Inequality and Infant Health: A Multilevel Approach to Disentangling Correlates of Metropolitan/Nonmetropolitan Disparities in Low Birth Weight Infants

P. Johnelle Smith, Pennsylvania State University

To date, research has not addressed geographic differentials in low birthweight status due to individual- and structural-level characteristics in the US. If the health care needs of infants and children in nonmetropolitan areas are to be understood, an analytic approach capturing how both individual- and contextual-level inequalities operate is needed. Prior research focusing on rural and urban differences in birthweight has mostly used dichotomous measures of residence. This proposed research utilizes multiple levels of rurality as one component of structural-level characteristics, along with individual-level characteristics, to predict low birthweight status. With variation in low birthweight status across groups and places in the United States, it is important to understand which children are at risk of poor health outcomes and to identify how local conditions contribute to these outcomes. The ECLS-B merged with county-level data will be used to examine this problem.