Influence of built environment on quality of life changes in African-American patients with non-metastatic breast cancer

Health Place. 2020 May:63:102333. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102333. Epub 2020 May 11.

Abstract

Research links the built environment to health outcomes, but little is known about how this affects quality of life (QOL) of African American breast cancer patients, especially those residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Using latent trajectory models, we examined whether the built environment using Google Street View was associated with changes in QOL over a 2-year follow-up in 228 newly diagnosed African American breast cancer patients. We measured QOL using the RAND 36-Item Health Survey subscales. After adjusting for covariates, improvement in emotional well-being and pain over time was greater for women living on streets with low-quality (vs. high-quality) sidewalks.

Keywords: African Americans; Breast neoplasm; Geographic information system; Health-related quality of life; Residence characteristics.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Black or African American / psychology
  • Black or African American / statistics & numerical data*
  • Breast Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Breast Neoplasms* / psychology
  • Built Environment*
  • Female
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Mental Health / ethnology
  • Middle Aged
  • Quality of Life / psychology*
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Socioeconomic Factors