The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a model surveillance system based on birth certificates which makes use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. Weld County, Colorado, was selected as the pilot area for the development of the surveillance system because of the diversity and extent of agricultural activity in the county. Data from birth certificates for 1990-1992 are used as one layer in the GIS. Data obtained from land-use maps and remote sensing are used as other layers in the GIS. Agricultural land use, including crop type, can be derived from the land-use maps and remote-sensing information. Crop species have been identified using remote-sensing data for the 1991-1992 periods. The objective of the project is to demonstrate the utility of GIS in developing surveillance systems to evaluate environmental hazards related to agricultural land use and to better identify populations potentially exposed to those hazards. These populations can then be used for more detailed evaluation of exposure and outcome. The presentation will describe the development of the GIS as a tool in developing surveillance systems in agricultural health, including procedures for linking birth certificate data to rural residence data.
This research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The authors noted above are from: All at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
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