Special Issue "Geospatial Information in Public Health"

Dear Colleagues,

Geospatial information derived from Earth’s Observation programs (EO), aerial platforms (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles) and also from global navigation satellite systems are a valuable source of information and play a critical role in Public Health. For a long time, data from environmental satellite programs has been used to derive several environmental factors and afterwards used to establish a relationship between several human diseases and environmental conditions. Remote sensing data are crucial for estimating and monitoring health-relevant environmental variables. Since the launch of Landsat-1 in 1972, an increasing number of health studies have used remotely sensed data. These data are very helpful to understand the transmission mechanisms of several diseases and could be used to develop satellite data-based early warning systems. Although most of the health studies involving remote sensed data were related to parasitic diseases, recently, several studies have related different environmental factors (e.g., humidity, temperature, PM10, NO2) retrieved by remote sensing data with several diseases, such as asthma exacerbations, preterm birth, neurodegenerative disorders, circulatory mortality, and ischemic heart disease.

Geographic information systems also play an important role in public health research and strategy. In fact, the integration of accurate spatial data can be a vital asset in healthcare systems, for doctors and nurses to increment knowledge about factors possibly affecting their patients, but also for public health professionals and their need to be aware of population specific trends.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health solicits papers that present research related to geospatial information to support monitoring and forecasting human health in order to better understand the spatial aspects of health and illness.

Dr. Ana Cláudia Teodoro
Dr. Alberto Freitas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2300 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Earth Observation data
• Geospatial data
• Air quality parameters
• Land use land cover
• Environmental factors
• Public health
• Disease modeling
• Big data

Authors: Lia Duarte ^1,2, Ana Cláudia Teodoro ^1,2, Mariana Lobo ^3,4, João Viana ^3,4, Alberto Freitas ^3,4
Affiliation: ¹ University of Porto, Department of Geosciences, Environment and Land Planning, Faculty of Sciences, Rua Campo Alegre 687, Porto 4169-007, Portugal; [email protected]; ² Earth Sciences Institute (ICT), Pole of the FCUP, University of Porto, Porto 4169-007, Portugal; [email protected]; ³ Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; [email protected], [email protected]; ⁴ CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal

Title: The association between hospital proximity and ambulatory care sensitive conditions hospitalizations
Authors: Lobo M ^1,2, Pinto A ^1,2, Santos JV ^1,2,3, Viana J ^1,2, Souza J ^1,2, Ramalho A ^1,2, Duarte L ^4,5, Teodoro AC ^4,5, Freitas A ^1,2
Affiliation: ¹ Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto. Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ² CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Portugal. Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ³ Public Health Unit, ACES Grande Porto VIII - Espinho/Gaia (ARS Norte), Portugal; ⁴ Department of Geosciences, Environment and Land Planning, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. Rua Campo Alegre 687, Porto 4169-007, Portugal; ⁵ Earth Sciences Institute (ICT), Pole of the FCUP, University of Porto, Porto 4169-007, Portugal

Title: Geospatial analysis of environmental risk factors in neurodegenerative diseases: A systematic review
Authors: Mariana Oliveira ¹, Mariana Lobo ^1,2, Ana Cláudia Teodoro ^3,4, and Alberto Freitas ^1,2
Affiliation: ¹ CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ² Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ³ University of Porto, Department of Geosciences, Environment and Land Planning, Faculty of Sciences, Rua Campo Alegre 687, Porto 4169-007, Portugal; ⁴ Earth Sciences Institute (ICT), Pole of the FCUP, University of Porto, Porto 4169-007, Portugal

Title: Comparison of ambulatory care sensitive conditions approaches: temporal and geographical trends in Portugal
Authors: Andreia Pinto ^1,2, Roberto Carvalho ¹, João Viana ^1,2, João Vasco Santos ^1,2,3, Alberto Freitas ^1,2
Affiliation: ¹ Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto. Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ² CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Portugal. Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ³ Public Health Unit, ACES Grande Porto VIII - Espinho/Gaia (ARS Norte), Portugal

Title: Comparison of ambulatory care sensitive conditions approaches: temporal and geographical trends in Portugal
Authors: Andreia Pinto ^1,2, Roberto Carvalho ¹, João Viana ^1,2, João Vasco Santos ^1,2,3, Alberto Freitas ^1,2
Affiliation: ¹ Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto. Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ² CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Portugal. Rua Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal; ³ Public Health Unit, ACES Grande Porto VIII - Espinho/Gaia (ARS Norte), Portugal