Whether you understand geographic information systems (GIS) or not, you're in the right place to find out more. The implication of GIS has emerged as one of the most prevalent career fields across many industries including public health. The most basic example of GIS is using Google Maps. When you're on Google Maps, you can find details on the terrain as well as other geographical information. GIS is implemented and analysed by banks to track fraudulent behaviour, police forces to map out high crime areas, and traffic transportation agencies to generate traffic reports. There are enormous implications and avenues to take after studying this field, and we will outline some of them below.

How Is GIS Used?

We could give you a long-winded history of what GIS was used for in the past - but you're here to learn where your diploma in geographic information system and data analytics online from Wilfrid Laurier University can take you. So, we'll jump into the present day and give you a general outline of what the practical implications of GIS are.

The majority of implications today are alongside emergency services and data analysts for matters of national security. GIS is used by the CDC and other agencies to track global health matters - like the current pandemic. Further, police authorities utilise the concept to map out areas of crime to better inform their dispatch policies.

Below, we will get into more detail on the primary sectors of public health and their uses of GIS. These are all viable careers that you can chase down on the back of your diploma.

Next-Gen Emergency Calls

Technology is changing constantly, and the way calls are made is no different. Gone are the days of analogue, and here are the times of the next-gen 911 calls. The shift from analogue to next-gen means that 911 departments are better equipped to answer calls that come from internet protocols and smartphones. Once the changes have fully taken place - projected to happen by the end of March 2024 - people in need of help will be able to send media, text messages, and other data to 911 centres. GIS will play an enormous part in the development of this network shift. This could be an exciting time to get involved with the service.

Emergency Management

Emergency management agencies are there to minimise public health risks and prepare for the safe dealing of disasters. This includes natural disaster management and health management including the Covid-19 crisis.

Disaster risk management uses GIS to foresee potential disaster damage. This allows emergency services to better prepare. For example, in the face of storms, GIS can be used to predict where disasters will strike and what the scope of the damage will be. Then, using this data, emergency services can fortify areas and ensure they are on standby. This could include adding sandbags or making sure hospitals are free to take on the upcoming threat.

GIS and data analysis can be used to help countries recover from disasters. Map information can be used to figure out the true extent of the damage left behind in the disaster. For example, GIS would have been used to analyse the extent of damage caused by the recent flooding in Germany and Belgium. Having this information promptly can equip the public health and civil service sector with knowledge on how best to proceed.

Law Enforcement

Law enforcement relies on GIS and data analytics heavily, and in almost every part of their services. Through GIS, data is passed through to all departments and translated into understandable formats that are used to dictate change. A great career path to follow is that of a crime analyst. Your job as a crime analyst would require a mind for detail and a passion for helping the police force. As part of your remit, you would analyse all forms of data - not just generated via GIS. You will use this data to support law enforcement officers in tracking trends and long-term issues.

Police departments must demonstrate how they are providing the service without ethical prejudice to anyone. This is difficult to achieve. However, GIS and data analytics enables law enforcement bodies to better track their activity and provide clear reporting to the public. 

Fire Department

Fire services rely on GIS to save lives and improve their daily ops. They analyse data regarding wildfires, performance monitoring, and risk reduction. Currently, with the wildfires sweeping Europe, this will be an enormous area of development for GIS. Experts in this area - who were once like you - are consistently looking at ways to improve the fire departments' pre-emptive management of wildfires.

The fire departments are responsible for understanding the dangers of the communities they serve. Thanks to GIS, departments can analyse incident reports and response times relevant to particular areas. This information is used by the departments to better their processes and reduce the risk to communities.

National Security

Public Safety Canada was the first agency to use GIS, and it is still integrated into practically everything that they do. Throughout your course, you will have learned some of the ways that Public Safety Canada manages the national security of all Canadians. If this is something you found interesting, you can enter into anything from counter-terrorism to cybersecurity. There are many different bodies involved in national security, so this would be a fantastic avenue to explore upon completion of your GIS and data analytics diploma.

Geographical information systems with a data analytics diploma can lead you down some incredible paths. Most commonly, all sectors of the public health service rely on GIS to inform their operations and make the public safe. If that's not enough for you, you can rise higher up the ranks of public safety and work in the business of national security through Public Safety Canada. No matter what route you take after your diploma, you will have an exciting career - thanks to the versatility of GIS - and help to bring about positive change.