Poster Presentation C Thursday, 5:00 – 6:00 pm C Edmund Fitzgerald Exhibit Hall

Using GIS to Facilitate Targeted Blood Lead Screening

Mary Hagerman, Steve Scott
Dakota County Survey and Land Information Department
and Environmental Management Department
14955 Galaxie Avenue Suite 355
Apple Valley, MN  55124
mary.hagerman@co.dakota.mn.us

In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its previous recommendation for universal blood lead screening of children with a recommendation for targeted blood lead screenings of children at risk for lead exposure. At Dakota County, Minnesota, GIS (in particular ArcView with Spatial Analyst and Model Builder) is being used to integrate environmental lead exposure data, blood lead screening data, birth data and socio-economic data to produce a risk surface and define a set of targeted screening areas. The Dakota County GIS, Environmental Management, and Public Health Departments staffs have collaborated to develop a model to predict the presence and risk of environmental lead, determine under-screened populations, and help in deciding where to target screening efforts. Also produced was a cartographic display portraying the model, input data, and resulting target areas. The display is designed to communicate the message that environmental lead exposure is a problem in Dakota County, that exposure risks are not equally distributed throughout the County, and that the current screening efforts are not adequate. Currently, the model and the display are being presented to physicians and clinic staff practicing in targeted communities to inform them of the need to increase screening efforts of children living in the designated target areas.