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Jennifer Rienks, PhD(c), Family Health Outcomes Project, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street Suite 365, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415 476-5283, Jenrienks@aol.com, Geraldine Oliva, MD, MPH, Family Health Outcomes Project, Dept. of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St, Suite 365, San Francisco, CA 94118, Virginia Smyly, MPH, CHES, San Francisco Department of Public Health, Community Health Promotion & Prevention, 30 Van Ness Ave, Suite 2300, San Francisco, CA 94102, Linda D. Mack Burch, MPH, Family Health Outcomes Project, Depart. of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 365, San Francisco, CA 94118, and Judith A. Hager, MPH, MA, Family and Community Medicine, Family Health Outcomes Project, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St., Suite 365, San Francisco, CA 94118.
Objective: Measuring African American perceptions of factors in the social environment that may be related to infant health outcomes and creating a reliable scale measuring African American neighborhood social cohesion. Background and Methodology: A large urban Health Department (DPH) created the SevenPrinciples Project to address personal and social environment factors related to higher rates of infant mortality among African Americans (AA). A university is working with the DPH to evaluate the success of these efforts. As a part of this process, a telephone survey was conducted with 804 AA respondents residing in the four multi-ethnic neighborhoods targeted by the project. With evidence indicating that the social and economic environment in which we reside impacts health, the survey was designed to measure these environmental factors within the AA community in these neighborhoods. The social environment within the AA community is measured using questions or modified versions of questions from the Social Capital Community Benchmark survey. Some statements are modified to make them specific to neighborhood cohesion among the AA community. Respondents also rate their community on a four-point scale, ranging from excellent to poor. Results: The alpha correlation coefficient for the African American neighborhood cohesion scale indicates acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .79). A good fitting logistic regression model was developed using low cohesion as the outcome variable and age, activity level, knowledge about prenatal care to avoid SIDS, belief that you have something to give the community, concerns for safety as a barrier, volunteering and neighborhood residence as input variables.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: African American, Survey
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.