Abstract
This study compares and contrasts residents’ perceptions of segregation measures using qualitative and quantitative data. Most studies exploring racial residential segregation and health outcomes use large-scale, metropolitan-wide measures. As a result, we have limited understanding of racial residential segregation outside of Census data, particularly about the firsthand experiences of those living in segregated areas. The purpose of this study was to compare data from Census-based measures of racial residential segregation with qualitative descriptions of these same constructs by pregnant, Black women in two US cities. Using novel qualitative interview questions, we explored the dimensions of segregation and neighborhood racial distribution among a sample of 27 pregnant, Black women between April and November 2019. The participants included in this sample had perceptions about their neighborhood segregation and demographic composition that were often different from the data derived from existing residential US Census data. The differences between qualitative and quantitative measures and the possible reasons for the discordance suggest new approaches to measurement and new directions for the study of segregation and health.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Johnson AM, Johnson A, Hines RB, Bayakly R. The effects of residential segregation and neighborhood characteristics on surgery and survival in patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev. 2016;25(5):750–8.
Mayne SL, Hicken MT, Merkin SS, Seeman TE, Kershaw KN, Do DP, et al. Neighbourhood racial/ethnic residential segregation and cardiometabolic risk: the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2019;73(1):26–33.
Mehra R, Boyd LM, Ickovics JR. Racial residential segregation and adverse birth outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Sci Med. 2017;191:237–50.
Woo H, Brigham EP, Allbright K, Ejike C, Galiatsatos P, Jones MR, et al. Racial segregation and respiratory outcomes among urban black residents with and at risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021;204(5):536–45.
Freund DM. Colored property: state policy and white racial politics in suburban America. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press; 2007. p. 514. (Historical studies of urban America)
Massey DS, Denton NA. The dimensions of residential segregation. Soc Forces. Oxford, England: 1988;67(2):281.
Sugrue TJ. The origins of the urban crisis: race and inequality in postwar Detroit-updated edition. 6th ed. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 2014.
Iceland, J., Weinberg, D. H., & Steinmetz, E. Racial and ethnic residential segregation in the United States. Bureau of Census. 2002;8(3):1980–2000.
Anthopolos R, James SA, Gelfand AE, Miranda ML. A spatial measure of neighborhood level racial isolation applied to low birthweight, preterm birth, and birthweight in north carolina. Spatial Spatio-Temporal Epidemiol. 2011;2(4):235–46.
Campbell E, Henly JR, Elliott DS, Irwin K. Subjective constructions of neighborhood boundaries: lessons from a qualitative study of four neighborhoods. J Urban Aff. 2009;31(4):461–90.
Pratt M, King M, Burash J, Tompsett CJ. What differences do they see? Using mixed methods to capture adolescent perceptions of neighborhood contexts. Am J Community Psychol. 2020;65(3–4):320–31.
Coulton CJ, Korbin J, Chan T, Su M. Mapping residents’ perceptions of neighborhood boundaries: a methodological note. Am J Community Psychol. 2001;29(2):371–83.
Browning CR, Calder CA, Boettner B, Tarrence J, Khan K, Soller B, et al. Neighborhoods, activity spaces, and the span of adolescent exposures. Am Sociol Rev. 2021;86(2):201–33.
Cagney KA, York Cornwell E, Goldman AW, Cai L. Urban mobility and activity space. Annu Rev Sociol. 2020;46(1):623–48.
Jones M, Pebley AR. Redefining neighborhoods using common destinations: social characteristics of activity spaces and home census tracts compared. Demography. 2014;51(3):727–52.
Tompsett CJ, Amrhein KE, Hassan S. Travel beyond the home neighborhood for delinquent behaviors: moderation of home neighborhood influences. J Adolesc. 2014;37(4):325–33.
Fetters MD, Curry LA, Creswell JW. Achieving integration in mixed methods designs-principles and practices. Health Serv Res. 2013;48(6pt2):2134–56.
The FFIEC Geocoding/Mapping System. https://geomap.ffiec.gov/FFIECGeocMap/GeocodeMap1.aspx. Accessed 18 Aug 2019.
Segregation: Neighborhood Exposure by Race. https://www.censusscope.org/segregation.html. https://www.censusscope.org. Accessed 29 Aug 2019.
Guest G, MacQueen KM, Namey EE. Applied thematic analysis [Internet]. Los Angeles: Sage Publications; 2012.
QSR International Pty Ltd. NVivo. 2020 (released in March 2015), https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-qualitative-data-analysis-software/home
Kershaw KN, Diez Roux AV, Burgard SA, Lisabeth LD, Mujahid MS, Schulz AJ. Metropolitan-level racial residential segregation and black-white disparities in hypertension. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(5):537–45.
Anthopolos R, Kaufman JS, Messer LC, Miranda ML. Racial residential segregation and preterm birth: built environment as a mediator. Epidemiology. 2014;25(3):397–405.
Kramer MR, Cooper HL, Drews-Botsch CD, Waller LA, Hogue CR. Metropolitan isolation segregation and Black-White disparities in very preterm birth: a test of mediating pathways and variance explained. Soc Sci Med. 2010;71(12):2108–16.
Farley JE. Residential interracial exposure and isolation indices: mean versus median indices, and the difference it makes. Sociol Q. 2005;46(1):19–45.
Bemanian A, Beyer KMM. Measures matter: the local exposure/isolation (LEx/Is) metrics and relationships between local-level segregation and breast cancer survival. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev. 2017;26(4):516–24.
Farber S, O’Kelly M, Miller HJ, Neutens T. Measuring segregation using patterns of daily travel behavior: a social interaction based model of exposure. J Transp Geogr. 2015;49:26–38.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities. The authors would like to thank the women who participated in this study. We would also like to thank the research assistants who recruited the participants and the clinic staff and managers for their support with this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dove-Medows, E., Misra, D.P., Benkert, R. et al. A Qualitative Approach to the Dimensions of Segregation among Pregnant Black Women. J Urban Health 99, 692–700 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-022-00661-3
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-022-00661-3