At a glance
The Geospatial Research Analysis, and Services Program (GRASP) has a long-standing role in providing geospatial support to public health partners. Since its inception in 1989, GRASP's portfolio of collaborative projects has grown to include work in all areas of public health research and practice, including environmental health, infectious and chronic disease, injury, and public health emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
A closer look
2022
Established the Environmental Justice Index, the first national, place-based tool designed to measure the cumulative impacts of environmental burdens through the lens of human health and health equity.
2019
Co-hosted the Borno GIS Summit in Atlanta as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) for public and private partners to plan and prioritize future GIS work supporting polio eradication in Nigeria and surrounding areas.
Supported EOC’s Situational Awareness Branch for public health emergencies, including support during the Domestic Lung Injury response in multiple states, and 2019 COVID-19 response to support mitigation efforts.
2018
Partnered with the NCEH Vessel Sanitation Program to provide geospatial support in their cruise ship investigations to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships.
Led an effort in collaboration with the Geography and Geospatial Sciences Working Group (GeoSWG)to reimagine CDC/ATSDR GIS Day as the Place & Health Conference. The new Place & Health Conference attracts public health scientists from across the nation and serve as a home work at the intersection of place and health to be discussed.
2017
Supported EOC’s Situational Awareness Branch for public health emergencies during the Hurricane Harvey response in Texas and Louisiana.
2016
Provided geospatial support in Puerto Rico during the Zika virus response with the development of interactive maps to communicate CDC recommendations.
2015
Established the Geospatial Epidemiology and Applied Research Unit in GRASP to advance place-based research efforts at the CDC/ATSDR. Using novel applications of geospatial methodologies, GEAR scientists provide leadership in the exploration of Geospatial Determinants of Health (GDOH).
2014
Supported EOC’s Situational Awareness Branch for public health emergencies during the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.
2012
Expanded the single ATSDR GIS Introductory Map to become a series, which expanded the ability of scientists to visualize, analyze, and characterize exposure conditions proximal to hazardous waste sites.
2011
Started supporting CDC’s polio eradication efforts with geospatial work in more than twenty countries to date, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia.
2009
Partnered with the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) to build a GIS visualization module into the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, which provides data and information on the environment, exposures, health effects, and population characteristics.
Collaborated with the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) during the H1N1 flu outbreak to create maps using NCIRD flu data. This led to a partnership to develop FluView Interactive to enhance mapping to integrate into routine flu surveillance.
2007
Partnered with the precursor to the Office of Environmental Health and Emergency Management (OEHEM) to create the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to understand population vulnerability.
2006
Conducted a spatial analysis for ATSDR to investigate a cancer cluster of Polycythemia Vera (PV) in Pennsylvania.
2005
Supported EOC’s Situational Awareness Branch for public health emergencies during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina response in Louisiana.
2003
Established partnership with CDC WONDER to support and integrate mapping directly into the online database for public health data analysis.
2001
CDC entered an era of using GIS in the response to public health emergencies with the World Trade Center response and USPS Anthrax response. This work led to the request for ATSDR to set up GIS within the Secretary’s Command Center and the CDC Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and established GRASP as a permanent entity in the EOC structure.
1998
Partnered with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) to create the Interactive Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke–the first CDC interactive atlas of surveillance data patterns and trends.
1994
ATSDR produced the GIS Introductory Map, a map designed to help scientists examine chemical exposures occurring in and around hazardous waste sites across the US, and directed it to be included in all ATSDR Public Health Assessments (PHA).
1989
ATSDR initiated a program that enabled scientists to leverage mapping and geospatial analysis to better understand issues specific to health concerns at hazardous waste sites. This program eventually evolved into GRASP.
Meeting the need for geospatial science and GIS in public health
GRASP is the largest geospatial program of CDC/ATSDR, and it continues to evolve as demand increases for geospatial science and GIS applications in public health research and practice. GRASP serves as an integral part of ATSDR's mission to protect communities from harmful health effects related to exposure to natural and man-made hazards. Additionally, GRASP is continuing its collaborative tradition with CDC/ATSDR and the broader public health community by creating and sustaining partnerships featuring geospatial science, analysis, technology, and visualization in support of public health research and practice.
Learn more about how to collaborate with GRASP.