It becomes necessary, therefore, in collecting evidence in civil populations, of the morbidity and fatality from influenza, to obtain additional information to that available to the Health Officer.
The method which may be relied upon to give the most accurate data consists in house-to-house surveys made soon after an epidemic, in which competent inspectors obtain detailed information concerning the illness or freedom from illness of every individual in the areas canvassed. The majority of individuals interviewed will not have had the disease, and it is therefore essential that in such a census a large enough population be covered that the resulting figures will be truly representative of the population at large.
Toward the end of January, 1920, when the recurrent epidemic was at its height in Boston, the author undertook with the aid of thirteen trained social service workers, and one physician, who was a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health, to make a sickness census of 10,000 individuals. Six districts were chosen in different sections of the city, representing six different economic and social groups. Great care was exercised in selecting the districts, so that the population in each might be as homogeneous as possible regarding economic and sanitary status, as well as race, and living conditions in general.
We have sought to clarify and to abbreviate our description of the characteristics of the various districts by incorporating a map, together with photographs of typical streets in each district. One who compares these streets as they are seen in the photographs would scarcely find it necessary to enter the buildings in order to discover the living conditions of the occupants (Chart XIII).
CHART XIII.
Map of greater Boston showing the distribution of the districts covered by the author’s house census.
District I includes an Italian population of 2,000 individuals, one-half of which live in the most congested portion of the city (see photograph) known as the North End, while the other half, living in East Boston, are slightly less crowded.
District II, in South Boston, consists of 2,000 individuals almost entirely of Irish race stock.
