title: Screening for lead poisoning: a geospatial approach to determine testing of children in at-risk neighborhoods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a spatial strategy to assess neighborhood risk for lead exposure and neighborhood-level blood lead testing of young children living in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This ecologic study used existing blood lead results of children aged <or=36 months tested and living in one of Atlanta's 236 neighborhoods in 2005. Geographic information systems used Census, land parcel, and neighborhood spatial data to create a neighborhood priority testing index on the basis of proxies for poverty (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children [WIC] enrollment) and lead in house paint (year housing built).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2005, only 11.9% of Atlanta's 18,627 children aged <or=36 months living in the city had blood lead tests, despite a high prevalence of risk factors: 75,286 (89.6%) residential properties were built before 1978, and 44% of children were enrolled in WIC. Linear regression analysis indicated testing was significantly associated with WIC status (P < .001) but not with old housing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This neighborhood spatial approach provided smaller geographic areas to assign risk and assess testing in a city that has a high prevalence of risk factors for lead exposure. Testing may be improved by collaboration between pediatricians and public health practitioners.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Ambarish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vaidyanathan
authors.forename: Forrest
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Staley
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shire
authors.forename: Subrahmanyam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muthukumar
authors.forename: Chinaro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Pamela A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Mary Jean
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005843:Geography; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008403:Mass Screening; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012306:Risk; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D007854:Lead