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

Abstract #73821

Richard E Hoskins, PhD MPH, Epidemiology, Health Statistics and the Public Health Laboratory, Washington State Department of Health, 1102 Quince Street, Olympia, WA 98504-7812, (360) 236-4270, healthmaps@attbi.com

In order to develop a public health intervention strategy for preventing infant death it is important to identify specific areas in a community where the rate is higher than elsewhere and to assess risk factors that may be important because of location. This is important in order to develop a deeper understanding of disease processes as well as helping to develop cost effective interventions. Ninety-seven percent of birth and infant death certificates for 1988 to 2001 were geocoded to the street level for Pierce, King and Snohomish Counties. The socioeconomic characteristics from census data at the block group level were assigned to each birth and infant death using a geographic information system (GIS). This allowed the characterization of covariates on the birth and death certificates such as age of the mother, marital status, birth weight, gestational age, and cause of death in terms of the possible impact of socioeconomic, temporal, and geographic factors. Rates were calculated and adjusted using empirical Bayes smoothing. Also a spatial scan statistic and a variety of cluster detection methods were applied to identify neighborhoods where infant death rates are elevated. The result is an atlas of infant death rates and clusters both in space and time presented in the context of the most well known risk factors for infant death as well as new ones best represented in a geographical context. The result is an indication of specific areas and time periods where a public health intervention may be needed.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will develop an understanding about how GIS can be effectively applied to assessment and surveillance activities, especially for infant death.
• Participants will understand how census data may contribute to an understanding of the social, possibly economic, and geographic determinants of infant death.
• Participants will be able to begin to develop a dialogue with other public health practitioners about the utility of using GIS as a valuable tool in health status assessment

Keywords: Geographic Information Systems, Infant Mortality

Related Web page: fttp:\\epiqms.doh.wa.gov

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Caliper Corperation, Newton Mass TerraSeer Inc, Ann Arbor MI
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.