Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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Despite recent declines, racial segregation remains a detriment to minority neighborhoods. However, existing research is inconclusive as to the effects racial segregation has on health. Some argue that racial segregation is related to poor health outcomes, whereas others suspect that racial segregation may actually lead to improved health for some minority communities. ⋯ Our key finding suggests that the effects of segregation on self-rated health depend on an individual's race/ethnicity, with blacks and Latino residents most likely to experience adverse effects. Particularly, minorities living in predominantly white communities have a significantly higher likelihood to report poor/fair health than they would in segregated minority neighborhoods. These findings make clear that access to white neighborhoods is not sufficient to improve minority health; fuller neighborhood integration is necessary to ensure all have health equity.
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Comparative Study
Race-based sexual preferences in a sample of online profiles of urban men seeking sex with men.
Race-based sexual preferences in the online profiles of men who have sex with men (MSM) may be relevant for understanding the sexual health of this population, including racial/ethnic disparities in HIV infection. In October 2011, a content analysis was conducted of the profiles of Boston-area members of a racially diverse website for MSM. The present analysis formatively examined the use of demographic and partner selection criteria by race/ethnicity appearing in the profiles of men who indicated race-based partner preferences (n = 89). ⋯ In separate multivariable models adjusted for age and HIV status disclosure, wanting low-risk foreplay was associated with a preference for White men (aOR) = 4.27; 95 % CI = 1.70-10.75; p = 0.002), while wanting group sex was associated with a preference for Black (OR = 2.28; 95 % CI = 1.08-4.81; p = 0.03) and Latino men (OR = 2.56; 95 % CI = 1.25-5.23; p = 0.01). Future studies are needed to replicate findings in larger online samples. Mixed-methods research should explore how racial and behavioral preferences impact the sexual mixing patterns and health of MSM online in urban areas.
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Young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are experiencing high and rising rates of HIV infection, more than any other age-risk group category in the USA. Contributors to HIV risk in this group remain incompletely elucidated. We conducted exploratory qualitative interviews with 20 HIV-positive YBMSM aged 17-24 and found that father-son relationships were perceived to be important sociocontextual influences in participants' lives. ⋯ Participants also described pathways linking father-son relationships to HIV risk, which were mediated by psychological and situational risk scenarios. Our thematic analysis suggests that father-son relationships are important to the psychosocial development of YBMSM, with the potential to either exacerbate or attenuate sexual risk for HIV. Interventions designed to strengthen father-son relationships may provide a promising direction for future health promotion efforts in this population.
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In April, 2014, the City of Richmond, California, became one of the first and only municipalities in the USA to adopt a Health in All Policies (HiAP) ordinance and strategy. HiAP is increasingly recognized as an important method for ensuring policy making outside the health sector addresses the determinants of health and social equity. A central challenge facing HiAP is how to integrate community knowledge and health equity considerations into the agendas of policymakers who have not previously considered health as their responsibility or view the value of such an approach. ⋯ We highlight how this urban HiAP was the result of the coproduction of science policy. Coproduction includes participatory processes where different public stakeholders, scientific experts, and government sector leaders come together to jointly generate policy goals, health equity metrics, and policy drafting and implementation strategies. We conclude with some insights for how city governments might consider HiAP as an approach to achieve "targeted universalism," or the idea that general population health goals can be achieved by targeting actions and improvements for specific vulnerable groups and places.
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The goal of this study was to assess the association between features of the built environment and levels of walking and cycling as forms of transportation in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Data collection was conducted through a telephone survey in 2008. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to identify walking or cycling as forms of transportation. ⋯ Higher access to bike paths (OR = 0.80, 95 % CI = 0.64-1.00) was inversely associated with walking at recommended levels (≥ 150 min/week). Higher-income areas (OR = 0.26, 95 % CI = 0.08-0.81), greater number of traffic lights (OR = 0.27, 95 % CI = 0.09-0.88), and higher land use mix (OR = 0.52, 95 % CI = 0.31-0.88) were inversely associated with cycling. The neighborhood built environment may affect active commuting among adults living in urban centers in middle-income countries.