Suchergebnisse

▪ Abstract  The biocultural approach of anthropologists is well suited to understand the interrelationship of urbanism and human biology. Urbanism is a social construction that has continuously changed and presented novel adaptive challenges to its residents. Urban living today involves several biological challenges, of which one is pollution. Using three different types of pollutants as examples, air pollution, lead, and noise, the impact of pollution on human biology (mortality, morbidity, reproduction, and development) can be seen. Chronic exposure to low levels of these pollutants has a small impact on the individual, but so many people are exposed to pollution that the effect species-wide is substantial. Also, disproportionate pollutant exposure by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups exacerbates risk of poor health and well being.

Over seventy per cent of the population in industrialized nations live in cities; soon, so will most of the world's population. This volume examines the impact of urban living on human health and biology. Cities pose numerous and diverse social and biological challenges to human populations which bear little resemblance to the forces that moulded human biology through millions of years of evolution. Urban populations in industrialized nations have distinctive patterns of behaviour, social stratification, stress, infectious disease, diet, activity and exposure to pollutants from years of industrialization. These features affect diverse aspects of human function including human nutrition, energy expenditure, growth and reproduction. This volume begins with an introduction to the history of urbanism and poverty, infectious disease, reproductive function, child health, nutrition, physical activity and psychosocial stress. The book will appeal to workers in urban planning, human biology, anthropology, preventative medicine, human ecology and related areas

This volume looks at the relationship between specific aspects of Third World cities and human health. Rapid and extensive urbanization of the less developed nations is perhaps the most dramatic demographic phenomenon of our times, but its impact on human biology is not well understood. Here, a cross-section of work is presented on this subject allowing human biologists, urban planners, public health workers and other specialists to assess our knowledge and the current approaches available to increase it. Contributions fall into two groups: studies of urban ecology including the social, economic and physical domains, and studies of biological responses to the urban environment. Health is not merely the absence of specific diseases, but is construed more broadly to include a wide range of biological parameters that are correlated with various states of sub-optimal health. These include patterns of child growth and development, frequencies of specific diseases, nutritional status, immunological characteristics and physiological parameters. This important volume will be of interest to a wide range of researchers and academics, including human biologists, anthropologists, healthcare professionals, human geographers, urban and regional planners, and economists

Purpose To examine the relationships among health literacy, risk perceptions, COVID-19 information overload, health information seeking, and race/ethnicity. Design A cross-sectional non-probability community survey conducted between December 2020 and January 2021. A questionnaire was developed in collaboration with a local minority health task force. Setting Albany, New York, USA. Sample 331 adults residing in Albany, NY and neighboring areas (80.3% completion rate). Measures Multi-item scales were used to measure health literacy, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, information overload, and health information seeking frequency and types. Analysis We conducted multivariate regression analysis. Results Health literacy (standardized β = −.33, P < .001) and perceived severity (β = −.23, P < .001) were negatively associated with information overload. Information overload was negatively associated with health information seeking frequency (β = −.16, P < .05) and types (β = −.19, P < .01). A further analysis shows several factors, including information overload and race (African Americans), were negatively related to seeking specific types of information. Conclusion We find that low health literacy and perceived severity contribute to information overload and that information overload adversely affects health information seeking. Black individuals are less likely to search for certain types of information. The cross-sectional study design limits our ability to determine causality. Future research should employ panel data to determine the directionality of the observed relationships.