Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Neighborhood perceptions and hypertension among low-income black women: a qualitative study

Authors: Maliyhah Al-Bayan, Nadia Islam, Shawneaqua Edwards, Dustin T. Duncan

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2016

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The majority of studies examining the role of neighborhoods and hypertension-related outcomes have been quantitative in nature and very few studies have examined specific disadvantaged populations, including low-income housing residents. The objective of this study was to use qualitative interviews to explore low-income Black women’s perceptions of their neighborhoods and to understand how those perceptions may affect their health, especially as it relates to blood pressure.

Methods

Seventeen Black female participants, living in public housing communities in New York City, completed one semi-structured, audiotaped interview in July of 2014. All interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for emerging themes using N’Vivo 10 software.

Results

Three major themes emerged: (1) social connectedness, (2) stress factors, and (3) availability of food options. For example, factors that caused stress varied throughout the study population. Sources of stress included family members, employment, and uncleanliness within the neighborhood. Many participants attributed their stress to personal issues, such as lack of employment and relationships. In addition, the general consensus among many participants was that there should be a greater density of healthy food options in their neighborhoods. Some believed that the pricing of fresh foods in the neighborhoods should better reflect the financial status of the residents in the community.

Conclusions

Various neighborhood influences, including neighborhood disorder and lack of healthy food options, are factors that appear to increase Black women’s risk of developing high blood pressure. Implications of this research include the need to develop interventions that promote good neighborhood infrastructure (e.g. healthy food stores to encourage good nutrition habits and well-lit walking paths to encourage daily exercise), in addition to interventions that increase hypertension awareness in low-income neighborhoods.
Literature
1.
Nwankwo T, Yoon SS, Burt V, Gu Q. Hypertension among adults in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011–2012. NCHS Data Brief. 2013(133):1–8.
2.
Mozaffarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS, Arnett DK, Blaha MJ, Cushman M, de Ferranti S, Despres JP, Fullerton HJ, Howard VJ, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics-2015 update: a report from the american heart association. Circulation. 2015;131(4):e29–e322.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a. A Closer Look at African American Men and High Blood Pressure Control: A Review of Psychosocial Factors and Systems-Level Interventions. Atlanta: Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
4.
Bowen DJ, Battaglia TA, Murrell SS, Bhosrekar SG, Caron SE, Smith E, Thomas G, Rorie JA, Maetschke LM, Goodman R. What do public housing residents say about their health? Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2013;7(1):39–47.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Digenis-Bury EC, Brooks DR, Chen L, Ostrem M, Horsburgh CR. Use of a population-based survey to describe the health of Boston public housing residents. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(1):85–91.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
6.
7.
Mujahid MS, Diez Roux AV, Morenoff JD, Raghunathan TE, Cooper RS, Ni H, Shea S. Neighborhood characteristics and hypertension. Epidemiology. 2008;19(4):590–8.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Duncan DT, Méline J, Kestens Y, Day K, Elbel B, Trasande L, Chaix B. Walk score, transportation mode choice, and walking among French adults: a GPS, accelerometer, and mobility survey study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13(6):611.CrossRefPubMedCentral
9.
Li F, Harmer P, Cardinal BJ, Vongjaturapat N. Built environment and changes in blood pressure in middle aged and older adults. Prev Med. 2009;48(3):237–41.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
10.
Polsky JY, Moineddin R, Dunn JR, Glazier RH, Booth GL. Absolute and relative densities of fast-food versus other restaurants in relation to weight status: Does restaurant mix matter? Prev Med. 2016;82:28–34.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Firestone WA. Meaning in method: The rhetoric of quantitative and qualitative research. Educ Res. 1987;16(7):16–21.CrossRef
12.
Gholizadeh M, Delgoshaei B, Gorji HA, Torani S, Janati A. Challenges in Patient Discharge Planning in the Health System of Iran: A Qualitative Study. Global J Health Sci. 2015;8(6):168.CrossRef
13.
Patton DU, Hong JS, Patel S, Kral MJ. A systematic review of research strategies used in qualitative studies on school bullying and victimization. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2015:1524838015588502. [Epub ahead of print]
14.
Duncan DT, Regan SD, Shelley D, Day K, Ruff RR, Al-Bayan M, Elbel B. Application of global positioning system methods for the study of obesity and hypertension risk among low-income housing residents in New York City: a spatial feasibility study. Geospat Health. 2014;9(1):57–70.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
15.
Duncan DT, Regan SD. Mapping multi-day GPS data: a cartographic study in NYC. J Maps. 2016;12(4):668–70.
16.
Francis JJ, Johnston M, Robertson C, Glidewell L, Entwistle V, Eccles MP, Grimshaw JM. What is an adequate sample size? Operationalising data saturation for theory-based interview studies. Psychol Health. 2010;25(10):1229–45.CrossRefPubMed
17.
O‘Reilly M, Parker N. ‘Unsatisfactory Saturation’: a critical exploration of the notion of saturated sample sizes in qualitative research. Qual Res. 2013;13(2):190–97.
18.
Franklin MM, Harden JK, Peters RM. Getting to Normal: Women‘s Experiences self-managing Their Perceived Blood Pressure Changes. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2016;31(2):151–57.
19.
Kumanyika SK, Whitt-Glover MC, Gary TL, Prewitt TE, Odoms-Young AM, Banks-Wallace J, Beech BM, Halbert CH, Karanja N, Lancaster KJ, et al. Expanding the obesity research paradigm to reach African American communities. Prev Chronic Dis. 2007;4(4):A112.PubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Hess PL, Reingold JS, Jones J, Fellman MA, Knowles P, Ravenell JE, Kim S, Raju J, Ruger E, Clark S, et al. Barbershops as hypertension detection, referral, and follow-up centers for black men. Hypertension. 2007;49(5):1040–6.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Ravenell J, Thompson H, Cole H, Plumhoff J, Cobb G, Afolabi L, Boutin-Foster C, Wells M, Scott M, Ogedegbe G. A novel community-based study to address disparities in hypertension and colorectal cancer: a study protocol for a randomized control trial. Trials. 2013;14:287.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
22.
Victor RG, Ravenell JE, Freeman A, Leonard D, Bhat DG, Shafiq M, Knowles P, Storm JS, Adhikari E, Bibbins-Domingo K, et al. Effectiveness of a barber-based intervention for improving hypertension control in black men: the BARBER-1 study: a cluster randomized trial. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171(4):342–50.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Alpert BS. Validation of the Welch Allyn Spot Vital Signs blood pressure device according to the ANSI/AAMI SP10: 2002. Accuracy and cost-efficiency successfully combined. Blood Press Monit. 2007;12(5):345–7.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Amoore JN. Oscillometric sphygmomanometers: a critical appraisal of current technology. Blood Press Monit. 2012;17(2):80–8.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Jones C, Taylor K, Poston L, Shennan A. Validation of the Welch Allyn‘Vital Signs’ oscillometric blood pressure monitor. J Hum Hypertens. 2001;15(3):191–5.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Krupp MA, and Milton John. Chatton: Systemic Hypertension. Lange Medical Pub 1974, Current Medical Diagnosis. New York City: The McGraw-Hill Companies.
27.
Sprague S, Swinton M, Madden K, Swaleh R, Goslings JC, Petrisor B, Bhandari M. Barriers to and facilitators for screening women for intimate partner violence in surgical fracture clinics: a qualitative descriptive approach. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2013;14:122.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Touboul P, Valbousquet J, Pourrat-Vanoni I, Alquier MF, Benchimol D, Pradier C. [Adapting the environment to encourage the elderly to walk: a qualitative study]. Sante Publique. 2011;23(5):385–99.PubMed
29.
Hsieh H-F, Shannon SE. Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res. 2005;15(9):1277–88.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Mishler EG. Research interviewing: Context and narrative. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 1991.
31.
Riessman CK. Narrative analysis, vol. 30. Newbury Park: Sage; 1993.
32.
Blumer H. Symbolic [nteractionism NJ. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; 1969.
33.
Polkinghorne DE. Phenomenological research methods. In: Existential-phenomenological perspectives in psychology. Boston: Springer; 1989: 41–60.
34.
Atkinson R. The Life Story Interview. Thousand Oaks: Sage; 1988. p. 44.
35.
Uchino BN, Cacioppo JT, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. The relationship between social support and physiological processes: a review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychol Bull. 1996;119(3):488.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Lucan SC, Barg FK, Karasz A, Palmer CS, Long JA. Perceived influences on diet among urban, low-income African Americans. Am J Health Behav. 2012;36(5):700–10.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Hernández D. Affording Housing at the Expense of Health: Exploring the Housing and Neighborhood Strategies of Poor Families. J Fam Issues. 2016;37(7):921–46.
38.
Teixeira Jde F, Goulart MR, Busnello FM, Pellanda LC. Hypertensives‘ Knowledge About High-Sodium Foods and Their Behavior. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2016;106(5):404–10.PubMed
39.
McNaughton CD, Jacobson TA, Kripalani S. Low literacy is associated with uncontrolled blood pressure in primary care patients with hypertension and heart disease. Patient Educ Couns. 2014;96(2):165–70.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
40.
Williams JH, Duncan DT, Cantor J, Elbel B, Ogedegbe G, Ravenell J. A Comparison of Self-Reported and Measured Blood Pressure Status Among Low-Income Housing Residents in New York City. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice. In press.
Metadata
Title
Neighborhood perceptions and hypertension among low-income black women: a qualitative study
Authors
Maliyhah Al-Bayan
Nadia Islam
Shawneaqua Edwards
Dustin T. Duncan
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3741-2

Other articles of this Issue 1/2016

BMC Public Health 1/2016 Go to the issue

Research article

Time kinetics of physical activity, sitting, and quality of life measures within a regional workplace: a cross–sectional analysis

Research article

The involvement of young people in school- and community-based noncommunicable disease prevention interventions: a scoping review of designs and outcomes

Research article

Realist review of policy intervention studies aimed at reducing exposures to environmental hazards in the United States

Research article

Factors influencing uptake of HPV vaccination among girls in Germany

Research article

BMI and waist circumference cut-offs for corresponding levels of insulin sensitivity in a Middle Eastern immigrant versus a native Swedish population – the MEDIM population based study

Research article

Impact of a United Kingdom-wide campaign to tackle antimicrobial resistance on self-reported knowledge and behaviour change