Spatial Analysis and High Priority Target Areas

Quick Links

Data and Policy – Analyses and Research
Health Planning Analyses
Institutional Review Board

Spatial Analysis

The Office of Health Equity maintains spatially referenced (geocoded) databases of all licensed currently active physician practice sites regardless of medical specialty. The Office has expanded its Geographic Information Systems (GIS) capabilities and uses spatial analysis techniques, such as hotspot and cluster analysis, to circumscribe rational service areas.

High Priority Target Areas

The Office also uses GIS to identify “high priority target areas” and develop GIS techniques for studying rational service areas. This has facilitated the development of primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas in several rural areas.

Recent Reports

Distribution of Health, Disease, and Social Determinants of Health in Richmond, Chesterfield, and Henrico

Inequities in Birth Outcomes in Northern Virginia

Inequities in Infant Mortality and Low Birth Weight in Hampton Roads: Rethinking Birth Outcomes Using GIS and Geospatial Analysis

The Spatial Analysis of Health Data & the Development of High Priority Target Areas

For more information about Virginia designations, contact  Rexford Anson-Dwamena, Social Epidemiologist.