Saturday, September 7, 2024
9/7/2024
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Sixty five percent of Black children and 12% of all children grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods. This disparity is a result of structural racism stemming from segregation, discriminatory housing markets, and disinvestment in communities, and is associated with poor long-term health for minoritized individuals. Disadvantaged neighborhood environments can negatively impact child sleep, and thus are a potential pathway through which health inequities may be perpetuated starting in early childhood. Disadvantaged neighborhoods may disrupt child sleep through exposure to noise, light, and feeling unsafe, while health promoting neighborhoods may positively impact sleep through greenspace and walkability. Promoting healthy sleep for all children is crucial to foster positive long-term health and developmental outcomes, but the pathways through which neighborhood environments impact various aspects of child sleep health are not well understood. The purpose of the proposed study is to elucidate how health positive (greenspace, social cohesion, perceived safety) and negative (neighborhood disorder, violence) neighborhood characteristics impact specific aspects of child sleep health. I will conduct a secondary analysis of child sleep data from an NINR-funded parent study (The CARING Study, R00NR018876, PI: Condon) and incorporate novel Geographic Information Science (GIS) measures to describe neighborhood characteristics of the sample. The aims of this study are: AIM 1: Describe the physical (neighborhood disorder and greenspace) and social (neighborhood violence, neighborhood safety, social cohesion) characteristics of the neighborhoods in which children who are aged 3-5 years live. AIM 1a: Describe physical characteristics (neighborhood disorder and greenspace via Google Street View). AIM 1b: Describe social characteristics (neighborhood violence, neighborhood safety, and social cohesion via parent report). AIM 2: Determine the associations between neighborhood characteristics and indicators of child sleep health. My first hypothesis is that neighborhood disorder and neighborhood violence are associated with suboptimal child sleep health (poor sleep efficiency and quality, short duration, highly variable sleep timing). My second hypothesis is that greenspace, neighborhood safety, and neighborhood social cohesion are associated with optimal child sleep health (high efficiency and quality, adequate duration, low variability in sleep timing). The training plan includes specific experiences and expert mentorship designed to promote extensive knowledge of GIS, sleep, and health equity. Findings from this study and training plan will provide essential knowledge to support future studies and creation of multi-level interventions to promote child sleep health equity. Aligned with NINR’s strategic priority to work towards eliminating negative social determinants of health to promote health equity, the proposed work will provide an essential foundation for a career in nursing science focused on investigating impacts of environments on health inequities in young children.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
