UNDERSTANDING NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACTS OF HEALTH

社区影响一系列健康结果，包括婴儿死亡率、哮喘和心脏病的发展以及预期寿命，而与个人特征无关。邻里之间的“接触”途径，只被部分地理解。该中心将研究邻里对健康的影响，重点是那些可能通过公共政策的变化而改变的邻里特征。该中心的目标如下： 1)开展研究，解释社区如何在整个生命周期中促进健康，包括通过生物途径和健康行为 2)开发丰富的数据资源，可用于促进对社区如何影响健康的理解，以及这些影响的生物途径。 3)在兰德公司所在的3个城市中，建立强大的社区参与式研究（CBPR）伙伴关系，包括社区组织和学术机构。 4)发展和培养跨学科研究人员（包括社会和基础科学家）的社区，专注于健康的社会决定因素，特别是社区在健康中的作用。 5)通过根据中心的研究结果提出的一系列政策建议，为改善公共政策做出贡献，从而改善人口健康。 该中心高度重视以社区为基础的参与性研究，将由4个项目、2个试点和2个核心组成。项目跨越3个层次的分析：生物，社会/环境，行为/心理。项目1将审查一项大型自然实验的影响，该实验涉及开发和改造娱乐设施，以促进体育活动和其他健康成果。项目2将研究影响老年人残疾过程的功能和认知方面的邻里因素。项目3研究了邻里和非稳态负荷的生物标志物之间的关系。项目4研究建筑环境对心理健康的影响。一个行政核心将支持整个项目。数据和方法核心提供数据和计算支持，并作为围绕计量和统计问题的智力活动的焦点。

Neighborhoods impact a host of health outcomes, including infant mortality, the development of asthma and heart disease and life expectancy, independent of personal characteristics. The pathways through which neighborhoods 'get under the skin', are only partly understood. This center will study neighborhood influences on health, focusing on those characteristics of neighborhoods that are potentially amenable to change through changes in public policy. The Center has the following goals: 1) To conduct research to explain how neighborhoods contribute to health throughout the life cycle, including through biological pathways and health behaviors 2) To develop a rich data resource that can be used to advance the understanding of how neighborhoods influence health, and the biological pathways through which such influences work. 3) To develop robust community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships within each of the 3 cities in which RAND is located, involving both community-based organizations and academic institutions. 4) To develop and foster a community of interdisciplinary researchers (including social and basic scientists) focused on the social determinants of health, specifically the role of neighborhoods in health. 5) To contribute to improving public policies that can improve population health through a set of policy recommendations that are developed from the results of the Center's research. The Center, which places a high priority on community-based participatory research, will be composed of 4 projects, 2 pilots, and 2 cores. Projects span 3 levels of analysis: biological, social/environmental, and behavioral/psychological. Project 1 will examine the impact of a large natural experiment involving the development and renovation of recreational facilities on physical activity and other health outcomes. Project 2 will study neighborhood factors that impact the functional and cognitive aspects of the disabling process in the elderly. Project 3 examines the relationships between neighborhoods and biological markers of allostatic load. Project 4 studies the impact of the built environment on mental health. An administrative core will support the entire project. A data and methods core provides data and computing support, and serves as a focus for intellectual activity around measurement and statistical issues.