Preschool asthma: Examining environmental influences using geographic information systems

Objective This study was conducted to explore if environmental factors co‐occur in areas with high asthma rates in Head Start (HS) children. Design Descriptive. Sample Convenience sample of 56 children with asthma enrolled in HS, ages 3–5 years. Measurements Geographic Information Systems using ArcG...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public health Nursing 2020-05, Vol.37 (3), p.405-411
Main Authors: Quaranta, Judith E., Swaine, Jennifer, Ryszka, Sarah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asthma
Asthma - epidemiology
Blood levels
child health
Child, Preschool
Children
Childrens health
Economic analysis
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Environmental factors
Environmental health
Geographic Information Systems
Health risks
Housing
Housing - statistics & numerical data
Human exposure
Humans
Lead
Lead - analysis
Lead content
Lead poisoning
Levels
Pollution
Preschool children
Public health
Public Health Nursing
Remediation
Remote sensing
Risk analysis
Risk Factors
Satellite navigation systems
Service areas
Socioeconomic Factors
United States - epidemiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective This study was conducted to explore if environmental factors co‐occur in areas with high asthma rates in Head Start (HS) children. Design Descriptive. Sample Convenience sample of 56 children with asthma enrolled in HS, ages 3–5 years. Measurements Geographic Information Systems using ArcGIS 10.4 was used to geocode and map aggregated address data at the census tract level through vector map analysis. Location, race, economic status, pollution remediation sites, age of housing, and blood lead levels were assessed for areas with high asthma concentration. Results Most children with asthma resided in one census tract, which was 1% of the total service area. Fifty‐six percent of housing was built before 1960 with only 10% after 1990, suggesting deteriorating conditions. Pollution remediation sites were found in the vicinity of asthma cases. Elevated lead levels were found in 22% of all HS children; specific values for the children with asthma were not available. Conclusion Several co‐occurring factors were identified. The need for proactive interventions to decrease asthma risk/poor asthma outcomes with HS is evident. GIS locates children with high susceptibility to asthma. This allows public health nurses to target interventions and educate and empower families about environmental exposures and asthma risk factors.
ISSN:0737-1209
1525-1446
DOI:10.1111/phn.12729