The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

4130.1: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 12:50 PM

Abstract #74659

Built Environments, Behavior, and Health Disparity

Arnold R. Spokane, PhD, Lehigh University, 111 Research Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015, (610) 758-3257, ars1@lehigh.edu

Inequities in the health status of poor and underrepresented minorities are well documented. The underlying mechanisms responsible for these disparities, however, remain unexplained. Individual risk and vulnerability factors, and mediators from the socio-cultural and physical environment arguably contribute to health disparity. The study of these complex phenomena requires cross disciplinary contributions from Epidemiology, Behavioral Science and Architecture. Direct measures of the built environment and methodological advances now permit more powerful tests of these interactions between built environments, behavior and health. Funding from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Mental Health, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is supporting a series of such studies now in progress. Key studies and potential mechanisms are described.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Environmental Health, Environmental Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Social Determinants of Health - Role of Behavioral and Social Factors in Exposures to Environmental Hazards in the Home

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA