Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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Racial/ethnic homophily in sexual partnerships (partners share the same race/ethnicity) has been associated with racial/ethnic disparities in HIV. Structural racism may partly determine racial/ethnic homophily in sexual partnerships. This study estimated associations of racial/ethnic concentration and mortgage discrimination against Black and Latino residents with racial/ethnic homophily in sexual partnerships among 7847 people who inject drugs (PWID) recruited from 19 US cities to participate in CDC's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance. ⋯ White residents was associated with lower odds of homophily, but living in counties with higher mortgage discrimination against Black residents was associated with higher odds of homophily. Racial/ethnic segregation may partly drive same race/ethnicity sexual partnering among PWID. Future empirical evidence linking these associations directly or indirectly (via place-level mediators) to HIV/STI transmission will determine how eliminating discriminatory housing policies impact HIV/STI transmission.
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Alcohol outlet clusters are an important social determinant of health in cities, but little is known about the populations exposed to them. If outlets cluster in neighborhoods comprised of specific racial/ethnic or economic groups, then they may function as a root cause of urban health disparities. This study used 2016 liquor license data (n = 1204) from Baltimore City, Maryland, and demographic data from the American Community Survey. ⋯ CBGs with racial/ethnic or socioeconomic advantage had higher odds of being in on-premise clusters and CBGs marked by disinvestment had higher odds of being in off-premise clusters. Off-premise clusters deserve closer examination from a policy perspective, to mitigate their potential role in creating and perpetuating social and health disparities. In addition to addressing redlining and disinvestment, the current negative effects of alcohol outlet clusters that have grown up in redlined and disinvested areas must be addressed if inequities in these neighborhoods are to be reversed.
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The mass incarceration of African Americans is both a driver of racial health inequalities in the USA. Systemic social biases which associate African American men with criminality, violence, and as a particular threat to white women may partially explain their over-representation in the criminal justice system. ⋯ The association between race and gender was somewhat attenuated, but not completely eliminated, when we introduced socio-economic variables to our model. Addressing the social determinants of criminal justice disparities must account for the intersection of race, gender, and economics, rather than considering race in isolation.
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Sexual violence victimization is unacceptably common in the US, with nearly half of women and one in five men reporting lifetime sexual coercion and/or unwanted sexual contact; much violence occurs in campus settings. The majority of sexual violence prevention programs designed to date were not developed around the needs of urban commuter campus students. The present study explored qualitatively how these students conceptualize sexual violence and prevention. ⋯ Commuter students used "gut feelings" to identify sexual violence, reporting minimal direct consent communication. Intersecting social identities and multiple, concurrent roles limit the potential impact of existing prevention programs. Further research to design and evaluate tailored sexual violence prevention programming for urban commuter campus students is needed.
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Pregnant African American women who report higher levels of social disorder (e.g., vacant housing, drug dealing) in their neighborhoods also report higher levels of depressive symptoms. The effects of social disorder in the neighborhood during childhood on depressive symptoms during pregnancy are not known. Also unknown is the interaction between social disorders in the neighborhood during childhood and during pregnancy regarding depressive symptoms during pregnancy. ⋯ Women who reported both low levels of social disorder in their neighborhoods during childhood and during pregnancy had the lowest CES-D scores after controlling for maternal age, marital status, years of education, and family income. The model had a good fit to the data (χ2(6) = 6.36, p = .38). Health care providers should inquire about neighborhood conditions during childhood and during pregnancy and provide referrals for appropriate professional and community support for women who report social disorder in their neighborhoods and depressive symptoms.