Parasitic Worms in Middle GA. Connecting data points to advance health equity.
Abstract
Background:
Advancing health equity is a national public health priority and one of the recommendations for advancement is to improve the collection and use of public health data. A recent study in a neighboring state identified that a lack of affordable means of disposing of the waste from toilets in rural poor areas had a significant impact on health outcomes. In efforts aligned with national health equity goals, the North Central Health District Environmental Health and Epidemiology programs examined internal data sources to identify if there was any concern within the 13-county rural and urban area for soil-transmitted helminth infections and septic system failures.
Methods:
Syndromic surveillance and hospital electronic medical records were used to identify cases of soil-transmitted helminths and compared across septic system repair records over a one-year period in a 13-county district in central Georgia.
Results:
46 helminth-related emergency department and urgent care visits were found in the district over a span of one year and were highest in three zip codes, including one zip code with the most septic system repairs. Of the zip codes with the highest amount of health care visits, two of them have poverty rates above 15% (16% and 22.7%). The zip code with high numbers of health visits and septic system repairs has a high mixture of older and newer homes, with largest population growth occurring in the 2000s.
Conclusions:
Using epidemiological and environmental health tools can aid agency identification of and response to population health issues and environmental justice concerns that may otherwise be overlooked.
Keywords
HELMINTH; ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, HEALTH EQUITY, SEPTIC FAILURE, RURAL HEALTH, SOIL-TRANSMITTED HELMINTHS
Parasitic Worms in Middle GA. Connecting data points to advance health equity.
Background:
Advancing health equity is a national public health priority and one of the recommendations for advancement is to improve the collection and use of public health data. A recent study in a neighboring state identified that a lack of affordable means of disposing of the waste from toilets in rural poor areas had a significant impact on health outcomes. In efforts aligned with national health equity goals, the North Central Health District Environmental Health and Epidemiology programs examined internal data sources to identify if there was any concern within the 13-county rural and urban area for soil-transmitted helminth infections and septic system failures.
Methods:
Syndromic surveillance and hospital electronic medical records were used to identify cases of soil-transmitted helminths and compared across septic system repair records over a one-year period in a 13-county district in central Georgia.
Results:
46 helminth-related emergency department and urgent care visits were found in the district over a span of one year and were highest in three zip codes, including one zip code with the most septic system repairs. Of the zip codes with the highest amount of health care visits, two of them have poverty rates above 15% (16% and 22.7%). The zip code with high numbers of health visits and septic system repairs has a high mixture of older and newer homes, with largest population growth occurring in the 2000s.
Conclusions:
Using epidemiological and environmental health tools can aid agency identification of and response to population health issues and environmental justice concerns that may otherwise be overlooked.
