Systematic Observation: A Method for Measuring Health Related Culture & Obesity

描述（由申请人提供）：大量研究表明并发现文化影响各种各样的健康结果。考虑到日益流行的肥胖，人们特别感兴趣的是，在某种程度上，影响饮食和锻炼等行为模式的文化现象可能会导致健康结果。就文化影响个人健康行为的程度而言，这类健康状况已经成熟，可以进行严格的文化分析。然而，大多数关于文化对健康结果的影响的研究都使用了不能接近社会学上有效的文化概念化的文化代理。这里提出的研究将汇集一组社会学家，他们是文化理论和测量方面的专家，还有健康研究人员，他们是肥胖理论和测量方面的专家——肥胖是行为前因导致的关键健康结果。两个具体目标将为测量基于地的文化带来系统的观察方法：具体目标1：通过一种新的方法学方法：系统文化观察，评估北卡罗来纳州勒诺瓦县基于地的文化中普遍存在的与健康有关的信息。具体目标2：将勒诺瓦县居民用来理解具体目标1中所确定的信息的所有口译编目。我们建议将现有的系统社会观察（SSO）方法调整为一种新的测量文化的方法：系统文化观察（SCO）。上海合作组织议定书将包括一个由五人组成的研究小组在北卡罗来纳州勒诺瓦尔县进行为期四天的密集停留。我们将收集有关媒体信息、物理环境、健康食品的展示和可获得性、现有体育活动设施的使用情况等地理编码信息；以及与饮食和运动相关的社会环境文化。然后，我们将根据观察结果向焦点小组提交观察结果，以评估县居民对理解这些文化信息的解释。这种测量基于地文化的两阶段方法为理解文化如何调节和调节其他个人和社会因素对健康结果的影响，特别是肥胖和肥胖的代际转移提供了可能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Numerous studies have suggested and found that culture affects a wide variety of health outcomes. Of particular interest given the rising obesity epidemic are health outcomes that may result, in part, from cultural phenomena influencing behavioral patterns such as diet and exercise. To the extent that culture affects individuals' health behaviors, this class of health conditions is ripe for rigorous cultural analysis. However, most studies of cultural effects on health outcomes have used proxies for culture that fail to approximate a sociologically valid conceptualization of culture. The research proposed here would bring together a team of sociologists expert in the theory and measurement of culture with health researchers expert in the theory and measurement of obesity -a key health outcome with behavioral antecedents. Two specific aims will bring systematic observational methods to the measurement of place-based culture: Specific Aim 1: to assess health-related messages prevalent in the place-based culture of Lenoir County, North Carolina, through a new methodological approach: Systematic Cultural Observation. Specific Aim 2: to catalogue the repertoire of interpretations used by Lenoir County residents to understand the messages identified in Specific Aim 1. We propose to adapt the existing Systematic Social Observation (SSO) methodology into a novel approach to measuring culture: Systematic Cultural Observation (SCO). The SCO protocol will involve a four-day, intensive stay by a five-member research team in Lenoir County, NC. We will gather geocoded information about media messages, physical environment, display and availability of healthy food, uses of available physical activity facilities; and social environments for eating and exercise related culture. We will then present observations from the observations to focus groups constituted to evaluate the repertoire of interpretations county residents bring to understanding these cultural messages. This two-phase approach to measuring place-based culture offers the possibility for understanding the ways in which culture moderates and mediates the effects of other individual and social factors on health outcomes, particularly obesity and the intergenerational transfer of obesity. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Numerous studies have suggested and found that culture affects a wide variety of health outcomes, including the burgeoning epidemic of childhood and adult obesity. We propose a novel method for measuring place-based culture with respect to patterns of health beliefs and behaviors related to obesity. This may be useful in understanding and targeting responses to obesogenic beliefs and behaviors.