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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Roy F. Oman, PhD1, Michelle C. Kegler, DrPH2, Cheryl Aspy, PhD3, Sara K Vesely, PhD4, Kenneth R. McLeroy, PhD5, LaDonna Marshall6, and Sharon Rodine, MEd6. (1) Department of Health Promotion Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, Rm. 369, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, 405-271-2017 x46752, Roy-Oman@ouhsc.edu, (2) Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, (3) Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 900 NE 10th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, (4) Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, PO Box 26901, CHB, Room 309, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, (5) School of Rural Public Health, 260 Centeq Building, College Station, TX 77843, (6) HEART of OKC Project, Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, 420 N.W. 13th St., #101, Oklahoma City, OK 73103
Community and neighborhood characteristics may have significant effects on individual and family health behaviors and outcomes. This study's purpose was to examine potential relationships among neighborhood- and city-level characteristics and demographic factors in an inner-city population. The demographic factors were age, race, gender, income, and education. The community characteristics were: 1) informal social control, 2) psychological sense of community, 3) neighborhood-level services, 4) neighborhood-level crime and safety, 5) city-level services, and 6) city-level quality of living. Data were collected using in-home, in-person interviews of 1,236 randomly selected residents (mean age=42 years; 81% female; 54% White, 22% Black, 15% Hispanic, 9% Native American) of inner-city neighborhoods. Chi-square analyses indicated significant associations (p<.05) between several demographic and community characteristics. For example, psychological sense of community increased with respondents' age, income, and education. Respondents with greater education and income were more likely to agree that neighborhood-level government services were not a concern. Age, education and race were related to perceptions of neighborhood-level services and crime and safety. All five demographic factors were significantly related to the perception of city-level government services while gender and income were related to city-level quality of living. Finally, respondents with higher incomes were more likely to indicate a presence of informal social control in their neighborhoods. The results suggest the importance of contextual factors on individuals' perceptions of their neighborhood and city, and the need for research to understand the potential roles of community and demographic characteristics in health issues, such as health disparities.
Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to
Keywords: Community Health Programs, Underserved Populations
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.