title: The texture of neighborhoods and disability among older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present and test an ecological multidimensional model of neighborhood characteristics and examine its relationship to older disability among older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Indicators of social vulnerability, wealth, violence, storefronts, residential stability, and the presence of physicians, supermarkets, and fast-food establishments for 1,644 of New Jersey's census tracts were derived from sources that include the U.S. Census 2000, Uniform Crime Report for New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Division of Marketing and Development, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety Division of Alcohol Beverage Control, and Health Resources and Services Administration Geospatial Data Warehouse. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to develop and test a measurement model of neighborhood texture. Structural equation modeling examined the relationships between neighborhood characteristics and disability of persons aged 65-69 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses revealed that distinct dimensions of neighborhoods could be modeled with administrative data and that neighborhood contextual (supermarkets, physicians, storefronts, violence) and compositional (social vulnerability, wealth, residential stability) characteristics were related to the prevalence of disability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of multiple indicators of neighborhood with good psychometric qualities is critical for advancing knowledge about the mechanisms by which neighborhood characteristics are associated with the health of older people.
authors.affiliation: New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Stratford, NJ 08084, USA. pruchnra@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Rachel A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Pruchno
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilson-Genderson
authors.forename: Francine P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Cartwright
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003132:Commerce / Q000639:trends; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009515:New Jersey; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000145:classification; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors