title: Considering daily mobility for a more comprehensive understanding of contextual effects on social inequalities in health: a conceptual proposal.
abstract: Despite growing interest in integrating people׳s daily mobility into contextual studies of social inequalities in health, the links between daily mobility and health inequalities remain inadequately conceptualised. This conceptual proposal anchors the relationship between daily mobility and contextual influences on social inequalities in health into the concept of mobility potential, which encompasses the opportunities and places individuals can choose (or are constrained) to access. Mobility potential is realized as actual mobility through agency. Being shaped by socially-patterned personal and geographic characteristics, mobility potential is unequally distributed across social groups. Social inequalities in realized mobility may thus result. We discuss pathways by which these may contribute to contextual influences on social inequalities in health. One pathway is reflected in disadvantaged groups encountering more fast-food outlets during their daily activities, which may relate to their higher risk of unhealthy eating. This proposal lays the bases for empirical research explicitly testing hypotheses regarding the contribution of daily mobility to social inequalities in health.
authors.affiliation: Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Ecole de santé publique de l׳Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Institut de recherche en santé publique de l׳Université de Montréal (IRSPUM), Montréal, Canada; Centre de recherche du centre hospitalier de l׳Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montréal, Canada. Electronic address: martine.shareck@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shareck
authors.affiliation: Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Ecole de santé publique de l׳Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Institut de recherche en santé publique de l׳Université de Montréal (IRSPUM), Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Frohlich
authors.affiliation: Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Ecole de santé publique de l׳Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Institut de recherche en santé publique de l׳Université de Montréal (IRSPUM), Montréal, Canada; Centre de recherche du centre hospitalier de l׳Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kestens
mesh_terms: D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D035862:Vulnerable Populations
keywords: Conceptual; Context; Daily mobility; Neighbourhood; Social inequality