NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECTS ON FUNCTIONING AMONG ELDERS

Harvard University (Sch Of Public Hlth), Boston MA

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Abstract

This study is designed to explore pathways through which neighborhood dynamics exact their toll on the health of elders. Namely, exposure to violence will be used as an indicator of neighborhood level conditions. Its relation to the rate of functional decline in an elderly cohort in New Haven, Connecticut will be assessed. Using a longitudinal design, two pathways will be studied: (1.) A psychosocial pathway hypothesizing social networks as mediators of functional decline in the context of violence exposure, and (2.) A physiologic pathway which explores measures of stess-related comorbidity as the result of violence exposure.