The development of geographical information systems for locality planning in health care

An earlier paper (abstracted as 91H/06643) reviewed the growth in locality health planning in this country and elsewhere and considered a case study in Tower Hamlets District Health Authority in East London. This paper considers some of the information requirements for locality planning, and outlines some of the characteristics of a suitable geographical information system (GIS) for local health planning using the same district as an example for illustrating particular issues. Some priorities for future research are identified.