I appreciate getting the notice about the rescheduled lecture, and links
for more information. It is very timely, as articles in academic journals,
in e-bulletins (SDOH#7 and OHPE #345) and messages on listservs like this
one, heart health and social determiannts are all making a connection
between the built environment, neighbourhoods and health determinants.

The background references, suggested readings, and the presentation
materials available on Dr. Northridge's website at
http://www.minority.unc.edu/sph/minconf/2004 provide a detailed look at
neighbourhood influences on health. The presentation she will do on April
19th is based on her article in the Journal of Urban Health 2003
(Dec);80(4):556:568.
Available for download, printing and distribution at:
http://jurban.oupjournals.org/cgi/reprint/80/4/556?ijkey=bSEi8NUV3T20o&keyty
pe=ref&siteid=jurban

Dr. Northridge's website offers full texts of articles from a special issue
of the American Journal of Public Health September 2003(Volume 93, Issue 9)
devoted to the built environment and health. Contents
http://www.ajph.org/content/vol93/issue9/index.shtml

Bringing the discussion of local environments and determinants of health,
there are a number of recent messages making points for consideration:

From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [heart-l] Neighbourhood contributes to CHD - even in Sweden!

"Neighborhood Socioeconomic Environment and Incidence of Coronary Heart
Disease: A Follow-up Study of 25,319 Women and Men in Sweden", by Kristina
Sundquist, Marilyn Winkleby, Helena Ahlén and Sven-Erik Johansson in Am J
Epidemiol 2004; 159:655-662.

In this study, the authors examined whether neighborhood socioeconomic
environment predicted incident coronary heart disease after adjustment  for
individual-level characteristics. A random sample of the Swedish population
(25,319 women and men aged 35?74 years) was interviewed between 1986 and
1993 and was followed through December 1997 for incident coronary heart
disease (1,189 events). [snip] The authors conclude that neighborhood
socioeconomic environment predicts incident coronary heart disease, having a
significant effect on coronary heart disease risk beyond the individual
effect.

He made reference in his earlier message this week, in SDOH Bulletin #7 to a
Hamilton, Ontario neighbourhood study. In that long bulletin he commented:
"... a study recently published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health
(Paisley, Midgett, Brunetti, & Tomasik, 2001). A survey asked 601 residents
of Hamilton Ontario to identify "the major cause of heart disease."
Respondents were then provided with six additional opportunities to identify
"any other cause of heart disease." In response to these open ended
questions, only one respondent of 601 identified poverty as a cause of heart
disease -- out of 4200 potential responses.
      What are low income residents of Hamilton, Ontario -- and elsewhere --
to make of the greater incidence of cardiovascular disease among their low
income neighbours, friends, and relatives than that seen among their more
well-off neighbours?"

I recommend that the listserv readers read the Ontario Health Promotion
E-Bulletin (OHPE) #345.1 article from January 23rd, written by Susan
Keller-Olaman, which deconstructs the determinants of health at a local
level by exploring contributions of individual and neighbourhood
characteristics to health and lifestyles in Hamilton.
(http://www.ohpe.ca/ebulletin/ViewFeatures.cfm?ISSUE_ID=345).

In this paper presented at CPHA in 2003, and offered in OHPE Bulletin, the
author comments
 "A great deal of research has explored the extent to which health and the
determinants of health are influenced by the characteristics of individuals
and/or their environments. (1)  There is agreement that both play a part,
but investigations have focused on understanding the relative contribution
of individual and environmental effects and the most influential elements of
the environment.(2)

... This literature and these challenges provide the context of the present
SSHRC-funded study, "Deconstructing the Determinants of Health at the Local
Level," which investigates neighbourhood-level variations in health and
lifestyle behaviours by comparing adults (18 yrs +) from contrasting
neighbourhoods in Hamilton, Ontario.

The present research is part of a larger study--unique to Canada--that
examines broad determinants of health in Hamilton neighbourhoods (see
http://www.mcmaster.ca/mieh/research/deconstructing.html for more about
"Deconstructing the Determinants of Health at the Local Level").
Determinants of health have largely been studied at the national and
international level. By examining relationships in these local populations,
the present project extends our understanding of the determinants of
health."

I'd love to see more discussion about neighbourhood level determinants of
health, and how we can integrate approaches of socio-environmental health
determinants with individual health behaviours.  It is not an 'either-or'
choice for health promoters.

Alison
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Alison Stirling, health promotion consultant
Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse (OPC)
Suite 1900, 180 Dundas St. W. Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8
Tel. 416-408-2249 or 1-800-263-2846 x226
Fax. 416-408-2122  Email: [log in to unmask]
Internet: http://www.opc.on.ca
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

-----Original Message-----
From: Sam Lanfranco [mailto:[log in to unmask]]

The 6th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Lecture / Broadcast
"Sorting Out the Connections Between the Built Environment and Health: A
Conceptual Framework for Navigating Pathways and Planning Healthy Cities"
will be presented by Mary E. Northridge, Ph.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor
of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at
Columbia University, Deputy Director of the Harlem Health Promotion Center,
and Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Public Health

on Monday, April 19th from 3:00-4:30pm EDT, in Rosenau Auditorium,
University of North Carolina School of Public Health and will be BROADCAST
LIVE via satellite and Internet, with telephone and email questions.

For more information about Dr. Northridge and the lecture, including
Dr. Northridge's Powerpoint slides and suggested readings, please visit
http://www.minority.unc.edu/sph/minconf/2004

To unsubscribe send one line: unsubscribe click4hp to: [log in to unmask] . To view archives or modify subscription see: http://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/click4hp.html