PLACE MATTERS for health in important ways, according to a growing body of research. Differences in neighborhood conditions powerfully predict who is healthy, who is sick, and who lives longer. And because of patterns of residential segregation, these differences are the fundamental causes of health inequities among different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the South Delta, MS, Place Matters Team are pleased to add to the existing knowledge base with this report, Place Matters for Health in the South Delta: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All, A Report on Health Inequities in the South Delta of Mississippi. The report, supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health and written in conjunction with the Center on Human Needs at the Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Network for Geospatial Health Research, provides a comprehensive analysis of the range of social, economic, and environmental conditions in the South Delta and documents their relationship to the health status of the county’s residents.

The study finds that social, economic, and environmental conditions in low-income and non-white neighborhoods make it more difficult for people in these neighborhoods to live healthy lives. The overall pattern in this report – and those of others that the Joint Center has conducted with other PLACE MATTERS communities – suggests that we need to tackle the structures and systems that create and perpetuate inequality to fully close racial and ethnic health gaps. Accordingly, because the Joint Center seeks not only to document these inequities, we are committed to helping remedy them.

Through our PLACE MATTERS initiative, which is generously supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we are working with leaders in 24 communities around the country to identify and address social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health. We look forward to continuing to work with leaders in the South Delta and other communities to ensure that every child, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or place of residence, can enjoy the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, and productive life.

The Sixth Annual Conference on Health Disparities: Reducing Health Disparities Through Sustaining and Strengthing Healthy Communities will take place on November 28th through December 1st in Little Rock, AR. The 2012 conference will focus on policies and programs to reduce health disparities. Presenters will emphasize the role of social determinants, personal responsibility and prevention in initiatives that reduce disparities.

HPI Director Dr. Brian Smedley will be speaking on November 29th at 1:30pm on a panel entitled "The impact of social determinants in reducing health disparities and sustaining healthy communities with a mjor focus on race, poverty, education, and environmental issues".

For more information, view the agenda.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold its 18th annual Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Conference, Advancing Partnerships: Data, Practice, and Policy, from December 12 to December 14, 2012, in San Antonio, TX. This year's conference, held in conjunction with the 2012 CityMatCH Urban MCH Leadership Conference, gathers MCH professionals from across the country and around the world to discuss issues in and potential improvements to the health of women, children, and families.

HPI Research Scientist Dr. Jermane Bond will present at a conference Skill-Building Session entitled The P in MCH: Recommendations for Improving Paternal Involvement in Pregnancy on Thursday, December 13, from 10:15 to 11:45 AM CT.

For conference information and registration, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by clicking the REGISTER button to your right.

The National Urban League Policy Institute will host an event to release their new report, The State of Urban Health: Eliminating Health Disparities to Save Lives and Cut Costs on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM ET in Washington, DC. A panel discussion will cover highlights of the report, which addresses the economic costs society endures when health disparities persist in our nation. Congresswoman Donna Christensen will provide opening remarks. 

HPI Director Dr. Brian Smedley will be featured on the panel.

For more information, view the event invitation.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies today released a report documenting how neighborhood social and economic conditions in Baltimore powerfully shape racial and ethnic health inequities in the city.

The report, “Place Matters for Health in Baltimore:  Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All,” finds that residents’ place of residence is an important indicator of their health and health risks.  Importantly, because of persistent racial and class segregation, place of residence is an especially important driver of the poorer health outcomes of the city’s non-white and low-income residents.

The report, prepared by the Joint Center and the Baltimore Place Matters team, Equity Matters, Inc., in conjunction with the Center for Human Needs at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Network for Geospatial Health Research, was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health.   The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the range of social, economic, and environmental conditions in Baltimore—particularly as it relates to the quality of housing and educational opportunities—and documents their relationship to the health status of the city’s residents.

Download this press release by clicking the link below.

Another study is adding to growing evidence that the condition of a neighborhood can have a significant impact on its residents' health.

The latest by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and Equity Matters Inc. found that people living in Baltimore's lower-income neighborhoods had worse health outcomes than those in its more affluent areas.

Life expectancy varied by as much as 30 years between the city's poorest and wealthiest neighborhoods between 2005 and 2009, the study found. People lived longest in the greater Roland Park area in North Baltimore, 86.3 years, and shortest in Upton/Druid Heights, 56.7 years.

Because Baltimore has significant patterns of segregation, health disparities often align by race. For instance, in 2007 the premature death rate in Baltimore for blacks was 1.8 times higher than for whites.

Many characteristics of a neighborhood play a role in health outcomes, including access to medical care and healthful foods and exposure to violence and environmental hazards, the study found.

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Read more at The Baltimore Sun.

The report, “Place Matters for Health in Baltimore:  Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All,” finds that residents’ place of residence is an important indicator of their health and health risks.  Importantly, because of persistent racial and class segregation, place of residence is an especially important driver of the poorer health outcomes of the city’s non-white and low-income residents.

The report, prepared by the Joint Center and the Baltimore Place Matters team, Equity Matters, Inc., in conjunction with the Center for Human Needs at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Network for Geospatial Health Research, was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health.   The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the range of social, economic, and environmental conditions in Baltimore—particularly as it relates to the quality of housing and educational opportunities—and documents their relationship to the health status of the city’s residents. 

The study finds that social, economic, and environmental conditions in low-income and non-white neighborhoods make it more difficult for people in these neighborhoods to live healthy lives.  Among the study’s key findings are that life expectancy in Baltimore varies by as much as 30 years depending on the census tract, and that census tracts with the lowest life expectancy tend to have a higher percentage of people of color and low-income residents.  Community-level risk factors, such as poor quality housing and education, are among the factors that predict health inequalities in the city.  Residents in census tracts characterized by a high density of liquor stores, vacant properties, rodent- or insect-infested homes, and lead exposure have an average life expectancy that is six to nine years shorter than residents of census tracts with the lowest rates of these characteristics.  Similarly, residents in areas with a better educational environment—such as a greater percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree, lower school absenteeism rates, and fewer students scoring below basic proficiency levels—live nearly nine years longer than residents of neighborhoods with poorer educational environments.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies will release a report, Place Matters for Health in Baltimore:  Ensuring Equitable Opportunities for Good Health.

The report documents a 30-year difference in life expectancy across census tracts in the city.  Census tracts with a high proportion of people of color, the report finds, disproportionately suffer from a lack of investment in the opportunity structures that help people to be healthy, such as high-quality schools and housing.  Conversely, these communities tend to host a disproportionate concentration of health risks, such as environmental degradation, vendors selling unhealthy products, and unsafe streets.

The report offers a number of policy strategies to address these neighborhood-level health risks.  Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) will comment on the report.
 

Read the entire report by clicking the icon below.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies will release a report, “Place Matters for Health in Baltimore:  Ensuring Equitable Opportunities for Good Health.”

The report documents a 30-year difference in life expectancy across census tracts in the city.  Census tracts with a high proportion of people of color, the report finds, disproportionately suffer from a lack of investment in the opportunity structures that help people to be healthy, such as high-quality schools and housing.  Conversely, these communities tend to host a disproportionate concentration of health risks, such as environmental degradation, vendors selling unhealthy products, and unsafe streets.

The report offers a number of policy strategies to address these neighborhood-level health risks.  Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) will comment on the report.

For full details click the link below.

In celebration of Food Day—a nationwide celebration and movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food—the Mississippi South Delta PLACE MATTERS team held a community meeting to discuss the connection between the rise in obesity and lack of affordable, healthy foods in Sharkey and Issaquena counties. The South Delta PLACE MATTERS team is part of an initiative of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies that builds the capacity of communities to address social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health and health outcomes.

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The South Delta PLACE MATTERS team intends to draw attention to the root causes of this obesity crisis: the social, economic, and environmental factors that shape Mississippians’ opportunities to be healthy. Many neighborhoods in Sharkey and Issaquena counties lack the resources that residents need in order to buy healthy foods and live active lifestyles.

Download the full press release below.