This event is hosted by the Department of Biostatistics.
PRESENTER: Brisa N. Sánchez, PhD Dornsife Endowed Professor of Biostatistics Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health
ABSTRACT: The presence of specific features in the built environment, for example food outlets and/or recreation centers may impact diet and physical activity, thereby affecting the subsequent risk of important health conditions like cardiovascular disease. However, methodological challenges make it difficult to identify the true impact of the built environment on individual behaviors. These challenges include measurement issues including geocoding error and unknown geographic and temporal scales that are relevant for quantifying exposures, as well as lack of knowledge regarding how to measure specific causal mechanisms involved in built environment health effects. This talk will discuss innovative applications of statistical methods to address measurement challenges in this area, as well as touch on how mixed methods research can inform causal mechanisms and thus the development of improved exposure assessment methods.