Join us for the our August WG Call, 8/21/2018 at 1 p.m. ET, with Jennifer Kret. Title: Relating the Social Vulnerability Index to Emergency Department Visits for Asthma in Saint Louis County
Title: Relating the Social Vulnerability Index to Emergency Department Visits for Asthma in Saint Louis County, Missouri
In St. Louis County, Missouri, there were over 32,000 emergency department (ED) visits for asthma between 2010 and 2014. In 2014, the ED visit rate for asthma among St. Louis County children less than 5 years old (219.9) was over two times the HealthyPeople 2020 target of 95.7 per 10,000 population. Severe asthma attacks can require emergency care or even be life threatening. Asthma can be managed with medication and avoiding triggers, yet socioeconomic factors can be a barrier to preventative care. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), created by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) groups social factors from U.S. Census data into themes. This study explored the SVI themes to capture synergistic effects of multiple socioeconomic factors related with ED visits for asthma. (Abstract attached for more details.)
Jennifer Kret has worked as a Chronic Disease Epidemiologist at St. Louis County Department of Public Health for 3 years. Prior to coming to St. Louis County, she completed the CSTE Applied Epi Fellowship in Washington, DC (2 years/Chronic Disease) and worked 1 year as a vital statistics statistician in DC. In her current role, she conducts surveillance and research activities for various chronic diseases, mainly respiratory/asthma and cancer, as well as the leading causes of death, maternal and child health, and injury topics. Jennifer has used ArcGIS since she was an MPH student at the University of Minnesota to create maps and look at geographic patterns of diseases and social determinants of health – including static maps for reports and interactive story maps in ArcGIS Online.