Using Geographic Information System Mapping in Emergency Management: Expanding the Role of Nurses in Home Based Primary Care

Judith R Katzburg; Sarah E Bradley; Jason D Lind; Jacqueline Fickel; Diane Cowper Ripley; Michael K Ong; Alicia A Bergman; Marguerite Fleming; Leon B Lee; Sarah A Tubbesing

doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2019.10.010

Using Geographic Information System Mapping in Emergency Management: Expanding the Role of Nurses in Home Based Primary Care

Nurs Clin North Am. 2020 Mar;55(1):81-95. doi: 10.1016/j.cnur.2019.10.010. Epub 2019 Dec 25.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ VA Health Services Research and Development, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 16111 Plummer Street (10H3), Building 70, North Hills, CA 91343-2036, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Section, James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and Clinics, 8900 Grand Oak Circle (151R), Tampa, FL 33637-1022, USA.
³ VA Health Services Research and Development Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 16111 Plummer Street (152), Building 25, North Hills, CA 91343-2036, USA.
⁴ Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Gainesville, VA Medical Center (151B), 1601 Southwest Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
⁵ VA Health Services Research and Development Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Building 500, Room 3213A, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA; Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁶ Veterans Health Administration, VA Office of Reporting, Analytics, Performance, Improvement, and Deployment, 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington DC 20420, USA.
⁷ VA Health Services Research and Development Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Building 206, Room 219, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA.
⁸ Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Home Based Primary Care Program, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Building 213, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA.

PMID: 32005368
DOI: 10.1016/j.cnur.2019.10.010

Abstract

The Veterans Health Administration Home Based Primary Care (VHA-HBPC) program serves Veterans with complex, chronic conditions. Emergency management is a concern for VHA-HBPC programs. Geographic information system (GIS) mapping has been implemented for local program operations in 30 locations. An evaluation assessed GIS mapping as a tool in emergency management, including frontline nurses' and nurse leaders' experiences. Nurses' roles included making and using maps for preparedness and response. Maps provided valuable information, including locations of vulnerable patients (eg, ventilator dependent), community emergency resources, and environmental threats (eg, hurricane). Nurses' willingness to embrace this new technology and skill set was notable.

Keywords: Emergency management; Geographic information system (GIS); Home-based primary care; Implementation evaluation; Nursing; Veterans; Vulnerable populations.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Emergency Medical Services / organization & administration*
Emergency Nursing / organization & administration*
Female
Geographic Information Systems*
Home Care Services / organization & administration*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Military Medicine / organization & administration*
Nurse's Role*
Primary Health Care / organization & administration
United States
Veterans*