Conceptualizing Neighborhood Space: Consistency and Variation of Associations for Neighborhood Factors and Pregnancy Health Across Multiple Neighborhood Units

Authors

Lynne C. Messer, Portland State UniversityFollow
Lisa C. Vinikoor-Imler, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Barbara A. Laraia, University of California - San FranciscoFollow

Sponsor

Funding for this study was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal & Child Health Bureau (1 R40MC07841-01-00). Data collection was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (CA109804). Additional support was provided by the NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K01HD047122 and HD37584).

Published In

Health Place

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Subjects

Neighborhoods -- Health aspects, Air -- Pollution -- Health aspects, Prenatal influences, Pregnancy -- Environmental aspects

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the consistency of associations between neighborhood characteristics and pregnancy-related behaviors and outcomes across four nested neighborhood boundaries using race-stratified fixed-slope random-intercept multilevel logistic models. High incivilities was associated with increased smoking, inadequate weight gain and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), while walkability was associated with decreased smoking and PIH for white women across all neighborhood definitions. For African American women, high incivilities was associated with increased smoking and inadequate gestational weight gain, while more walkable neighborhoods appeared protective against smoking and inadequate weight gain in all but the smallest neighborhoods. Associations with neighborhood attributes were similar in effect size across geographies, but less precise as neighborhoods became smaller.

Description

This work was authored as part of the Contributor's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law. This is the publisher’s final pdf.

The article can be found online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.03.012

*At the time of publication Lynne C. Messer was affiliated with Duke University

DOI

10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.03.012

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15800

Citation Details

Messer LC, Vinikoor-Imler LC, Laraia BA. Conceptualizing neighborhood space: consistency and variation of associations for neighborhood factors and pregnancy health across multiple neighborhood units. Health and Place, Jul;18(4): 805-13. 2012.