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Impact of change in neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation on cardiovascular health in minority youth attending a park-based afterschool program.

Publication ,  Journal Article
D'Agostino, EM; Patel, HH; Ahmed, Z; Hansen, E; Sunil Mathew, M; Nardi, MI; Messiah, SE
Published in: Soc Sci Med
May 2018

Research on the mechanistic factors associating racial/ethnic residential segregation with health is needed to identify effective points of intervention to ultimately reduce health disparities in youth. We examined the association of changes in racial/ethnic segregation and cardiovascular health outcomes including body mass index percentile, sum of skinfold thicknesses, systolic and diastolic blood pressure percentile, and 400 m run time in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Hispanic youth (n = 2,250, mean age 9.1 years, 54% male; 51% Hispanic, 49% NHB; 49% high area poverty; 25% obese) attending Fit2Play™, a multisite park-based afterschool program in Miami, Florida, USA. A series of crude and adjusted two-level longitudinal generalized linear mixed models with random intercepts for park effects were fit to assess the association of change in segregation between home and program/park site and cardiovascular health outcomes for youth who participated for up to two school years in Fit2Play™. After adjusting for individual-level factors (sex, age, time, and park-area poverty) models showed significantly greater improvements in cardiovascular health if youth attended Fit2Play™ in an area less segregated than their home area (p < 0.05 for all outcomes) except 400 m run time and diastolic blood pressure percentile in Hispanics (p<.001 and p = 0.11, respectively). Area poverty was not found to confound or significantly modify this association. These findings have implications for youth programming focused on reducing health disparities and improving cardiovascular outcomes in NHB and Hispanic youth, particularly in light of a continually expanding obesity epidemic in these groups. Parks and Recreation Departments have potential to expand geographic mobility for minorities, therein supporting the national effort to reduce health inequalities.

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Published In

Soc Sci Med

DOI

EISSN

1873-5347

Publication Date

May 2018

Volume

205

Start / End Page

116 / 129

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Segregation
  • School Health Services
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Public Health
  • Program Evaluation
  • Parks, Recreational
  • Minority Groups
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Hispanic or Latino
 

Citation

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D’Agostino, E. M., Patel, H. H., Ahmed, Z., Hansen, E., Sunil Mathew, M., Nardi, M. I., & Messiah, S. E. (2018). Impact of change in neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation on cardiovascular health in minority youth attending a park-based afterschool program. Soc Sci Med, 205, 116–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.038
D’Agostino, Emily M., Hersila H. Patel, Zafar Ahmed, Eric Hansen, M. Sunil Mathew, Maria I. Nardi, and Sarah E. Messiah. “Impact of change in neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation on cardiovascular health in minority youth attending a park-based afterschool program.Soc Sci Med 205 (May 2018): 116–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.038.
D’Agostino EM, Patel HH, Ahmed Z, Hansen E, Sunil Mathew M, Nardi MI, et al. Impact of change in neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation on cardiovascular health in minority youth attending a park-based afterschool program. Soc Sci Med. 2018 May;205:116–29.
D’Agostino, Emily M., et al. “Impact of change in neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation on cardiovascular health in minority youth attending a park-based afterschool program.Soc Sci Med, vol. 205, May 2018, pp. 116–29. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.038.
D’Agostino EM, Patel HH, Ahmed Z, Hansen E, Sunil Mathew M, Nardi MI, Messiah SE. Impact of change in neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation on cardiovascular health in minority youth attending a park-based afterschool program. Soc Sci Med. 2018 May;205:116–129.
Journal cover image

Published In

Soc Sci Med

DOI

EISSN

1873-5347

Publication Date

May 2018

Volume

205

Start / End Page

116 / 129

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Segregation
  • School Health Services
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Public Health
  • Program Evaluation
  • Parks, Recreational
  • Minority Groups
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Hispanic or Latino