The Houston Department of Health Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) monitors emergency departments (ED) chief complaints across the Houston metropolitan area, Harris County, and the surrounding jurisdictions by Real-time Outbreak Disease Surveillance (RODS). The influenza-like illnesses (ILI) data is collected by sentinel surveillance provider network of 12 physicians and RODS, an electronic syndromic surveillance database consisting of about 30 EDs in metropolitan Houston. Previous research indicates that there is a relationship between new HIV diagnoses and neighborhood poverty. However, there is limited research on health disparity to investigate the association between influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and social determinants of health (SDH), such as poverty.
Objective
To investigate the association between social determinants of health and influenza-like illnesses in Houston/Harris County and to identify neighborhoods for targeted surveillance or interventions.