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Data sources for environmental assessment: determining availability, quality and utility
Citation:
LOBDELL, D. T., J. S. JAGAI, K. Rappazzo, AND L. C. MESSER. Data sources for environmental assessment: determining availability, quality and utility. American Journal of Public Health. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, 101(Supp 1):S277-285, (2011).
Impact/Purpose:
Five domains were identified that contribute to environmental quality: air, water, land, the built environment and sociodemographic determinants. An inventory of possible data sources was created. Data sources were evaluated for appropriate spatial and temporal coverage and data quality.
Description:
Objectives: An environmental quality index (EQI) for all counties in the United States is being developed to explore the relationship between environmental insults and human health. The EQI will be particularly useful to assess how environmental disamenities contribute to health disparities. This paper focuses on the identification and assessment of data sources used in developing the EQI. Methods: Five domains were identified that contribute to environmental quality: air, water, land, the built environment and sociodemographic determinants. An inventory of possible data sources was created. Data sources were evaluated for appropriate spatial and temporal coverage and data quality. Results: The overall data inventory identified multiple data sources for each domain. From the full inventory (n=186), the air, water, land, built environment, and social determinant domains retained two, nine, seven, four, and two data sources for inclusion in the EQr, respectively. However, differences in data quality, geographic coverage and data availability exist between the domains. Conclusion: The data sources identified for use in the EQI may be useful to researchers, advocates and communities to explore their own environmental quality questions.
