The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64730

Mona Choi, MN, RN, Brenda Afzal, MS, RN, Allison Davis, MS, RN, and Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN. Environmental Health Education Center, University of Maryland, School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Room 665, Baltimore, MD 21201-1579, 410-706-2107, mchoi@son.umaryland.edu

As noted by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, most health care professionals do not adequately question their patients regarding exposures to environmental health risks. Therefore, few data are available describing the day-to-day environmental risks in any given community. This study proposes: 1) to pilot the use of an environmental health survey for identifying environmental risks experienced by clinic patients in Washington Village in Baltimore City, and 2) to map the information on a GIS, which works as a useful tool for the integration of environmental exposures and health outcomes to demonstrate geographical patterns. Data (n=101) were collected with the survey questionnaire, developed for a pilot project supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, various environmental and health data from local, state, and national sources were obtained for displaying environmental risk attributes and community characteristics. Fifty four percent of respondents had asthma and 12 % had lead poisoning. Results show that high incidence rate of adverse health outcomes might be related to the characteristics of the individual and the community, such as smoking, pesticide use, aged house, major transportation routes, industrial area in the neighborhood, and etc. Even though known risk factors for individual disease can be identified, it is difficult to link health outcomes to environmental sources directly. However, the GIS can help health care providers, public health officials, and community members to identify potential environmental risks related to the health outcomes with geographic patterns by visualizing information.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Understand the GIS as a tool for health care providers and public health officials to identify environmental health risks
• Understand the attributes of environmental risks related to adverse health outcomes

Keywords: Environmental Health Hazards, Geographic Information Systems

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.