Place, Space, and Health
The multidimensional characterization of social, spatial, and physical environments and consequences for health related behavior and health outcomes
From the metropolitan high-rise apartment building to a rural farm homestead, the neighborhoods and local communities in which people congregate and the surroundings affect health. It is the amount to which these factors affect people that is the subject of research undertaken by several CPC fellows. New approaches, data and tools for measuring these effects are being developed. CPC fellows are constructing unique environmental databases that contain details on public facilities and information on land demographics. Such information is being used to examine the distribution of public and private physical activities in correlation to geography and social space. Networks of social ties are also a focus in studying health outcomes. For example, a CPC researcher is studying exposure and spread of cholera in relation to social networks and the environment.
CPC researchers have documented substantial variability in network structure, showing it covaries with other aspects of social structure in meaningful ways, pointing to the importance of considering the potential effects of network structure in the interpretation of other social structural effects on demographic and health outcomes.
CPC is working on understanding the dynamics of space, place, and health. One approach uses longitudinal data and multiple observations of neighborhoods, such as for examining the effects of poverty on adolescent health and development. Another is a systematic social observation tool and methodology that can be used in rural settings. Some of these approaches are still in the development stage with CPC helping pioneer research in these new directions.
Related Fellows:
- John S. Akin
- Clare Barrington
- Michael E. Emch
- Barbara Entwisle
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Amy H. Herring
- William D. Kalsbeek
- Barry M. Popkin
- Ronald R. Rindfuss
- Chirayath M. Suchindran
- Jim Thomas
- Amanda L. Thompson
- John M. Thorp, Jr.
- Paul R. Voss
- Sharon S. Weir
Related Research:
- Dynamically Integrating Macro and Micro Processes
- Integration of Spatial and Social Network Analysis in Vaccine Trials
- ONEdata - Obesity & Neighborhood Environment Database
- Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey of HSE (RLMS-HSE)
- Spatial Health Research Group
- The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
