Social networks are typically seen as conduits for the spread of disease and disease risk factors. However, social relationships also reduce the incidence of chronic disease and potentially infectious diseases. Seldom are these opposing effects considered simultaneously. We have shown how and why diarrheal disease spreads more slowly to and in rural Ecuadorian villages that… Continue reading Social connectedness and disease transmission: social organization, cohesion, village context, and infection risk in rural Ecuador
Keyword: Residence Characteristics/*statistics & Numerical Data
Integrating space with place in health research: a multilevel spatial investigation using child mortality in 1880 Newark, New Jersey
Research on neighborhoods and health increasingly acknowledges the need to conceptualize, measure, and model spatial features of social and physical environments. When ignoring underlying spatial dynamics, we run the risk of biased statistical inference and misleading results. In this article, we propose an integrated multilevel spatial approach for Poisson models of discrete responses. In an… Continue reading Integrating space with place in health research: a multilevel spatial investigation using child mortality in 1880 Newark, New Jersey
Exploring nonresponse bias in a health survey using neighborhood characteristics
OBJECTIVES: We examined potential nonresponse bias in a large-scale, population-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey in California and its association with the response rate. METHODS: We used California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data and US Census data and linked the two data sets at the census tract level. We compared a broad range of neighborhood characteristics of… Continue reading Exploring nonresponse bias in a health survey using neighborhood characteristics
Cumulative social risk and racial/ethnic disparities in obesity during the transition to adulthood
Racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent obesity in the U.S. are stark, and the causes of these disparities are largely unknown. We used a cumulative risk index (CRI) to examine the role of social risk in racial/ethnic disparities in obesity. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and multinomial logistic regression, we examined the role of… Continue reading Cumulative social risk and racial/ethnic disparities in obesity during the transition to adulthood
Changes in the built environment and changes in the amount of walking over time: longitudinal results from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis
Lack of longitudinal research hinders causal inference on the association between the built environment and walking. In the present study, we used data from 6,027 adults in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis who were 45-84 years of age at baseline to investigate the association of neighborhood built environment with trends in the amount of walking… Continue reading Changes in the built environment and changes in the amount of walking over time: longitudinal results from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis
Gender differences in neighborhood walking in older adults
OBJECTIVE: This study examined mobility, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, neighborhood (density, destinations, and design), and neighborhood walking in older men (n = 106, 60-99 years, M = 76.78, SD = 8.12) and women (n = 216, 60-99 years, M = 75.81, SD = 8.46). METHOD/RESULTS: In hierarchical regression, the variables explained 32% of the variance in… Continue reading Gender differences in neighborhood walking in older adults