?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fd-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu%2F7191%2F&rft.title=NEIGHBORHOOD+ENVIRONMENT+AND+THE+FUNCTIONAL+HEALTH+OF+OLDER+ADULTS&rft.creator=Musa%2C+Donald&rft.description=With+the+growing+number+of+older+adults+and%2C+therefore%2C+the+increasing+importance+of+disability+as+a+public+health+outcome%2C+it+is+important+to+better+understand+the+causes+and+correlates+of+functional+decline+and+disability+in+the+elderly.+Traditionally%2C+most+research+on+disability+has+focused+on+individual+risk+factors.+However%2C+a+growing+body+of+research+is+finding+evidence+of+the+role+of+the+social+and+physical+environment+in+health+outcomes+generally.+But+to+date%2C+limited+research+has+examined+the+neighborhood+environment+as+a+causal+factor+in+disability+among+older+adults.+This+dissertation+examines+the+influence+of+the+socioeconomic+and+social+characteristics+of+neighborhoods+and+municipalities+in+Allegheny+County%2C+Pennsylvania+on+individual+functional+status+prevalence+and+change+among+a+sample+of+adults+65+and+older+in+the+County.+The+research+suggests+that+some+effects+of+neighborhood+social+environments+on+functional+status+may+be+present%2C+but+are+weak+relative+to+individual+risk+factors.+Neighborhood+effects+were+not+found+for+disability+prevalence+in+this+sample%2C+but+were+found+for+change+in+function+over+a+period+of+20+months.+The+analysis+indicates+that+neighborhoods+with+higher+rates+of+serious+crime+are+associated+with+declines+in+function.+Also%2C+neighborhoods+with+more+concentrated+social+and+economic+disadvantages+as+well+as+those+with+more+concentrated+affluence+were+both+associated+with+some+improvement+in+function.+The+association+of+disadvantage+with+improvement+in+function+requires+further+clarification.+The+analysis+suggests+that+more+sensitive+measures+of+disability+and+function+may+be+required+to+detect+neighborhood+effects.+This+type+of+research+is+of+great+public+health+relevance+because+it+has+the+potential+to+suggest+and+inform+a+range+of+new+community-based+public+health+interventions+to+improve+the+functional+health+of+the+elderly.&rft.date=2005-06-09&rft.type=University+of+Pittsburgh+ETD&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fd-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu%2F7191%2F1%2FMusa_Dissertation_Final.pdf&rft.identifier=++Musa%2C+Donald++(2005)+NEIGHBORHOOD+ENVIRONMENT+AND+THE+FUNCTIONAL+HEALTH+OF+OLDER+ADULTS.++Doctoral+Dissertation%2C+University+of+Pittsburgh.++++(Unpublished)++