The Environmental “Riskscape” and Social Inequality: Implications for Explaining Maternal and Child Health Disparities
2006
Environmental Risks and Social Inequality in Maternal and Child Health
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Rachel Morello-Frosch, Edmond D. Shenassa
Primary Institution: Brown University
Hypothesis
Individual-level and place-based psychosocial stressors may compromise host resistance, leading to adverse health effects from environmental pollutants at lower doses.
Conclusion
A holistic approach to maternal and child health research could help clarify how chronic stressors and environmental hazards contribute to racial and economic disparities in birth outcomes.
Supporting Evidence
- Black women are twice as likely as white women to give birth to a very low-birth-weight baby.
- Research indicates a significant disparity in infant mortality rates between black and white infants.
- Place-based stressors can function independently of individual-level stressors to determine health.
Takeaway
This study looks at how stress from the environment and society can make it harder for mothers and babies to be healthy, especially for those in poorer communities.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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