Virginia Thompson Guidry, MPH, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB# 7506, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7506, 919.843.1479, gingert@email.unc.edu and Lewis H. Margolis, MD, MPH, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445.

This cross-sectional study investigated whether public schools in North Carolina serving populations at high risk of developing respiratory infections were disproportionately burdened by flooding from Hurricane Floyd. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to combine a satellite-derived image of the flooded land with public school locations. We identified 77 flooded schools and 355 non-flooded schools in 36 counties. These schools were then characterized based on the income, race/ethnicity, and age of their student populations. Prevalence ratios (PRs) revealed that low income schools in which a majority of students were black had twice the risk of being flooded (PR 2.01, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.28, 3.17) compared to the referent group (non-low income schools with a majority of non-black students). This analysis suggests that schools serving populations already at elevated risk of respiratory illness were disproportionately affected by the flooding of Hurricane Floyd. A GIS can be used to identify and prioritize schools quickly for remediation following natural disasters.

Learning Objectives:

• 3. Explore the use of secondary data combined with a GIS as a means of making a preliminary assessment of an environmental health issue.
  6. Approach the assessment of a natural disaster with an awareness of the potential for disparate effects on different populations.
  9. Identify the advantages and limitations of using a GIS to estimate environmental health effects related to a widespread exposure, e.g., flooding.

Keywords: Environmental Justice, Environmental Health

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.