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Patterns of mental health are clearly associated with life circumstances, including educational and economic opportunities, access to safe and supportive neighborhoods, socially structured exposures to stressors and to supportive relationships. In this article, we examine the social and economic correlates of depressive symptoms among African American women residing within a predominantly African American urban neighborhood in Detroit, USA, with relatively few economic resources. We identify distinct stressors associated with financial strain, neighborhood social disorder (concern about police responsiveness, safety stress), and experiences of discrimination. We test the extent to which each of these stressors mediates relationships between household income, length of residence in the neighborhood, social support and depressive symptoms. Our results suggest that for women in this racially segregated area with a high concentration of poverty, relationships between household income and symptoms of depression are partially mediated by financial stress and social support, but that stressors associated with neighborhood disorder and discrimination influence depressive symptoms independent of household income. Furthermore, we find that length of residence in the neighborhood is negatively associated with financial stress and positively associated with police stress and social support, with no significant net effect on symptoms of depression. We conclude that higher household income may help reduce symptoms of depression by reducing financial stress and strengthening social support even within neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty. However, increased household income does not protect African American women residing in a high poverty community from distress associated with neighborhood disorder or experiences of discrimination. Keywords: Neighborhood disorder; Symptoms of depression; Length of residence; USA; Discrimination; Stress

Objectives. We evaluated the spatial accessibility of large 'chain' supermarkets in relation to neighborhood racial composition and poverty. Methods. We used a geographic information system to measure Manhattan block distance to the nearest supermarket for 869 neighborhoods (census tracts) in metropolitan Detroit. We constructed moving average spatial regression models to adjust for spatial autocorrelation and to test for the effect of modification of percentage African American and percentage poor on distance to the nearest supermarket. Results. Distance to the nearest supermarket was similar among the least impoverished neighborhoods, regardless of racial composition. Among the most impoverished neighborhoods, however, neighborhoods in which African Americans resided were, on average, 1.1 miles further from the nearest supermarket than were White neighborhoods. Conclusions. Racial residential segregation disproportionately places African Americans in more-impoverished neighborhoods in Detroit and consequently reduces access to supermarkets. However, supermarkets have opened or remained open close to middle-income neighborhoods that have transitioned from White to African American. Development of economically disadvantaged African American neighborhoods is critical to effectively prevent diet-related diseases among this population.

Objectives. We examined a community-based participatory diabetes intervention to identify facilitators of and barriers to sustained community efforts to address social factors that contribute to health. Methods. We conducted a case study description and analysis of the Healthy Eating and Exercising to Reduce Diabetes project in the theoretical context of a conceptual model of social determinants of health. Results. We identified several barriers to and facilitators of analysis of social determinants of a community identified disease priority (in this case, diabetes). Barriers included prevailing conceptual models, which emphasize health behavioral and biomedical paradigms that exclude social determinants of health. Facilitating factors included (1) opportunities to link individual health concerns to social contexts and (2) availability of support from diverse partners with a range of complementary resources. Conclusions. Partnerships that offer community members tangible resources with which to manage existing health concerns and that integrate an analysis of social determinants of health can facilitate sustained engagement of community members and health professionals in multilevel efforts to address health disparities.

Objective: Despite efforts to increase physical activity through new green space infrastructure such as trails, disparities in physical activity may persist. The current study compared observed vigorous physical activity (VPA) engagement among White and Latinx men and women on a new urban trail, and whether engagement varied over time. Design, sample, and measures: We used a modified System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) methodology to determine observed race/ethnicity, gender, and physical activity level of trail users (n = 15,109). Results: Logistic regression analyses revealed the odds of engaging in VPA were lower for Latina women than all other population subgroups (vs. White men: OR 0.19, CI 0.17–0.22; vs. White women: OR 0.48, CI 0.42–0.54, vs. Latino men: OR 0.23, CI 0.19–0.26). VPA engagement by White and Latina women increased across the study years (OR 1.31, CI 1.17–1.46; OR 1.36, CI 1.08–1.71, respectively) but did not differ significantly by year for White and Latino men. Conclusion: Future efforts to address racial/ethnic‐gender disparities in VPA should take an intersectional approach to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable population subgroups are properly accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]