The potential for the use of Open Source Software and Open Specifications in creating Web-based cross-border health spatial information systems

Globalization is contributing to the blurring of borders making irrelevant the distinctions between domestic and international health problems. Cross-border and global health spatial information systems (CBHSIS) are required to address the new global health challenges. There is a need to build and document alternatives for addressing the technological, economic, and sociocultural political challenges encountered in the creation and deployment of these systems. This paper documents the building of a prototype Web-based multimedia GIS system for use in a public health context using Open Source Software and Open Specifications and its deployment across the US-Mexico border. These technologies offer advantages in addressing several of the challenges previously mentioned. We highlight the technological and sociocultural-political issues important in successful collaboration across borders and cultures and in the creation of interoperable CBHSIS.