title: Can you party your way to better health? A propensity score analysis of block parties and health.
abstract: While other indicators of social capital have been linked to health, the role of block parties on health in Black neighborhoods and on Black residents is understudied. Block parties exhibit several features of bonding social capital and are present in nearly 90% of Philadelphia's predominantly Black neighborhoods. This analysis investigated: (1) whether or not block parties are an indicator of bonding social capital in Black neighborhoods; (2) the degree to which block parties might be related to self-rated health in the ways that other bonding social indicators are related to health; and (3) whether or not block parties are associated with average self-rated health for Black residents particularly. Using census tract-level indicators of bonding social capital and records of block parties from 2003 to 2008 for 381 Philadelphia neighborhoods (defined by census tracts), an ecological-level propensity score was generated to assess the propensity for a block party, adjusting for population demographics, neighborhood characteristics, neighborhood resources and violent crime. Results indicate that in multivariable regression, block parties were associated with increased bonding social capital in Black neighborhoods; however, the calculation of the average effect of the treatment on the treated (ATT) within each propensity score strata showed no effect of block parties on average self-rated health for Black residents. Block parties may be an indicator of bonding social capital in Philadelphia's predominantly Black neighborhoods, but this analysis did not show a direct association between block parties and self-rated health for Black residents. Further research should consider what other health outcomes or behaviors block parties may be related to and how interventionists can leverage block parties for health promotion.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 909 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: ltdean@upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Lorraine T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, School of Design, 102 Meyerson Hall, 210 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: ahillier@design.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hillier
authors.affiliation: Valley Medical Center, Department of Family Medicine, 3915 Talbot Rd South, Suite 401, Renton, WA 98055, USA. Electronic address: hchau39@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chau-Glendinning
authors.affiliation: Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7th Floor, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: svsubram@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.affiliation: Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 6th Floor, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: dwilliams@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7th Floor, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: ikawachi@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kawachi
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007899:Leisure Activities; D009769:Object Attachment; D015143:Philadelphia; D057216:Propensity Score; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D066270:Social Capital; D012931:Social Environment
keywords: Black/African-American neighborhoods; Block parties; Pennsylvania; Philadelphia; Propensity score; Self-rated health; Social capital; USA