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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Barbara L. Norton, MPH, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, University of Oklahoma, School of Public Health, P.O. Box 26901, Oklahoma City, OK 73109, (405)271-2017, Barbara-Norton@ouhsc.edu, Michelle Kegler, DrPH, Department of Behavioral Science and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, Lorraine Halinka Malcoe, PhD, MPH, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico, MSC09 5060, 1 University of New Mexico, Alburquerque, NM 87131-0001, Barbara R. Neas, PhD, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 801 NE 13th Street, CHB 325, Oklahoma City, OK 73117, and Robert John, PhD, Health Promotion Sciences, University of Oklahoma College of Public Health, P.O. Box 26901, Oklahoma City, OK 73109.

The expanding literature on “neighborhood or place effects” and increased use of ecological frameworks in community-based interventions has fostered an interest in understanding the influence of protective social factors (PSFs) – like social capital, civic participation, social cohesion, and sense of community – on health-related outcomes. These factors are seen as fostering the health of communities and mediating the effect of community-level stressors on individual-level health and social functioning, but research on populations suggests that PSFs may operate differently by ethnicity or cultural group. This research examines the perceptions of health and well-being of residents in a rural Oklahoma county that has grappled with 20 years of uncertainty and upheaval associated their designation as a Superfund Site contaminated by heavy metal mine tailings. A random sample of families with young children were identified with parents being surveyed about self-rated global health and depressive symptoms, perceived sense of community, civic and social participation, social support, perceived stress, and other demographic and residential characteristics (n = 380). Multiple regression results will be presented that indicate whether protective social factors make a difference in predicting respondent health and well-being and whether the findings differ for American Indians (n = 167) compared to whites (n=213). At the end of this session participants will be able to identify examples of protective social factors and their mediating effect on health-outcomes, and an approach to evaluating their behavioral influence in an ethnically diverse population.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe types of protective social factors and the literature supporting their influence on health
• Describe the findings of a community-based research study of the influence of protective social factors on perceptions of health and well-being among American Indians and whites
• Discuss implications of findings on community-based research and practice with diverse populations

Keywords: American Indians, Community Assets

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No