Spatial Epidemiology Lab

Research

The social and spatial epidemiology unit seeks to understand the ways in which social, psychological, political, cultural, and economic circumstances influence our chances for a healthy life. We combine theory from the social sciences with rigorous epidemiological methods so that we can illuminate the connections between social factors and health and use what we find to improve health. Within this broad frame we have a special interest in the connections between social inequalities and health inequalities. The unit has three aims. First, we aim to produce knowledge about the influence of social circumstances on health with a special emphasis on social inequalities in health. Second, we aim to train and mentor a new generation of scholars and practitioners who have the capacity to conduct rigorous research on the role of social factors in health. Third, we aim to leverage what we learn to improve population health and reduce health inequalities locally, nationally, and across international borders.

Current Projects:

The Spatial Epidemiology Lab has several current projects and publications connecting neighborhoods to health outcomes. Our projects have been funded by a variety of funders, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Verizon Foundation and the Aetna Foundation. The lab’s research has been published in the American Journal of Public Health, the American Journal of Epidemiology, Environmental Health Perspectives and Geospatial Health, among others. 

  • Promoting Social Capital for increased HIV prevention and care among sexual minority men in Narobi, Kenya 
    HIV ART and PreP
    • The proposed pilot study will inform an R01 application to be submitted to the National Institutes of Health (PAR23-062). The goal of this R01 is to implement and evaluate a social capital intervention to promote HIV-related health behaviors among 350 Black sexual minority men in Nairobi Kenya. Black sexual minority men (SMM) in sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest HIV burdens of any key population sub-group in the world. Strikingly, SMM in the region have low rates of repeat HIV testing, coupled with low consistent use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and low antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence rates.
  • PrEP Uptake and Adherence Among Young Black MSM: Neighborhood and Network Determinants 
    • This project seeks to use real-time geospatial methods to investigate relationships between Global Positioning System (GPS)-defined activity space neighborhoods, social and sexual networks, and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake and adherence cross-sectionally and longitudinally among young Black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Chicago IL metropolitan statistical area (MSA) followed over two years. We will enroll 350 Black MSM in the NIH-funded uConnect Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) Cohort Study to address the aims of the research.