Project 2: Environmental Risk, Coping, and Hispanic Health
Methodology
A tri-ethnic population based study of 2600 men and women aged 25 and older living in Texas City using home interviews and blood samples.
The methodological approach includes a census and random sampling of Mexican Americans, non-Hispanic whites, and African Americans living near a major petrochemical complex [Link to Study Area Map]. In-home surveys will measure psychosocial and health dimensions of the stress and coping process at baseline in a population of approximately 1,600 Mexican Americans of age 25 and older and approximately 800 non-Hispanic whites and African Americans. Blood draws and assays will provide eight physiological measures of stress. Self-reported health (health outcomes) will be measured in the in-home survey and by telephone every 6 months for three years afterwards. The analytical approach begins with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test constructs and their relationships to one another. The main part of the approach relies on multilevel modeling to assess contextual and individual effects on component processes and health outcomes. Qualitative data will be collected and analyzed to provide a more in-depth view into key stress and coping processes.
The sampling unit consisted of two groups: a census of every Hispanic and every 8th non-Hispanic housing unit. The study unit consisted of a random selection of Mexican American subjects between the ages of 25 and 64, all Mexican Americans 65 and over and a random selection of non-Hispanic subjects above 25 years of age. The sample was derived from neighborhoods, defined as clusters of U.S. Census blocks.
The dual language survey instrument was comprised of various standardized scales, in-house scales and individual items. The survey instrument also collected information on: age gender, race, ethnic group, marital status, income, health insurance, length of residence in Texas City, distance from subjects home to the petrochemical complex fence line, physical activity, religiosity, education, housing, smoking, alcohol use, and occupation.
The following two figures provide a diagrammatic view of the conceptual and methodological approaches to the study that should help contextualize the survey instrument further.
Figure 1: Framework for HCAP-TC Study
Figure 2: Methodological Overview
HCAP-TC Baseline Instrument - PDF file (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader™)
If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat Reader™, you can get the latest version here
