Article/Book Listings
Mendez DD, Hogan VK, Culhane JF. Stress during pregnancy: the role of institutional racism. Stress and Health Journal. 2013 Oct;29(4):266-74. PMID: 23055409.
Abstract: Institutional racism, also known as structural racism, can be defined as differential access to resources and opportunities by race as well as policies, laws, and practices that reinforce racial inequity. This study examines how institutional racism in the form of... Read More
Keywords: Neighbourhood; pregnancy; racism; segregation; stress, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Mendez DD, Doebler DA, Kim KH, Amutah NN, Fabio A, Bodnar LM. Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and gestational weight gain and loss. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2014 Jul;18(5):1095-103. PMID: 24026397.
Abstract: We explored the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage (NSED) and gestational weight gain and loss and if the association differed by race. A census tract level NSED index (categorized as low, mid-low, mid-high, and high) was generated from 12 measures... Read More
Keywords: Gestational weight gain and loss, Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, Neighborhood conditions, Racial differences, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Cassell CH, Krohmer A, Mendez DD, Lee KA, Strauss RP, Meyer RE. Factors associated with distance and time traveled to cleft and craniofacial care. Birth Defects Research. Part A, Clinical and Molecular Teratology. 2013 Oct;97(10):685-95. PMID: 24039055.
Abstract: Background: Information on travel distance and time to care for children with birth defects is lacking. We examined factors associated with travel distance and time to cleft care among children with orofacial clefts. Methods: In 2006, a mail/phone survey was... Read More
Keywords: Barriers to care; cleft lip; cleft palate; health care accessibility; orofacial clefts; travel distance; travel time, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Mendez DD, Hogan VK, Culhane JF. Institutional racism, neighborhood factors, stress, and preterm birth. Ethnicity and Health. 2014;19(5):479-99. PMID: 24134165.
Abstract: Objective. Racial/ethnic disparities in the risk of preterm birth may be explained by various factors, and previous studies are limited in examining the role of institutional racism. This study focused on the following questions: what is the association between preterm... Read More
Keywords: Health disparities; pregnancy; preterm birth; racism; redlining; segregation
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Mendez DD, Burke JG, Jones JR, Salter C. Perspectives From Community-Based Doulas and Mothers: Neighborhood Context and Pregnancy. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice. 2014;7(4):91-106.
Abstract: Objectives: Limited research explores the potential pathways by which neighborhoods influence pregnancy or how community members conceptualize and interpret how neighborhood contexts and living environments influence pregnancy and birth. Study Design: We applied participatory Concept Mapping and a series of... Read More
Keywords: Birth; pregnancy; doulas; neighborhood; community; concept mapping, equity, racism, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Cassell CH, Strassle P, Mendez DD, Lee KA, Krohmer A, Meyer RE, Strauss RP. Barriers to care for children with orofacial clefts in North Carolina. Birth Defects Research. Part A, Clinical and Molecular Teratology. 2014 Nov;100(11):837-47. PMID: 25200965.
Abstract: Background Little is known about the barriers faced by families of children with birth defects in obtaining healthcare. We examined reported perceived barriers to care and satisfaction with care among mothers of children with orofacial clefts. Methods In 2006, a... Read More
Keywords: Health services accessibility, access to health care, orofacial clefts, cleft lip, cleft palate, birth defects, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Mendez DD, Duell J, Reiser S, Martin D, Gradeck R, Fabio A. A methodology for combining multiple commercial data sources to improve measurement of the food and alcohol environment: applications of geographical information systems. Geospatial Health. 2014 Nov;9(1):71-96. PMID: 25545927.
Abstract: Commercial data sources have been increasingly used to measure and locate community resources. We describe a methodology for combining and comparing the differences in commercial data of the food and alcohol environment. We used commercial data from two commercial databases... Read More
Keywords: Food and alcohol establishments, neighborhood, geocoding, geographical information systems, database, USA, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Mendez DD, Kim KH, Hardaway CR, Fabio A. Neighborhood Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Food and Alcohol Environment: Are There Differences by Commercial Data Sources? Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 2016 Mar;3(1):108-16. PMID: 26896110.
Abstract: Objectives: This study examined neighborhood racial and socioeconomic disparities and the density of food and alcohol establishments. We also examined whether these disparities differed by data source. Methods: This study included commercial data for 2003 and 2009 from InfoUSA and... Read More
Keywords: Disparity; Food and alcohol; Neighborhood, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Mendez DD, Gary-Webb TL, Goode R, Zheng Y, Imes CC, Fabio A, Duell J, Burke LE. Neighborhood factors and six-month weight change among overweight individuals in a weight loss intervention. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2016 Oct 20;4:569-573. PMID: 27818916.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the neighborhood environment and the association with weight change among overweight/obese individuals in the first six months of a 12-month weight loss intervention, EMPOWER, from 2011 to 2015. Measures of the neighborhood... Read More
Keywords: Neighborhood, Environment, Weight loss, Obesity, Intervention, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu
Mendez DD, Thorpe RJ, Amutah N, Davis EM, Walker RE, Chapple-McGruder T, Bodnar L. Neighborhood racial composition and poverty in association with pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain. Social Science and Medicine - Population Health. 2016 Dec;2:692-99. doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2016.09.008.
Abstract: Background Studies of neighborhood racial composition or neighborhood poverty in association with pregnancy-related weight are limited. Prior studies of neighborhood racial density and poverty has been in association with adverse birth outcomes and suggest that neighborhoods with high rates of... Read More
Keywords: Neighborhood, Race, Poverty, Pregnancy, Weight, equity, racism, pregnancy, birth, maternal and infant health, disparities
Contact: ddm11@pitt.edu