UIT Highlights

Members of the Boston Colllege / Tufts University Massachusetts Health Passport research team learned the basics of geographic information systems (GIS) in a recent workshop. Tufts researchers, led by Professor Fran Jacobs (Child Development / Urban and Environmental Policy), are working with the Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project at Boston College, to evaluate programs aimed at improving access to community health services by teens in the juvenile justice system. The initial project area is Boston, but the team will soon be adding several other Massachusetts cities to the evaluation. Geographic information technology may be used to understand neighborhood context and patterns of health care uses, preferences, and impediments, as well as mapping of community assets. Tufts GIS specialists will continue to help the Passport project in the coming months in spatial database design and geocoding.