eprintid: 22915
rev_number: 12
userid: 3610
dir: disk0/00/02/29/15
datestamp: 2014-09-29 20:04:47
lastmod: 2016-12-19 14:42:08
status_changed: 2014-09-29 20:04:47
type: thesis_degree
metadata_visibility: show
contact_email: keyoniej@hotmail.com
item_issues_id: thesis_degree_versioning
item_issues_id: duplicate_title_22415
item_issues_id: duplicate_title_22671
item_issues_type: thesis_degree_versioning
item_issues_type: duplicate_title
item_issues_type: duplicate_title
item_issues_description: ETD 22671 is using versioning.
item_issues_description: Duplicate title to James, Keyonie (2014) Perceived neighborhood stressors among women enrolled in the Allegheny County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in Allegheny County, PA. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
item_issues_description: Duplicate title to James, Keyonie (2014) Perceived neighborhood stressors among women enrolled in the Allegheny County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in Allegheny County, PA. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
item_issues_timestamp: 2014-08-12 06:27:03
item_issues_timestamp: 2014-08-12 06:27:03
item_issues_timestamp: 2014-09-06 06:26:55
item_issues_status: autoresolved
item_issues_status: autoresolved
item_issues_status: autoresolved
item_issues_count: 0
eprint_status: archive
creators_name: James, Keyonie
creators_email: ksj10@pitt.edu
creators_id: KSJ10
title: Perceived neighborhood stressors among women enrolled in the Allegheny County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in Allegheny County, PA
ispublished: unpub
divisions: sch_gsph_behavioralcommhealthsci
full_text_status: public
keywords: Neighborhood environment, psychosocial stress, preterm birth, low birth weight, pregnancy
abstract: Objective: Neighborhood environment has been linked to psychosocial stress and preterm birth and low birth weight among African American women. Preterm birth and low birth weight are the second leading causes of infant death in the U.S., and they account for the excessive black-white gap in infant mortality in the U.S. The purpose of this thesis was to explore women’s perceptions of their neighborhood and the impact of neighborhood environment on their pregnancy and health.
Methods: This study used a qualitative design with semi-structured in-depth interviews. Objective indicators of crime, poverty, education and housing were collected on the neighborhoods women resided in to complement the qualitative data. A purposive sample of four multiparous postpartum women ranging in age from 25-40 was enrolled in the study recruited from the Allegheny County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. The women were inhabitants of four different neighborhoods in Allegheny County: Arlington, Greenfield, Homewood West and Spring Hill.
Results: Thematic content analysis revealed six themes. Women’s perception of crime and violence in their neighborhood was consistent with the objective indicators for crime in their neighborhood. Women felt that crime and violence in their neighborhood increased stress during their pregnancy, and they reported being exposed to crime and violence in neighborhoods they lived in previously. Parenting at a younger age and being pregnant at an older age were also perceived stressors in women’s lives. The results also showed that access and availability of resources for pregnant and parenting women varied across neighborhoods.
Conclusion: These findings have significant public health relevance as they suggest that social and physical attributes within neighborhoods may have an impact on the health and pregnancy of the women who live in them. Understanding neighborhood level factors perceived as stressful can help improve maternal and child health outcomes through programming, advocacy, policy and education.
date: 2014-07-22
date_type: completed
pages: 81
institution: University of Pittsburgh
refereed: TRUE
etdcommittee_type: committee_chair
etdcommittee_type: committee_member
etdcommittee_type: committee_member
etdcommittee_name: Terry, Martha Ann
etdcommittee_name: Davis, Esa M.
etdcommittee_name: Trauth, Jeanette M.
etdcommittee_email: materry@pitt.edu
etdcommittee_email: davisem@upmc.edu
etdcommittee_email: trauth@pitt.edu
etdcommittee_id: MATERRY
etdcommittee_id: EMD55
etdcommittee_id: TRAUTH
etd_defense_date: 2014-07-22
etd_approval_date: 2014-09-29
etd_submission_date: 2014-08-11
etd_release_date: 2014-09-29
etd_access_restriction: immediate
etd_patent_pending: FALSE
thesis_type: thesis
degree: MPH
citation: James, Keyonie (2014) Perceived neighborhood stressors among women enrolled in the Allegheny County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in Allegheny County, PA. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)
document_url: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/22915/1/JamesKey_Thesis_2014.pdf