Neighborhood social environments and the distribution of low-birthweight in Chicago

Mothers in different social groups tend to have very different health outcomes in pregnancy. Ordinarily, social inequalities in rates of low birthweight (LBW) are discussed in terms of risk factors for these conditions, such as race, income, education, or prenatal care use, which largely focus on individual behaviors and circumstances to explain inequalities in maternal health. It is likely, however, that social phenomena that affect groups of people, such as economics, segregation, and community structure, play a role in creating social inequalities in health as well. For this inquiry, I tested characteristics of communities such as poverty and unemployment rates, housing costs, and ethnic composition as risk factors for LBW. In this way, the idea of maternal health as a product of transactions between individual mothers and their social environments could be explored.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Roberts, Eric Miklos

Contributors dc:contributor

• Weinberg, Nancy

• Social Work
• Health Sciences, Public Health
• Sociology, Social Structure and Development
• Sociology, Demography

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1995 Roberts, Eric Miklos

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9543704
(UMI)AAI9543704

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/20882