that has not been fully tested yet, and in which there is enormous potential for the development of creative and dynamic educational experiences. This paper introduces the University of Plymouth Sexual Health SIM in Second Life (out-world URL: http://sl-sexualhealth. org. uk/-in-world SLurl: http://slurl.
BACKGROUND: With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, user-edited online resources such as Wikipedia are increasingly tapped for information. However, there is little research on the quality of health information found in Wikipedia.... more
BACKGROUND: With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, user-edited online resources such as Wikipedia are increasingly tapped for information. However, there is little research on the quality of health information found in Wikipedia. OBJECTIVE: To compare the scope, completeness, and accuracy of drug information in Wikipedia with that of a free, online, traditionally edited database (Medscape Drug Reference [MDR]). METHODS: Wikipedia and MDR were assessed on 8 categories of drug information.
In 2011, about 30.2%(2.1 billion) of the world's population had access to the Internet (78.3% of North America and 58.3% of Europe's populations), 1 and searching for health information online became increasingly common; for example,... more
In 2011, about 30.2%(2.1 billion) of the world's population had access to the Internet (78.3% of North America and 58.3% of Europe's populations), 1 and searching for health information online became increasingly common; for example, about two-thirds of US adults look online for health information according to recent figures released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project (Fox and Jones, 2009; Fox, 2010).
Abstract The term" Geographic Information Systems"(GIS) has been added to MeSH in 2003, a step reflecting the importance and growing use of GIS in health and healthcare research and practices. GIS have much more to offer than the obvious... more
Abstract The term" Geographic Information Systems"(GIS) has been added to MeSH in 2003, a step reflecting the importance and growing use of GIS in health and healthcare research and practices. GIS have much more to offer than the obvious digital cartography (map) functions. From a community health perspective, GIS could potentially act as powerful evidence-based practice tools for early problem detection and solving.
Abstract The WHO's well known definition of health stressed the indivisibility of human well-being, physical and otherwise, by stating that health is" not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". The spiritual dimension of health is... more
Abstract The WHO's well known definition of health stressed the indivisibility of human well-being, physical and otherwise, by stating that health is" not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". The spiritual dimension of health is well covered in the medical literature.
Abstract As online information portals accumulate metadata descriptions of Web resources, it becomes necessary to develop effective ways for visualising and navigating the resultant huge metadata repositories as well as the different... more
Abstract As online information portals accumulate metadata descriptions of Web resources, it becomes necessary to develop effective ways for visualising and navigating the resultant huge metadata repositories as well as the different semantic relationships and attributes of described Web resources. Graphical maps provide a good method to visualise, understand and navigate a world that is too large and complex to be seen directly like the Web.
Background Studying the contribution of individual countries to leading journals in a given discipline can highlight which countries have the most impact on that discipline, and also give some idea about the geographical outreach of those... more
Background Studying the contribution of individual countries to leading journals in a given discipline can highlight which countries have the most impact on that discipline, and also give some idea about the geographical outreach of those journals. This paper examines the number of countries that contributed articles to one leading medical informatics journal, Medical Informatics & the Internet in Medicine, and the amount of their contributions between 1999 and the first half of 2004.
Abstract This paper offers a state-of-the-art overview of the intertwined privacy, confidentiality, and security issues that are commonly encountered in health research involving disaggregate geographic data about individuals. Key... more
Abstract This paper offers a state-of-the-art overview of the intertwined privacy, confidentiality, and security issues that are commonly encountered in health research involving disaggregate geographic data about individuals. Key definitions are provided, along with some examples of actual and potential security and confidentiality breaches and related incidents that captured mainstream media and public interest in recent months and years.
Abstract Confidentiality constraints often preclude the release of disaggregate data about individuals, which limits the types and accuracy of the results of geographical health analyses that could be done. Access to individually geocoded... more
Abstract Confidentiality constraints often preclude the release of disaggregate data about individuals, which limits the types and accuracy of the results of geographical health analyses that could be done. Access to individually geocoded (disaggregate) data often involves lengthy and cumbersome procedures through review boards and committees for approval (and sometimes is not possible).
Abstract Brute health information delivery to various devices can be easily achieved these days, making health information instantly available whenever it is needed and nearly anywhere. However, brute health information delivery risks... more
Abstract Brute health information delivery to various devices can be easily achieved these days, making health information instantly available whenever it is needed and nearly anywhere. However, brute health information delivery risks overloading users with unnecessary information that does not answer their actual needs, and might even act as noise, masking any other useful and relevant information delivered with it.
Abstract The latest generation of smartphones are increasingly viewed as handheld computers rather than as phones, due to their powerful on-board computing capability, capacious memories, large screens and open operating systems that... more
Abstract The latest generation of smartphones are increasingly viewed as handheld computers rather than as phones, due to their powerful on-board computing capability, capacious memories, large screens and open operating systems that encourage application development. This paper provides a brief state-of-the-art overview of health and healthcare smartphone apps (applications) on the market today, including emerging trends and market uptake.
Abstract This eye-opener article aims at introducing the health GIS community to the emerging online consumer geoinformatics services from Google and Microsoft (MSN), and their potential utility in creating custom online interactive... more
Abstract This eye-opener article aims at introducing the health GIS community to the emerging online consumer geoinformatics services from Google and Microsoft (MSN), and their potential utility in creating custom online interactive health maps. Using the programmable interfaces provided by Google and MSN, we created three interactive demonstrator maps of England's Strategic Health Authorities. These can be browsed online at http://www. healthcybermap.
Abstract Open Source Web GIS software systems have reached a stage of maturity, sophistication, robustness and stability, and usability and user friendliness rivalling that of commercial, proprietary GIS and Web GIS server products. The... more
Abstract Open Source Web GIS software systems have reached a stage of maturity, sophistication, robustness and stability, and usability and user friendliness rivalling that of commercial, proprietary GIS and Web GIS server products. The Open Source Web GIS community is also actively embracing OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) standards, including WMS (Web Map Service). WMS enables the creation of Web maps that have layers coming from multiple different remote servers/sources.
