Quantification of Neighborhood-Level Social Determinants of Health in the Continental United States
How do social determinants of health vary across multiple dimensions and geographic space? In this cross-sectional study (JAMA, Jan. 29, 2020) of 71901 census tracts with approximately 312 million persons across the continental United States, multivariate social determinants of health measures were reduced to 4 indices reflecting advantage, isolation, opportunity, and mixed immigrant cohesion and accessibility and were clustered into 7 neighborhood typologies that included an extreme poverty group.
Purpose Built Communities
A nonprofit consulting firm that aims to transform poor, urban neighborhoods into thriving developed communities by helping them to re-examine their space with an eye toward affordably, access and lifestyle. Led by its president, Carol Naughton, the group has 16 network members with another 35 areas are considering joining. The organization has identified as many as 825 “highly distressed” metro-area neighborhoods across the United States. Contact: Ethan Davidson, spokesman, 404-591-7537 or edavidson@purposebuiltcommunities.org.
Income Inequality: It’s Also Bad for Your Health
This New York Times map offers a striking look at the impact of living in communities with high income inequality on life expectancy compared to living in areas with less of an income gap.
Place and health: why conditions where we live, learn, work, and play matter
Summary of a round table discussion among experts in the fields of housing and neighborhoods, violence prevention, and the growing use of health impact assessments to determine the health implications of community development and other programs and policies, convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2011.
Multilevel analyses of neighbourhood socioeconomic context and health outcomes: a critical review
K. E. Pickett, M. Pearl; Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (2001)
Informative critique of studies on the influence of the health impact of neighborhood residence.
City Maps
Maps highlighting the stark differences in life expectancy for babies born in adjacent neighborhoods in five representative cities, part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America.