Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that local public health agencies use local data to identify children at risk for lead exposure to ensure that they receive preventive services. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of a geographic information system (GIS) in identifying children at risk for lead exposure. We conducted a descriptive study, using GIS technology, of the blood lead (BPb) levels and residential location of at-risk children screened for lead exposure. "At-risk children" were defined as those children living in housing built before 1950 or in an area with a high proportion of older housing. The study was conducted in Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. Participants were the cohort of children born in 1995 and screened from 1996 through 1997, and children younger than age 7 years who were screened from 1994 through 1998. Outcome measures were the BPb level and residential location (address or target zone) of at-risk children screened from 1996 through 1997, and the number and location of homes where more than one child had been poisoned by lead from 1994 through 1998. The proportion of children screened who live within zones targeted for universal screening varied from 48% to 53%, while only 50% of the at-risk children in the entire county were screened. Between 1994 and 1998, 79 homes housed 35% of the 524 children with lead poisoning. These housing units were prioritized for lead-hazard remediation. Significant numbers of at-risk children throughout the county were not being tested for lead exposure, even in prioritized areas. GIS can be very useful to health departments in planning lead exposure screening strategies and measuring program performance.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (120.5 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Clark C. S., Bornschein R. L., Succop P., Que Hee S. S., Hammond P. B., Peace B. Condition and type of housing as an indicator of potential environmental lead exposure and pediatric blood lead levels. Environ Res. 1985 Oct;38(1):46–53. doi: 10.1016/0013-9351(85)90071-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Guthe W. G., Tucker R. K., Murphy E. A., England R., Stevenson E., Luckhardt J. C. Reassessment of lead exposure in New Jersey using GIS technology. Environ Res. 1992 Dec;59(2):318–325. doi: 10.1016/s0013-9351(05)80038-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nordin J., Rolnick S., Ehlinger E., Nelson A., Arneson T., Cherney-Stafford L., Griffin J. Lead levels in high-risk and low-risk young children in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. Pediatrics. 1998 Jan;101(1 Pt 1):72–76. doi: 10.1542/peds.101.1.72. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pirkle J. L., Kaufmann R. B., Brody D. J., Hickman T., Gunter E. W., Paschal D. C. Exposure of the U.S. population to lead, 1991-1994. Environ Health Perspect. 1998 Nov;106(11):745–750. doi: 10.1289/ehp.98106745. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sargent J. D., Bailey A., Simon P., Blake M., Dalton M. A. Census tract analysis of lead exposure in Rhode Island children. Environ Res. 1997;74(2):159–168. doi: 10.1006/enrs.1997.3755. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sargent J. D., Brown M. J., Freeman J. L., Bailey A., Goodman D., Freeman D. H., Jr Childhood lead poisoning in Massachusetts communities: its association with sociodemographic and housing characteristics. Am J Public Health. 1995 Apr;85(4):528–534. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.4.528. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Vine M. F., Degnan D., Hanchette C. Geographic information systems: their use in environmental epidemiologic research. Environ Health Perspect. 1997 Jun;105(6):598–605. doi: 10.1289/ehp.97105598. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wartenberg D. Screening for lead exposure using a geographic information system. Environ Res. 1992 Dec;59(2):310–317. doi: 10.1016/s0013-9351(05)80037-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]