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Keenan Research Centre - Research Programs

Centre for Research on Inner City Health - Research Themes

Maternal and Children's Health and Human Development

Populations of children and pregnant women among the urban poor are increasing. Economic and social deprivation at early ages can impact upon subsequent health, developmental, and social well-being in adolescence and adulthood. Our research focuses on maternal well-being, pregnancy outcomes, and social determinants of children's health and development using developmental and life course perspectives. Specific areas of research include housing and children's well-being, neighbourhoods and children's health and development in the US and Canada and prevention and social determinants of adverse infant outcomes at birth, such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant mortality. Research methods include population-based studies and evaluations of social interventions.


Current Membership

Jim Dunn, Patricia O’Campo, Joel Ray

Selected Ongoing Research Projects

Community Collaborative For Child Health

Funded by the US National Institutes for Child Health and Human Development, this partnership between universities and community organizations will design and implement a national multi-site, community-based research project to study the environmental, social, individual and biological determinants of adverse pregnancy and child outcomes.

Advances In Statistical Analysis Applied To Health Disparities

Funded by the US Maternal and Child Health Bureau, this multi-site partnership between universities and state health departments examines the importance of policy-relevant residential factors that contribute to racial, socioeconomic and geographic inequalities in adverse perinatal outcomes in the state of Maryland.

Behavioral And Academic Adjustment In Elementary School

Funded by the US National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, this study explores the influence of the family and community on parent involvement in school and on the behaviour and performance of elementary schoolchildren. Four hundred eighty first-grade children in 60 Baltimore neighbourhoods will be followed for one year, and home interviews and primary data collection of neighbourhood characteristics will be conducted.

How Social Factors Affect Preterm Birth

Funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, this project is concerned with how biological, psychological and social factors impact upon the risk of preterm birth in a high risk sample residing in Baltimore, Maryland.

Mapping Social And Spatial Patterning Of Readiness To Learn And Community Assets In Central-City Vancouver

Funded by the Vancouver Richmond Health Board, this project analyses so-called neighbourhood effects on the readiness of children to learn upon entry into kindergarten, using data collected on over 3,600 kindergarten students in the Vancouver School District.

Does Rent-Geared-To-Income Social Housing Affect Children's Behaviour And Cognitive Development?

Funded by the Institute of Population and Public Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, this study examines effects of being re-housed from high-rent, private rental housing into rent-geared-to-income social housing in three regions in western Toronto. Main outcomes include cognitive development, mental health and behavioural problems of school-aged children.

InterPreg Study

We will study more than 150,000 women to assess whether weight gain between two consecutive pregnancies is a risk factor for poor outcomes for mother and child.

Preventing Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Among Women Living In Shelters And Marginalized Housing

This initiative aims to improve the well-being of pregnant women living in homeless shelters. The project documents and addresses the inequalities in health care within a group of women and children whose burdens of illness and disability are high.