Display Full Text | Download Full Text
1.47 MB PDF file

Degree

MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Geography, 2012.

Abstract

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant mortality and a great risk for long-term neurological damage. To design effective programs in the prevention of PTB, identifying risk factors for PTB and assessing their effects have been the long-run focus in the literature. Recent studies and medical reports have placed emphasis upon the higher effectiveness of region-specific programs compared to one-for-all programs, which leads to a need for new study methods that can examine the relationship between location and PTB. This study promotes an approach using spatial lags and spatial logistic regression models to 1) reveal the spatial pattern in PTB rates and 2) measure the effects of individual risk factor and the effects of location (i.e. contextual effects) on PTB using spatial lags and spatial logistic regression models. A case study in Hamilton County, Ohio, shows there is regional disparity in PTB rates and significant contextual effects on PTB.

Keywords

Preterm birth; Risk factors; Spatial lag; Contextual effects; Spatial logistic regression

Committee / Advisors

Lin Liu, PhD (Committee Chair)
Changjoo Kim, PhD (Committee Member)
Kevin Raleigh, PhD (Committee Member)

Pages

30p.

Document number: ucin1342106099
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1342106099

This ETD has been downloaded 42 times (through March 2013)