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Moving Beyond Geography: Health Practices and Outcomes Across Time and Place

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Communities, Neighborhoods, and Health

Part of the book series: Social Disparities in Health and Health Care ((SDHHC,volume 1))

Abstract

This chapter examines the place effects on health that may persist and/or change over time and distance by focusing on the interaction of place and health in three distinct immigrant communities. Rather than equating community with a single, static geographic location, the approach taken in this chapter highlights the dynamism inherent in both community and place by examining how place of origin affects health beyond the original geographic boundaries and how such effects may change over time. Examining the interaction between immigrants’ places of origin and their host societies allows deeper insight into how place effects operate. We seek to understand how shared identities, a shared culture, and/or a shared experience with a particular place of origin may impact health outcomes and practices, and how those outcomes and practices may change over time. To investigate the persistence of health beliefs and practices, we first examine health practices among Chinese immigrants to England. We then turn to the study of health outcomes across time and place by examining notable health phenomena among two groups of immigrants. These phenomena include the “Roseto effect” among Italian immigrants to Pennsylvania and the “epidemiological paradox” of Mexican immigrants to the USA. These case studies suggest the centrality of the social aspects of community in place effects on health.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the editors for facilitating this thoughtful volume and inviting us to be a part of it. We also thank the National Cancer Institute for sponsoring the conference on place, health, and equity, and the presenters and attendees for stimulating our thoughts and furthering our research. Finally, we are indebted to Belinda Tucker, Andrew Fuligni, David Takeuchi, Cheryl Boyce, and the Family Research Consortium IV for providing an excellent postdoctoral training experience.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community and Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, CO, USA

    Karen Albright

Authors
  1. Karen Albright
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  2. Grace Chung
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  3. Allison De Marco
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  4. Joan Yoo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen Albright .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Sociology, Duke University, Durham, 27708-0097, North Carolina, USA

    Linda M. Burton

  2. Dept. Anthropology, Penn State University, Carpenter Bldg. 409, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stephen A. Matthews

  3. , Department of Sociology, University of Washington, 211 Savery Hall, Seattle, 98195-3340, USA

    ManChui Leung

  4. Dept. Sociology, University of Washington, Raitt Hall 206A, Seattle, 98195-4322, Washington, USA

    Susan P. Kemp

  5. Dept. Sociology, University of Washington, Raitt Hall 206A, Seattle, 98195-4322, Washington, USA

    David T. Takeuchi

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Albright, K., Chung, G., De Marco, A., Yoo, J. (2011). Moving Beyond Geography: Health Practices and Outcomes Across Time and Place. In: Burton, L., Matthews, S., Leung, M., Kemp, S., Takeuchi, D. (eds) Communities, Neighborhoods, and Health. Social Disparities in Health and Health Care, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7482-2_8

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