Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #117100

Chris Jacobites¹, Paul A. Shoemaker, MPH², Margaret Reid, RN³, John Shea, MS², Leon Bethune, MPH², Rogers Swartz⁴, Jeff Lane, MS, CIH⁵, and Heather Lewchik⁵. (1) Boston Public Health Commission, Environmental Health Office, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor, Boston, MA 02118, 617-534-5966f, chris_jacobites@bphc.org, (2) Office of Environmental Health, Boston Public Health Commission, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, (3) Director of Asthma, Boston Public Health Commission, 1010 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02118, (4) Boston Public Health Commission, Community Initiatives Bureau, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor, Boston, MA 02118, (5) Boston Public School Department, 1216 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02124

The complexity of environmental health data and need to coordinate efforts between multiple agencies in partnership has made data collection technology an important focus as the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) moves into the 21st century. After a review of available technological approaches to paperless data collection to insure consistent, accurate, validated, secure data collection to reduce errors, the BPHC?s Environmental Health Office implemented a Palm-based software application. We have successfully deployed the software in inspections of Boston?s public school buildings and in the Healthy Homes asthma home visiting program. The school inspection program requires an annual environmental assessment of 13 separate parameters in each room of Boston?s 140 public school buildings. Data on each room is collected by BPHC inspectors and Boston Public School Department staff using the Palm handheld. The Healthy Homes project has collected data at 79 homes using electronic forms to collect information on 119 parameters in each home. The electronic forms insure consistent collection of data and allow for data to be easily aggregated, updated, and shared. Additionally, the forms reduce staff time at BPHC spent on data entry and management as well as allowing for reporting from the data to the school department, principals, and parents with relative ease. The electronic forms are now being deployed on additional projects ? environmental assessments of automotive repair shops and indoor air quality assessments of indoor ice skating rinks due to their utility in easily collecting quality data and facilitating data sharing among members of a project partnership.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will be able to

• Describe the value of paperless data collection to insuring accurate data and effective provision of environmental health services
• Describe how electronic data collection promotes the coordination of activities between multiple agencies in partnership.

Keywords: Technology, Data Collection

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.