BACKGROUND The federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was launched in 2005 to increase the safety of, and participation in, walking and biking to school. PURPOSE This study assesses how SRTS funds were allocated to public and private schools and communities and whether there were demographic or locational differences between schools that benefited from SRTS funding and those that did no...

Background: Prostate cancer screening is more commonly utilized by highly educated people. As shown by marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs), the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) such as education on the health outcomes are considerably smaller for ethnic minorities than for Whites. The role of MDRs as a source of ethnic health disparities is, however, still un...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of obesity among Latino children is alarmingly high, when compared to non-Latino White children. Low-income Latino parents living in urban areas, even if they are well-educated, face obstacles that shape familial health behaviors. This study used qualitative methods to explore parents' experiences in providing meals and opportunities to play to their children aged 2 to...

The relationships among observed ecological assets in youth’s families, schools, and neighborhoods with positive and negative developmental outcomes were assessed with a sample of 646 fifth-grade youth. The majority of participants were Latino (37.5%) or European American (35.5%) and lived in two-parent families. Ecological asset indicators were categorized into 4 dimensions: human, physical/in...

OBJECTIVE Latinos and rural residents are less active and have a greater prevalence of overweight/obesity compared with their non-Latino white and urban counterparts. The objective of this study was to assess the active living environment in four rural, predominantly Latino communities. METHODS Assessments were taken using the Rural Active Living Assessment (RALA) in four rural predominantly ...

BACKGROUND Latino children are at high risk of becoming obese. Physical activity (PA) can help prevent obesity. Parents can influence children's PA through parenting practices. This study aimed to examine the independent contributions of (1) sociodemographic, (2) cultural, (3) parent perceived environmental, and (4) objectively measured environmental factors, to PA parenting practices. METHOD...

CONTEXT Little research has investigated possible effects of neighborhood residence on mental health problems in children such as depression, anxiety, and withdrawal. OBJECTIVE To examine whether children's mental health is associated with neighborhood structural characteristics (concentrated disadvantage, immigrant concentration, and residential stability) and whether neighborhood social pro...

BACKGROUND Moderate-vigorous physical activity (%MVPA) confers beneficial effects on child musculoskeletal health, cardiovascular fitness, and psychosocial well-being; in contrast, sedentary time (%SED) is emerging as a risk factor for health. This study aimed to identify parental, child and neighborhood factors influencing longitudinal assessments of body mass index (BMI) and activity patterns...

OBJECTIVE To test the effect of a culturally tailored, family-centered, short-term behavioral intervention on BMI in Latino-American preschool-aged children. METHODS In a randomized controlled trial, 54 parent-child dyads were allocated to the intervention and 52 dyads were allocated to an alternative school-readiness program as the control condition. Parent-child dyads were eligible if the p...