USING A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) IN EVALUATING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF HEALTH FACILITIES FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS IN PENANG STATE, MALAYSIA

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have been used widely in manydeveloped countries to map health-related events, and the results areused for planning of health services (such as locating screening centres) and in assessing clusters of cases to help identify possible aetiological factors. In the United States in particular, cancer cases notified to registries are routinely entered into GIS, and trends are monitored over time. The Penang Cancer Registry (PCR) is a population-based registry that collects and collates data of all cancer cases diagnosed in Penang as well as cancer cases diagnosed elsewhere of Penang residents. Cancer case reports are generated by providing counts of cases based on Penang home addresses. Mapping of cases using information from the PCR gives a fairly complete picture of cancer cases from the Penang state, and any clusters of cases can be readily identified. This studydemonstrates the application of GIS in the mapping and evaluation ofthe accessibility to health facilities of breast cancer cases in the Penang state. The ArcGIS 9.3 software was used to map and evaluate the spatial clustering of cancer cases, and the Network Analysis function was used to determine the distance between breast cancer cases and health facilities. Although the Penang state is considered one of the more developed states in Malaysia with good health facilities, in some parts of the state, health facilities are quite inaccessible. The study results suggest that new health facilities with screening and treatment services should be built in the south of the Seberang Perai and Balik Pulau areas. In addition, this study provides the opportunity to include geographical factors in examining cancer data, which gives a fresh outlook on the issue.