Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113323

Nisha D. Botchwey, PhD, Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, University of Virginia, School of Architecture, Campbell Hall, P.O. Box 400122, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4122, 434-924-6444, nbotchwey@virginia.edu, Viktor Bovbjerg, PhD, Health Evaluation Sciences, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800782, Charlottesville, VA 22908, and Anne Wolf, MS, RD, Health Evaluation Sciences, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1710 Allied Street, Suite 34, Charlottesville, VA 22903.

The paper contributes to the public health and planning fields' health and built environment literature focusing on community-based institutions as significant components of the built environment and contributors to effective health promotion. It extends the current literature and focus beyond land-use and transportation to include concepts relating to health service provision by local organizations. This research explores the impact of community-based programs on patient outcomes in Improving Control with Activity and Nutrition (ICAN), a translational study implementing clinically proven lifestyle modification methods among people with type 2 diabetes across 4 communities in Virginia.

Groups providing these services are a key component of the resources in neighborhoods as they provide a variety and abundance of services to local residents, and the space in which relationships develop and social involvement in neighborhood activities occurs. Such engagement is often a proxy for social capital and linked to improved health and longer lives.

The presentation will: (1) Describe implementation of clinically proven lifestyle interventions for type-2 diabetes patients in settings typical of those in which a majority of Americans receive care; (2) Assess ICAN participants' involvement in community-based programs; and (3) Present a preliminary evaluation of the built environment impact through community organizations on diabetes health.

The multidisciplinary methods used in this study follow urban planning and public health paradigms with emphasis on social capital, spatial analysis and population health. Findings are based on results of six-month surveys completed by ICAN study participants and interviews with community-based institutions they access.

Learning Objectives: