Towards an Optimal Scale for Injury Surveillance: Evaluating Spatial Dependency and Community Socio-economic Context on Intentional and Unintentional Injuries in British Columbia

Traumatic injuries place a tremendous burden on families, communities, industry, and the health care system. Moreover, the risk of severe injury, especially amongst the young and elderly, disproportionately affects those who are disadvantaged. Investigating the linkage between the environment and injury is complex as the interrelationship between location, socioeconomic status, age, and family demographics is often greater than the sum of their parts. The internship team will propose a geographic information science (GIS) based approach for trauma research. GIS offers trauma researchers an array of tools to detect the specific risk factors of injuries and to more accurately assess the spatial epidemiology of trauma in urban, rural, and remote communities in British Columbia.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Nadine Schuurman

Student:

Nathaniel Bell

Partner:

Vancouver General Hospital

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Simon Fraser University