Elsevier

Journal of Professional Nursing

Volume 21, Issue 4, July–August 2005, Pages 216-222
Journal of Professional Nursing

Special Feature: Health Disparities Research
Using Ecological Models in Research on Health Disparities

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2005.05.006Get rights and content

Ecological models of human interaction can be used to study complex community problems that affect health disparities. These models allow researchers to study the components of a problem and understand how the problem can be ameliorated with nursing interventions. This article describes four research studies in which ecological models were used to either understand a phenomenon or design and test an intervention. The methods used were ethnography, descriptive/correlational, and quasi-experimental. All subjects were low-income women and children, largely of Hispanic ethnicity, residing in South Texas. The ecological models were derived from Bronfenbrenner's ecology of human development theory, epidemiology, Rubin's theory of developmental tasks of pregnancy, and Barnard's model of mother–child interaction. Heuristic models that represent reality allow researchers to divide a complex problem, such as health disparities, into manageable components. The influence of families, neighborhoods, and communities can be considered without losing sight of individuals.

Section snippets

Ecology of Human Development

Bronfenbrenner (1977) uses his theory to examine a child's human development. In this theory, human development is examined by focusing on three aspects: (1) an individual's perspective of the environment; (2) the environment surrounding that individual; and (3) the dynamic interaction between the individual and the environment. Thus, development is defined as an ongoing change in the way a person perceives and deals with or adapts to the environment. Bronfenbrenner's theoretical thinking

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is another theoretical model that is adapted for the conceptual models used in our studies. The classic view of epidemiology is the study of how diseases are distributed in a population and the determinants of those diseases (Mausner & Kramer, 1985). Epidemiology is concerned with the environmental conditions, lifestyles, and other factors that are associated with the presence or absence of a disease (Valanis, 1992). These factors (the agent, the host, and the environment) are

Ecological Model of Growth

Two studies of child growth (Reifsnider, 1995, Reifsnider et al., 2000) were directed toward reducing stunted growth in toddlers and determining factors associated with childhood overweight. Both studies were guided by the ecological model of growth (Figure 2), which was created by Reifsnider, with input from Gallagher, from three existing frameworks: ecology of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977); epidemiology (Mausner & Kramer, 1985, Valanis, 1992); and the child health assessment

Ecological Model for Adolescent Maternal–Fetal Attachment

Adolescent development is composed of interactions of integrated levels of organizations and connections among biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. These interactions are dynamic and reciprocal. Rubin's (1984) developmental tasks of pregnancy involve the integration of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. It seems logical, therefore, that a pregnant adolescent will integrate levels of organizations and her changing internal and external environments to attach

Ecology of Child High-Level Wellness

The ecology of child high-level wellness conceptual framework (see Figure 4) is an adaptation of Reifsnider's (1998) ecological model of growth. Both of these models integrate the epidemiological triangle model and the ecology of human development theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The distinction between the models is that the ecological model of growth examines physical growth in preschool children, whereas the ecology of child high-level wellness conceptual framework aims to explore various

Discussion and Conclusions

Health disparities are the differences that occur by sex, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). Research directed at reducing health disparities needs to be based on a thorough understanding of how and where the disparities occur. Any group exhibiting significant disparities in the overall rate of disease incidence and prevalence, morbidity and mortality, and survival rates as

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIH/NINR 5R29NR4882 (first author), an NIH/NINR National Research Service Award Predoctoral Fellowship (second author), and a Texas Department of Health Innovation Grant (first author).

References (16)

  • E. Reifsnider

    Reversing growth delays in children: The effect of a community-based intervention.

    Journal of Pediatric Health Care

    (1998)
  • K. Barnard

    Nursing child assessment satellite teaching manual

    (1979)
  • U. Bronfenbrenner

    Toward an experimental ecology of human development

    American Psychologist

    (1977)
  • U. Bronfenbrenner

    The ecology of human development

    (1979)
  • U. Bronfenbrenner

    Interacting systems in human development: Research paradigms: Present and future

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    Fact sheet: Racial/Ethnic health disparities

    (2004)
  • Forgione, B. (2002). Maternal–fetal attachment in the adolescent: An ecological perspective. Unpublished doctoral...
  • D. Koniak-Griffin

    The relationship between social support, self-esteem, and maternal–fetal attachment in adolescents

    Research in Nursing & Health

    (1988)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

View full text