Applications of GIS and geospatial analyses in COVID-19 research: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Geographic information science (GIS) has established itself as a distinct domain and incredibly useful whenever the research is related to geography, space, and other spatio-temporal dimensions. However, the scientific landscape on the integration of GIS in COVID-related studies is largely unknown. In this systematic review, we assessed the current evidence on the implementation of GIS and other geospatial tools in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We systematically retrieved and reviewed 79 research articles that either directly used GIS or other geospatial tools as part of their analysis. We grouped the identified papers under six broader thematic groups based on the objectives and research questions of the study- environmental, socio-economic, and cultural, public health, spatial transmission, computer-aided modeling, and data mining. Results: The interdisciplinary nature of how geographic and spatial analysis was used in COVID-19 research was notable among the reviewed papers. Although GIS has substantial potential in planning to slow down the spread, surveillance, contact tracing, and identify the trends and hotspots of breakdowns, it was not employed as much as it could have been. This review not only provided an overarching view on how GIS has been used in COVID-19 research so far but also concluded that this geospatial analysis and technologies could be used in future public health emergencies along with statistical and other socio-economic modeling techniques. Our systematic review also provides how both scientific communities and policymakers could leverage GIS to extract useful information to make an informed decision in the future. Conclusions: Despite the limited applications of GIS in identifying the nature and spatio-temporal pattern of this raging pandemic, there are opportunities to utilize these techniques in handling the pandemic. The use of spatial analysis and GIS could significantly improve how we understand the pandemic as well as address the underserviced demographic groups and communities.

Global research on syndemics: a meta-knowledge analysis (2001-2020)

“…This is consistent with previous research that reported a low scholarly output from LMICs in different areas of health sciences. [41][42][43][44] In the case of syndemics research, the historical and persistent gaps in research capacities in LMICs are likely to be compounded by the fact that syndemics have been primarily conceptualized and extensively studied by scholars and institutions in highincome countries. It is necessary to increase the research capacities in LMICs with a focus on syndemics, as those countries experience a high burden of infectious and noncommunicable diseases and poor social determinants of health.…”

Examining second-order impacts of COVID-19 in urban areas

“…While the COVID-19 virus has catalysed an international research effort to create a vaccine in record time (Yong 2020), it also provides an opportunity to facilitate global research using geospatial analyses (Ahasan et al 2020;Fatima et al 2021;Helbich, Browning, and Kwan 2021;Yang et al 2020). Ahasan et al (2020) conduct a systematic review of emerging research of geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial analyses of COVID-19 across thematic groups with an emphasis on public health and first-order impacts (e.g. environment, socio-economic, health surveillance, spatial pattern analysis of COVID-19, and computer-aided spatial and statistical analysis and modelling).…”

“…Modifiable Areal Unit Problem) that may result from using spatially aggregated data. Our literature review complements Ahasan et al (2020) and Yang et al (2020) by inspecting the geospatial approaches to examining second-order impacts of COVID-19 generally and to inform the C2M2 project specifically.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated and accelerated scientific research across multiple disciplines yielding rich array of scientific results and findings. Indeed, there are numerous articles on first-order impacts using geospatial approaches that track the spread of the virus, examine transmission rates, and map death rates (Ahasan et al 2020). Although there have been hundreds of published articles focusing on the numerous second-order impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the literature reviewed here is related to the impacts in cities in LMICs that are the focus of the C2M2 programme.…”

Spatial Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccine Centers Distribution: A Case Study of the City of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…Since the discovery of COVID-19 and its rapid spread across the world, spatial analysis has played a significant role in the study and mapping of the spread of the disease [ 10 , 11 ]. Several GIS tools and spatial-analysis techniques have been used to track COVID-19 at multiple levels [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”