Place Matters: Revealing Infectious Disease Disparities Using Area-Based Poverty

Abstract

Most public health surveillance systems do not capture individual-level data on socioeconomic position. However, neighborhood-level data are available from the US Census, including the percentage of residents with incomes below the federal poverty level. Vulnerable populations can be identified by linking geocoded surveillance data to Census data, per the Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project. We will present the implementation, results, and interpretation of several analyses examining >50 diseases by neighborhood poverty in 14 states and New York City. Discussions will highlight facilitators and barriers to conducting these analyses and using findings to promote policy and prevention measures advancing health equity.