Web-Based Map Application for Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Historical Demography and Health Inequality Studies

Demographics, mortality, and disease are among the key topics of interdisciplinary research. Examining these issues in the context of history and geography offers important insights into social structure and spatial variations. Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in the spatial distribution of diseases, social vulnerabilities, and past health patterns has increased significantly. However, the number of studies that systematically examine the geographical intersection of historical demography, health geography and health inequalities remains limited.
The aim of this study is to make research in the fields of historical demography, health geography, and health inequalities in Europe accessible through a Web-GIS-based interface, in accordance with the open science approach, and to systematically analyze this literature from spatial and temporal perspectives. To this end, a total of 210 publications identified through Google Scholar searches and deemed relevant to the scope of the research were evaluated. The boundaries of the study areas were defined, the geographic data linked to the bibliographic information and the resulting geographic data were transferred to ArcGIS Online and presented in the open access Web-GIS interface. 
In the final stage of the research, the publications were analyzed in terms of spatial distribution and time density. The findings show that studies have increased especially in Western and Northern Europe after 2020. The dominant thematic areas were identified as infant and child mortality, socioeconomic mortality inequalities, nutrition, anthropometric history, and epidemics.
In this context, both research gaps and intensive research areas are highlighted. Furthermore, the developed Web-GIS interface contributes to an open science approach by presenting literature on historical demographic and health disparities in a more accessible, comparable format. The study is also expected to serve as a model for the development of similar digital mapping applications in other disciplines.