Angela Miu

Bio: Angela Miu is an academic researcher from RAND Corporation. The author has contributed to research in topics: Unrest & Public health. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 95 citations.

Alcohol Outlets, Gonorrhea, and the Los Angeles Civil Unrest

Abstract: This study tests the effect of neighborhood changes on gonorrhea rates. Prior studies that indicate gonorrhea rates are associated with alcohol outlet density and neighborhood deterioration have been cross-sectional and cannot establish causality. After the 1992 Civil Unrest in Los Angeles, 270 alcohol outlets surrendered their licenses due to arson and vandalism thus providing a natural experiment. We geocoded all reported gonorrhea cases from 1988 to 1996 in LA County, all annually licensed alcohol outlets, and all properties damaged as a result of the civil unrest. We ran individual growth models to examine the independent effects of changes in alcohol outlets and damaged buildings on gonorrhea. The individual growth model explained over 90% of the residual variance in census tract gonorrhea rates. After the civil unrest, a unit decrease in the number of alcohol outlets per mile of roadway was associated with 21 fewer gonorrhea cases per 100,000 (p<.01) in tracts affected by the Unrest compared to those not affected. Neighborhood alcohol outlets appear to be significantly associated with changes in gonorrhea rates. The findings suggest that efforts to control sexually transmitted diseases, including gonorrhea and HIV, should address contextual factors that facilitate high-risk behaviors and disease transmission.

Hours and Days of Sale and Density of Alcohol Outlets: Impacts on Alcohol Consumption and Damage: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Aims: The aim of this study was to examine recent research studies published from 2000 to 2008 focusing on availability of alcohol: hours and days of sale and density of alcohol outlets. Methods: Systematic review. Results: Forty-four studies on density of alcohol outlets and 15 studies on hours and days of sale were identified through a systematic literature search. The majority of studies reviewed found that alcohol outlet density and hours and days of sale had an impact on one or more of the three main outcome variables, such as overall alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and damage from alcohol. Conclusions: Restricting availability of alcohol is an effective measure to prevent alcohol-attributable harm.

Changing the density of alcohol outlets to reduce alcohol-related problems.

Abstract: Increasingly, it seems, legal and political debates regarding the granting of new liquor licences are turning to the issue of whether the number and density of alcohol outlets makes a difference in rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. But what is the state of the evidence on this question? In this Harm Reduction Digest Livingston, Chikritzhs and Room review the research literature on the effects of density of alcohol sales outlets on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems; suggest a new way of conceptualising the relationships; and discuss the implications for reducing alcohol-related harm.

Making Americans Healthier: Social and Economic Policy as Health Policy

Abstract: The health of populations depends on not only the characteristics and health behaviors of individuals but the social, economic and physical environments in which they live and the health care systems that provide their medical care. This course will explore the current evidence regarding the role of these factors as determinants of population health and identify emerging issues. The role of public policy in improving the health of populations will be discussed in the context of empirical research evidence.

Social determinants and sexually transmitted disease disparities.

Abstract: Social determinants of health play an important role in sexually transmitted disease (STD) transmission and acquisition; consequently, racial and ethnic disparities among social determinants are influences upon disparities in STD rates. In this narrative review, we outline a general model showing the relationship between social determinants and STD outcomes, mediated by epidemiologic context. We then review 4 specific social determinants relevant to STD disparities: segregation, health care, socioeconomics and correctional experiences, followed by 2 facets of the resultant epidemiologic context: core areas and sexual networks. This review shows that disparities exist among the social determinants and that they are related to each other, as well as to core areas, sexual networks, and STD rates. Finally, we discuss the implications of our review for STD prevention and control with particular attention to STD program collaboration and service integration.

The spatial ecology of alcohol problems: niche theory and assortative drinking

Abstract: Aims This paper summarizes several theoretical perspectives that serve to explain observed associations between concentrations of alcohol outlets and alcohol-related problems. A critique of each perspective discusses how each addresses the social etiology of these problems; that is, how, where and why these problems arise in association with alcohol outlets? Methods This theoretical work is based upon mathematical and computational models of the ecology of alcohol-related problems developed in the ‘Ecosystems Modeling Project’, an advanced research project of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, United States. Results Associations between outlets and problems are thought to arise from the concentration of individuals in drinking places (‘flow models’), the attraction of some places for people at risk for problems (‘gravity models’), or because outlets are located in high-risk neighborhoods and have negative social normative effects (‘social contextual models’). None of these approaches explain how some outlets come to have more problems than others (e.g. violent outlets). An alternative social ecological model is introduced which asserts that the complementary processes of niche marketing and assortative drinking form the social dynamic that explains these relationships. Alcohol sellers ‘niche market’ to select social strata, drinkers return to establishments at which they find people like themselves, and consequent social stratification of the market-place increases the levels of related problems in some outlets. Conclusions The proposed mechanism is very general, and suggests that over-concentrations of outlets will lead to stratification of drinking groups and intensification of problems related to those outlets.