a. GIS and Health Research
GIS are computerized systems which allow a user to manage geospatial data and investigate spatial problems (Lo & Yeung, 2007). Essentially, GIS incorporates computer software, hardware and data (Richards et al., 1999).

Five advantages of GIS technology for health planning, research and practice are (Richards et al. (1999):

1. Allows planners, practitioners and researchers in health to link datasets and organize information
   
2. Several types of data can be used in GIS technology (GPS data, digital imagery, aerial photographs)
   
3. GIS allows for data sharing and encourages people to come together to form data partnerships
   
4. “Toolkits” can be developed for health researchers to encompass new and old GIS methods
   
5. Users can visualize information on maps to help inform decision makers and aid in the comprehension of health problems

With these advantages in mind, GIS are a dynamic and useful addition to health research. GIS are also being used in:

• Environmental epidemiology studies to store, examine and visualize data within a GIS environment (Nuckols et al., 2004)
  
• Early detection and problem solving for healthcare research and practices (Boulos, 2004)
  
• Exposure assessments, for example studying the epidemiology of air pollution and related policies (Briggs, 2005)
  
• Infectious disease studies to determine spatial and temporal patterns (Brooker & Michael, 2000) and to track and analyze the spatial distribution of measles (Ulugtekin et al., 2006)

As more health researchers become exposed to GIS and its associated benefits, it will no doubt become a more widely used tool in health research.

b. Burns Injury Research
Burns injury research is a broad topic which spans over many disciplines. Most of this research focuses on the medical and social aspects of burn injury, injury prevention, and the epidemiology of burns and associated treatments.

Current research into burns injury are:

• Cast-application techniques to prevent burns related fatalities (Halanski, et al. 2007)
  
• Use of specialized drugs for the treatment of burns injury (White, 2007; Granvante, 2007)
  
• Prevention of burn injuries in both pediatric and elderly populations (Wong et al., 2007; Tse et al., 2006)
  
• Psychological effects of burn injuries (Phillips et al., 2007)

The use of GIS as a tool for researching burns injury is under utilized. Currently no specific study where GIS in burns research has been used is present in the literature. Indirectly, GIS have been used for:

• Burns and its relation to land management (McKinsey, 1988)
  
• Modeling burning emissions, (Palacios-Orueta et al., 2004)
  
• Assessment of fire hazards (Castro, 1998)

c. Socio-economic Status
A little bit about Socio-Economic Status (SES):

• It is a term which is used to refer to the relative position of a family or individual in a social context
  
• It is calculated using a variety of factors reflective of occupation, education, and economics (Edelman, 2007)
  
• There is a lack of standards when defining SES (Edelman, 2007),
  
• There is no consensus on which factors used in the measurement are most meaningful (Houweling et al., 2007)
  
• A large amount of research is focused on SES and population health

Current studies of socio-economic status are:

• Variations between SES and non-fatal injuries among Canadian adolescents Potter et al. (2005)
  
• Relationship between SES and the type/severity of childhood injury (Gilbride et al., 2006; Savitsky et al., 2007; Leung et al., 2007)
  
• Relationship between SES status and the elderly (Quandt et al. 2007; Walker et al. 2006; Koster et al. 2006)
  
• SES and crime (Huwang, 2007)
  
• SES and education (Campbell, 2007)
  
• SES and political behavior (Spiller, 2007)

There are a select few studies which have used GIS in SES research:

• Development of techniques to discern the spatial dimensions of risk (using a number of socio-economic phenomena) for homelessness in recent immigrants in Vancouver, BC. (Fiedler et al. 2006)
  
• Used cluster analysis to map SES and demographic characteristics for health planning and service provision(Odoi et al. 2005)
  
• Calculated SES for Metropolitan Vancouver in BC, mapping the results of their deprivation index using GIS (Bell et al. 2007)

d. Socio-economic Status and Burns Injury
Several studies have linked aspects of socio-economic status to unintentional injury. Many of these studies have focused on childhood injury, but the concepts of how children are at risk and what factors of SES impact injury can be applied to any age of a population.

Barlett (2002) found children in low-income countries were at a high risk to unintentional injury due to:

• Challenging living conditions
  
• Heavier traffic volume
  
• Limited safe places to play
  
• Limited options for childcare

Also, children can be more susceptible and at a higher risk to injury if they are living in poverty due to:

• Exposure to a higher number of hazardous physical environments
• Families which experience a higher level of psychosocial stress
• Families with more health and financial problems
• Difficult living conditions with lower adult supervision (Bartlett, 2002)

Similarly to Barlett (2002), Niekerk et al. (2006) examined how living conditions can affect the level of childhood burn injuries in Cape Town, South Africa. Niekerk et al. (2006) found injury occurrence is highly influenced by features which make up the local environment, and determined that exposure to adverse housing conditions significantly impacts burn injury occurrence. Niekerk et al. (2006) note risk of exposure of children to burn injury is increased when:

• Unemployment causes family stress,
  
• If pressure exists on female-run households
  
• If the family has financial burdens

Laing & Logan (1999) also found links to the physical environment by studying the rate of unintentional injury in children who lived in an inner city region of London, United Kingdom. They examined if a relationship existed with socio-economic indices. As Niekerk et al. (2006) did, Laing and Logan (1999) determined a relationship between SES and the risk of attending a hospital ward for a burn injury. The relationship which existed was believed to stem from:

• Less safe environments in the inner city
  
• Family stress associated with being disadvantaged

Reviewing the research on burns injury and socio-economic status reveals the importance these research areas have on one another. Because SES and burns injury are two large research fields, using GIS to investigate the link between SES and burns injury will prove extremely helpful, as this study demonstrates.

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