Women's perceptions of neighborhood resources and hazards related to diet, physical activity, and smoking: focus group results from economically distinct neighborhoods in a mid-sized U.S. city.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate women's perceptions of neighborhood resources and hazards associated with poor diet, physical inactivity, and cigarette smoking.


METHODS
After interviewing city officials and analyzing visual assessments, three economically distinct neighborhoods in a mid-sized city were selected.


METHODS
Salinas, California, a predominantly Latino city.


METHODS
Eight fobcus groups, conducted in Spanish or English in the three neighborhoods. Thematic coding of focus group transcripts identified key concepts. Women also mapped their perceived neighborhood boundaries. Participants. Women who had at least one child under age 18 living with them.


RESULTS
Women identified food stores, parks, recreation areas, and schools as key resources in their neighborhoods. They identified fast food restaurants, convenience stores, violent crime, gangs, and drug-associated issues as "hazards". Distinctions between resources and hazards were not always clear cut. For example, parks were sometimes considered dangerous, and fast food restaurants were sometimes considered a convenient and inexpensive way to feed one's family. Women's perceptions of their neighborhood boundaries differed greatly by type of neighborhood-the perceived neighborhood area (in acres) drawn by women in the lower-income neighborhood was one-fourth the size of the area drawn by women in the higher-income neighborhood.


CONCLUSIONS
This qualitative, exploratory study illustrates how resources and hazards in one's neighborhood cannot be viewed as having solely one dimension-each may influence health behaviors both positively and negatively.
Yen
Irene H
IH
Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 3333 California Street Suite 335, San Francisco, CA 94143-0856, USA. irene.yen@ucsf.edu
Scherzer
Teresa
T
Cubbin
Catherine
C
Gonzalez
Alma
A
Winkleby
Marilyn A
MA
D002140:California; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D010465:Perception; D010865:Pilot Projects; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States