News Archive: Neighborhood Influences on Health
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2006
Maximum risk for initiation into smoking is during teen years — Nov 2006
This 10-year study used hazard modeling to determine when initiation to smoking is most likely to occur, and familiar and demographic influences towards initiation in a group of 6,255 youths (aged 5-23). Those at highest initiation risk are between the ages of 10 and 18 years. Having highly educated parents was found to be a protective influence against teen smoking.
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Neighborhood Parks Associated with More Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls — Nov. 2006
Adolescent girls who live near parks engage in more metabolic physical activity than those who do not, particularly if the parks have walking trails and active features. Presently, 70% of adults in the United States indicate that they live within walking distance of a park or playground.
Abstract
Adolescent birth rates in Hispanic neighborhoods possibly influenced by shared values — Oct. 2006
Shared community goals in Hispanic neighborhoods may be an important factor in reducing adolescent pregnancies within those neighborhoods. Accompanying factors include cultural variation and availability of childrearing networks.
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School proximity affects physical activity among middle school girls — July 2006
Sixth grade girls who lived farther away from school tended to get less physical activity, with the most negatively affected girls living more than 5 miles from school. Time spent commuting could explain reduced time for physical activity.
HIV testing rates vary across residential ZIP codes — Mar. 2006
Residents of ZIP code areas with higher concentrations of African Americans were more likely to get tested for HIV than residents of White or Latino areas, regardless of individuals' own race/ethnicity or the number of AIDS cases or testing sites in those areas.
Neighborhood access to alcohol linked to gonorrhea rates — Mar. 2006
An examination of the effects of neighborhood changes on certain sexually transmitted diseases found that gonorrhea rates are linked to the number of neighborhood alcohol outlets.
Successful STD screening in low-income Brazilian communities — Mar. 2006
Results suggest that screening for STDs in Brazil in non-clinical settings is feasible and can help many young adults in low-income communities. This kind of screening can identify STD infections in populations who are unlikely to be tested or treated otherwise.
Medical safety net plays key role in care for uninsured children — Mar. 2006
Uninsured rural children are more likely to receive some type of medical services if they live closer to "safety net" providers or if there are more primary care physicians nearby.
Close-knit neighborhoods may help prevent childhood obesity — Feb. 2006
Adolescents living in close-knit neighborhoods where adults provide social support—such as watching out for youngsters and seeking to correct their misbehavior—are half as likely to be overweight or nearly overweight as other children.
Public park use and physical activity in Los Angeles neighborhoods — Feb. 2006
Los Angeles residents enjoy their neighborhood parks, and are most likely to use them if they are close to home and have supervised activities. Officials should consider adding park space throughout the city and including more facilities such as running tracks and trails.
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Disparities in primary care for vulnerable children — Jan. 2006
Vulnerable children who have the greatest health care needs also have the greatest difficulty obtaining primary care. However, once access to health care has been established, adolescents at higher risk are more likely to receive health promotion counseling.
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