273443 A Life Course Perspective of Chronic Disease and the Impact of Surface Transportation

Monday, October 29, 2012

Karyn M. Warsow, MS, MPH, DrPH Candidate , Department of Health Policy Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Life is a continual process of growth, development and rebirth. Who we are and who we become is an continuous and integrated multilevel pathway. The proposed conceptual framework is used to demonstrate the synergy of risk and protective factors involved in the development of chronic disease over the life course as it relates to the impact of surface transportation. The framework describes the behavioral, social and biological contexts beginning in preconception, epigenetic modification during gestation, and extending through early maturation and growth to old age. In conjunction, individual choice sets in motion one's life trajectory and social well-being. Thus, the choice of transportation modality is dependent upon place of residence (urban, suburban or rural) in which an individual may choose to walk; bicycle; use public transit, rail; or drive a motor vehicle. These choices are influenced by the availability of transportation alternatives within a community, perceived personal and budgetary constraints, attitude, habit and educational information. This poster presentation will graphically depict the manner in which human utility and the interplay of life stressors, such as surface transportation, have the potential to manifest physiologically as chronic disease based on the physical (geography, architecture, and technology) and social (culture, economics and politics) environments.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
The presentation will explain how human utility (health/well-being) and the prevalence of chronic disease in the population are multifaceted and represent interplay among all of the contexts and factors of the life course.

Keywords: Health, Environment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the primary author of this work and a doctoral student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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: 3080.0: Committee on Affiliates Student Poster Session