Development of a Comprehensive Neighborhood-based Measure of Cardiovascular Health in Children

Promoting healthy living and reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases are public health priorities in Canada and the United States. In recent years, the importance of measuring neighborhood contexts to address inequities in cardiovascular health has been highlighted. Many neighborhood indices have been utilized by academic researchers to explore the complex relationship between neighborhood and health. However, within the context of cardiovascular disease, there remains a gap in knowledge regarding questions such as (a) which indices perform better or worse as predictors of cardiovascular disease in children, (b) how performance may vary based on individual or household characteristics within the neighborhood of interest, and (c) if we can improve on these indices for describing area-level patterns for cardiovascular health in children.

Thus, the proposed research project aims to fill this knowledge gap by directly comparing the empirical performance of established neighborhood disadvantage indices in a nationally representative dataset of adolescents in the United States. Furthermore, we will determine which index or individual index components perform better or worse as predictors of cardiovascular health in this population—thus, allowing clinicians and other stakeholders to gain a deep understanding of cumulative risk of cardiovascular disease over the life course.

Faculty Supervisor:

Nomazulu Dlamini

Student:

Partner:

Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Toronto

Program: