264698 Perceived racial composition of current neighborhood among diverse community health center patients: Racial/ethnic differences in subjective perceptions?

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Meng-Ru Cheng, MSPH , Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Melody S. Goodman, PhD , Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Jewel Stafford, MSW , Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Christina Lachance, MPH , Social and Behavioral Research Branch, NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Kimberly Kaphingst, ScD , Department of Surgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
  
Introduction: Race and ethnicity are crucial constructs in public health research. The development of measures to assess individuals' perceptions of the racial/ethnic composition of their communities is needed to evaluate the relationship between segregation experience and health. This study examined differences between self-reported racial composition of current neighborhood and 2010 Census data.

Methods: Cross-sectional questionnaires were used to measure self-reported racial composition and town of residence among 943 adult community health center visitors in Suffolk County, NY. We examined the matching percentage between self-reported racial composition of current neighborhood and 2010 Census data. We stratified the analysis by demographic factors (e.g., race/ethnicity, education, income, health literacy) to examine differences in matching percentages by group.

Results: Respondents who self-reported as Non-Hispanic White (χ2=54.2, p<0.0001), had adequate health literacy (χ2=27.4, p=0.001), or had higher household income (χ2=19.4, p=0.0035) were more likely to self-report racial composition of their neighborhood consistent with 2010 Census estimates. Relative to Census estimates, 86.4% of Whites underestimated the proportion of their current neighborhood that was White, 93.1% of Blacks overestimated the proportion that was Black, and 69.8% of Hispanics overestimated the proportion that was Hispanic. Among all respondents there were more missing data for questions that did not relate to the respondent's own race/ethnicity.

Conclusions: There were statistically significant differences between self-reported racial composition and 2010 Census data across race/ethnicity groups. Future studies are needed to validate self-reported measures of individuals' perceptions of the racial/ethnic composition of their communities to study the association between segregation and health.

Learning Areas:
Biostatistics, economics
Diversity and culture
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able: 1.Discuss the association between self-reported racial composition of one’s current neighborhood and the 2010 Census data. 2.List factors affecting differences between self-reported perceptions and Census data. 3.Describe the implications of individuals’ perceptions of the racial and ethnic composition of their communities on studies of the effects of racial composition on health

Keywords: Statistics, Survey

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a master's degree in biostatistics and have conducted public health research for 2+ years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4178.0: Statistical Poster Session