The influence of social involvement, neighborhood aesthetics, and community garden participation on fruit and vegetable consumption.

OBJECTIVES: We considered the relationship between an urban adult population's fruit and vegetable consumption and several selected social and psychological processes, beneficial aesthetic experiences, and garden participation. METHODS: We conducted a population-based survey representing 436 residents across 58 block groups in Denver, Colorado, from 2006 to 2007. We used multilevel statistical models to evaluate the survey data. RESULTS: Neighborhood aesthetics, social involvement, and community garden participation were significantly associated with fruit and vegetable intake. Community gardeners consumed fruits and vegetables 5.7 times per day, compared with home gardeners (4.6 times per day) and nongardeners (3.9 times per day). Moreover, 56% of community gardeners met national recommendations to consume fruits and vegetables at least 5 times per day, compared with 37% of home gardeners and 25% of nongardeners. CONCLUSIONS: Our study results shed light on neighborhood processes that affect food-related behaviors and provides insights about the potential of community gardens to affect these behaviors. The qualities intrinsic to community gardens make them a unique intervention that can narrow the divide between people and the places where food is grown and increase local opportunities to eat better.

Low birthweight among US Hispanic/Latino subgroups: the effect of maternal foreign-born status and education.

We investigated whether maternal foreign-born status confers a protective effect against low birthweight (LBW) across US Hispanic/Latino subgroups (i.e., Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Central/South Americans) in the USA, and whether the association between maternal education and LBW varies by Hispanic/Latino subgroup and by foreign-born status. We conducted logistic regression analyses of the 2002 US Natality Detail Data (n=634,797). Overall, foreign-born Latino women are less likely to have LBW infants than US-born Latino women. The protective effect of foreign-born status is stronger among Latino women with less than high school education. The maternal education gradient is significantly flatter among foreign-born Latino women than among their US-born counterparts (p<0.001). Patterns among Mexican-origin women account for the overall trends among all Latinos.Foreign-born status (main effect) reduces the risk of LBW among Mexicans by about 21% but does not protect against LBW among other Latino subgroups (i.e., Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Central/South Americans). Among Mexicans and Central South Americans, the protective effect of foreign-born status is stronger among women with low education (i.e., 0-11 and 12 years) than among women with more education (i.e., 13-15 and 16+ years). The educational gradient in LBW is less pronounced among foreign-born Mexicans and Central/South Americans than among their US-born counterparts. As such, maternal foreign-born status and education are associated with LBW, though the direction and strength of these associations vary across Latino subgroups. A "health paradox" is apparent for foreign-born Mexican and Central/South American women among whom there is a weak maternal educational gradient in LBW. Future research may test hypotheses regarding the mechanisms underlying these variations in LBW among Latino subgroups, i.e., different gradients in sending countries, health selection of immigrants, cultural factors, and social support.

An examination of racial/ethnic disparities in children's oral health in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the extent factors other than race/ethnicity explain apparent racial/ethnic disparities in children's oral health and oral health care. METHODS: Data were from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, for children 2-17 years (n=82,020). Outcomes included parental reports of child's oral health status, receiving preventive dental care, and delayed dental care/unmet need. Model-based survey-data-analysis examined racial/ethnic disparities, controlling for child, family, and community/state (contextual) factors. RESULTS: Unadjusted results show large racial/ethnic oral health disparities. Compared with non-Hispanic White people, Hispanic and non-Hispanic-Black people were markedly more likely to be reported in only fair/poor oral health [odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals) 4.3 (4.0-4.6), 2.2 (2.0-2.4), respectively], lack preventive care [ORs 1.9 (1.8-2.0), 1.4 (1.3-1.5)], and experience delayed care/unmet need [ORs 1.5 (1.3-1.7), 1.4 (1.3-1.5)]. Adjusting for child, family, and community/state factors reduced racial/ethnic disparities. Adjusted ORs (AORs) for Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks attenuated for fair/poor oral health, to 1.6 (1.5-1.8) and 1.2 (1.1-1.4), respectively. Adjustment eliminated disparities for lacking preventive care [AORs 1.0 (0.9-1.1), 1.1 (1.1-1.2)] and in Hispanics for delayed care/unmet need (AOR 1.0). Among non-Hispanic Blacks, adjustment reversed the disparity for delayed care/unmet need [AOR 0.6 (0.6-0.7)]. CONCLUSIONS: Racial/ethnic disparities in children's oral health status and access were attributable largely to socioeconomic and health insurance factors. Efforts to decrease disparities may be more efficacious if targeted at social, economic, and other factors associated with minority racial/ethnic status and may have positive effects on all who share similar social, economic, and cultural characteristics.

Racial disparity trends in children's dental visits: US National Health Interview Survey, 1964-2010.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Research that has repeatedly documented marked racial/ethnic disparities in US children's receipt of dental care at single time points or brief periods has lacked a historical policy perspective, which provides insight into how these disparities have evolved over time. Our objective was to examine the im-pact of national health policies on African American and white children's receipt of dental care from 1964 to 2010. METHODS: We analyzed data on race and dental care utilization for children aged 2 to 17 years from the 1964, 1976, 1989, 1999, and 2010 National Health Interview Survey. Dependent variables were as follows: child's receipt of a dental visit in the previous 12 months and child's history of never having had a dental visit. Primary independent variable was race (African American/white). We calculated sample prevalences, and χ(2) tests compared African American/white prevalences by year. We age-standardized estimates to the 2000 US Census. RESULTS: The percentage of African American and white children in the United States without a dental visit in the previous 12 months declined significantly from 52.4% in 1964 to 21.7% in 2010, whereas the percentage of children who had never had a dental visit declined significantly (P < .01) from 33.6% to 10.6%. Pronounced African American/white disparities in children's dental utilization rates, whereas large and statistically significant in 1964, attenuated and became nonsignificant by 2010. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate a dramatic narrowing of African American/white disparities in 2 measures of children's receipt of dental services from 1964 to 2010. Yet, much more needs to be done before persistent racial disparities in children's oral health status are eliminated.

Assessing a multilevel model of young children's oral health with national survey data.

OBJECTIVES: To empirically test a multilevel conceptual model of children's oral health incorporating 22 domains of children's oral health across four levels: child, family, neighborhood and state. DATA SOURCE: The 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, a module of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, is a nationally representative telephone survey of caregivers of children. STUDY DESIGN: We examined child-, family-, neighborhood-, and state-level factors influencing parent's report of children's oral health using a multilevel logistic regression model, estimated for 26 736 children ages 1-5 years. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Factors operating at all four levels were associated with the likelihood that parents rated their children's oral health as fair or poor, although most significant correlates are represented at the child or family level. Of 22 domains identified in our conceptual model, 15 domains contained factors significantly associated with young children's oral health. At the state level, access to fluoridated water was significantly associated with favorable oral health for children. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that efforts to understand or improve children's oral health should consider a multilevel approach that goes beyond solely child-level factors.

State policy environment and delayed or forgone care among children with special health care needs.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if children with special health care needs (CSHCN) residing in states with more generous public insurance programs were less likely to report delayed or forgone care. METHODS: We used multilevel modeling to evaluate state policy characteristics after controlling for individual characteristics. We used the 2001 National Survey of CSHCN for individual-level data (N=33,317) merged with state-level data, which included measures of the state's public insurance programs (Medicaid eligibility and enrollment, spending on Medicaid, SCHIP and Title V, and income eligibility levels), state poverty level and provider supply (including pediatric primary care and specialty providers). We also included a variable for state waivers for CSHCN requiring institutional level care. RESULTS: Delayed or forgone care significantly varied among CSHCN between states, net of individual characteristics. Of all the state characteristics studied, only the Medicaid income eligibility levels influenced the risk of experiencing delayed care. CSHCN living in states with higher income eligibility thresholds or more generous eligibility levels were less likely to experience delayed care (OR 0.89(0.80,0.99); P

Influences on children's oral health: a conceptual model.

OBJECTIVES: Despite marked improvements over the past century, oral health in America is a significant problem: caries is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Much oral health research examines influences primarily in the oral cavity or focuses on a limited number of individual-level factors. The purpose of this article was to present a more encompassing conceptual model of the influences on children's oral health. METHODS: The conceptual model presented here was derived from the population health and social epidemiology fields, which have moved toward multilevel, holistic approaches to analyze the complex and interactive causes of children's health problems. It is based on a comprehensive review of major population and oral health literatures. RESULTS: A multilevel conceptual model is described, with the individual, family, and community levels of influence on oral health outcomes. This model incorporates the 5 key domains of determinants of health as identified in the population health literature: genetic and biological factors, the social environment, the physical environment, health behaviors, and dental and medical care. The model recognizes the presence of a complex interplay of causal factors. Last, the model incorporates the aspect of time, recognizing the evolution of oral health diseases (eg, caries) and influences on the child-host over time. CONCLUSIONS: This conceptual model represents a starting point for thinking about children's oral health. The model incorporates many of the important breakthroughs by social epidemiologists over the past 25 years by including a broad range of genetic, social, and environmental risk factors; multiple pathways by which they operate; a time dimension; the notion of differential susceptibility and resilience; and a multilevel approach. The study of children's oral health from a global perspective remains largely in its infancy and is poised for additional development. This work can help inform how best to approach and improve children's oral health.

The impact of public insurance expansions on children's access and use of care.

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to examine the impact of the State Children's Health Insurance Program nationally on children's access and use of health care. OBJECTIVE: Our data source was the National Health Interview Survey, using 1997 as a baseline, which predates the implementation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and 2003 as the end point of the analysis. We analyzed 25,734 children aged 0 to 18 years (1997 and 2003 combined) to examine changes in health insurance coverage rates, health care access, and utilization for children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program target population, defined here as those living in families with incomes between 100% and 199% of the federal poverty level. RESULTS: Children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program target income group showed the largest reduction in rates of uninsurance among 3 income groups (< 100%, 100%-199%, and > or = 200% of the federal poverty level) between 1997 and 2003 (15.1%-8.7%). Significant reductions occurred in the proportion of children without a usual source of care in the target income group (9.4%-7.3%) and in the proportion of children without a provider visit in the past year (10.8%-9.8%). Other measures (unmet needs, delayed care, volume of provider visits, receipt of well-child care, and dental care) showed no significant changes over this time period. A separate multivariate analysis restricted to the State Children's Health Insurance Program target population in 2003 showed that children with continuous public coverage had significantly better access and utilization on all measures studied when compared with uninsured children and performed as well or better than children with continuous private coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program is associated with substantial gains in public coverage for children in the target income group. Although some of these gains were offset by losses in private coverage, our findings demonstrate that public health insurance provides significant benefits in terms of access and utilization for children living in the target income group.

The differential effect of foreign-born status on low birth weight by race/ethnicity and education.

OBJECTIVES: This article investigates whether foreign-born status confers a protective effect against low birth weight (LBW) and whether this protective effect varies across racial/ethnic groups and by socioeconomic status (ie, education) within various racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: Logistic regression analyses of the Detail Natality Data, 1998 (n = 2,436,890), were used to examine differentials in LBW by nativity across racial/ethnic groups and by education level. RESULTS: Although foreign-born status does not protect against LBW among white women (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.96, 1.03) and it increases the risk among Asian women by 24% (95% CI: 1.13, 1.36), it reduces the risk by approximately 25% among black women (95% CI: 0.72, 0.78) and by approximately 19% among Hispanic women (95% CI: 0.78, 0.84). By educational attainment, for whites, blacks, and Hispanics the protective effect of foreign-born status is stronger among women with low education (ie, 0-11 years) than among women with more education. The educational gradient in LBW is less pronounced among foreign-born white, black, and Hispanic women than among their US-born counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Foreign-born status is associated with LBW. The direction and strength of this association varies across racial/ethnic groups, and within those groups it varies by educational level. Future research may test hypotheses regarding the mechanisms underlying these variations in LBW, including health selection of immigrants, cultural factors, social support, and social environment.

Neighborhood contextual influences on depressive symptoms in the elderly.

To understand whether neighborhood contexts contribute to the onset or maintenance of mental health problems independently of individual characteristics requires the use of multilevel study designs and analytical strategies. This study used a multilevel analytical framework to examine the relation between neighborhood context and risk of depressive symptoms, using data from the New Haven component of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, a community-based sample of noninstitutionalized men and women aged 65 years or older and living in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1982. Neighborhoods were characterized by census-based characteristics and also by measures of the neighborhood service environment using data abstracted from the New Haven telephone book Yellow Pages. Living in a poor neighborhood was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in older adults, above and beyond individual vulnerabilities. In addition, the presence of more elderly people in the neighborhood was associated with better mental health among older adults. The authors found no evidence that access to services hypothesized to promote social engagement, to provide health services, or to affect the reputation of a neighborhood explained (i.e., mediated) neighborhood variations in depressive symptoms.