142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis & Windshield Tours to Select Neighborhoods for a Neighborhood-Based Study of Black Men's Sexual HIV Risk and Protective Behaviors

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 5:00 PM - 5:15 PM

Andrea L. Heckert, Ph.D. , Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Tony H. Grubesic, Ph.D. , The iSchool at Drexel, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Loni Philip Tabb, PhD , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Jeanne Tschann, PhD , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Gary J. Burkholder, PhD , Senior Research Scholar, Center for Research Quality, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
James A. Peterson, Ed.D. , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Samuel Simmens, Ph.D. , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The George Washington University, Washington,, DC
Lisa Bowleg, PhD , Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background:   Healthography is an important but understudied aspect of sexual HIV risk. Menhood is a multi-phase mixed methods study of the multilevel effects of neighborhood and individual social-structural stressors and resilience on Black men’s sexual risk and protective behaviors in Washington, DC, where 5.4% of Black men live with HIV.  To gain a culturally-grounded understanding of neighborhoods and sexual risk, we conducted focus groups with Black men from SES-diverse neighborhoods in DC.  This presentation highlights our use of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) techniques to select 9 neighborhoods from a group of 39, and our windshield tours of these neighborhoods.

Method:  Based on 2012 U.S. Census block group data for ≥ 40% Black population and average median household income, we used three ESDA techniques:  cartographic visualizations, scatterplots, and cluster analysis.  Next, we conducted windshield tours to visually verify demographic and neighborhood characteristics. 

Results:  Graphic visualizations best depict the study’s results. Cluster analyses resulted in 4 ellipses consisting of 24 neighborhood block groups.  Ellipse 1 showed the highest concentration of Black residents (> 90%) and lowest income (≥ $20K); Ellipse 4 showed the lowest concentration of ≥ 40% Black residents and highest income ($50K). We randomly sampled neighborhood clusters from ellipses 1 through 4 to obtain 9 neighborhoods, and conducted focus groups with 83 Black, mostly (90%) heterosexually-identified men, ages 18 to 48.

Conclusion: ESDA and graphic visualizations, combined with windshield tours, provide an innovative and rigorous approach to neighborhood selection that can inform future neighborhood-based HIV prevention research.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Explain exploratory spatial data analysis Describe windshield tours Demonstrate how ESDA was used to select neighborhoods for HIV prevention focus group study with Black men in Washington, DC Discuss the implications of geospatial analysis methods for public health research in general, and HIV prevention research in particular

Keyword(s): Geographic Information Systems (GIS), HIV Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Postdoctoral Scientist and Project Director of the study on which this abstract is based.
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: 4430.0: Healthography: Spatial Data and HIV