Hester J. Lipscomb of Duke University and collaborators at the University of North Carolina and the Center for Women's Economic Alternatives, will attempt to quantify the incidence of negative health outcomes among women in a five-county region in northeastern North Carolina as a result of racial discrimination and fast-paced assembly line production. These outcomes include the evaluation of occupational roots of health disparities in women.
Jose Szapocznick at the University of Miami will study the built environment of elderly Hispanic residents in a low-socioeconomic neighborhood in East Little Havana, Florida. The investigators want to determine the extent to which the residents' built environment, as defined by the architectural features of the buildings they occupy, is mediated by their social behaviors and support systems in influencing their behavioral health and cognitive functioning.
Carolyn A. Berry at Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill., will study the racial disparities in the incidence of pediatric asthma among low-income African American, Latino and Caucasian elementary school-aged children. The primary goal is to clarify the biologic, environmental, social and behavioral factors that lead to these disparities.
Craig Slatin at the University of Massachusetts - Lowell proposes to examine the work environment as a primary influence on health-related quality of life endpoints such as musculoskeletal disorders, various types of acute injuries, and mental health conditions. All three of these endpoints have been associated with environmental conditions in the workplace, which themselves show a marked socioeconomic gradient because of widespread occupational segregation.
Amy J. Schulz at the University of Michigan will examine how race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, demographic factors such as neighborhood environment, and exposure to environmental toxicants (particulate air pollution) can lead to racial an
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Contact: John Peterson
919-541-7860
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
3-Jan-2001