Effects of Gentrification on the Late Stages of Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
(10/2006 – 03/2008)
Preliminary studies of gentrification conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago found that in census tracts where owner-occupied housing values rose from below to above the median value between 1990 and 2000 (a preliminary definition of gentrification), Latinas and African American women experienced significantly higher rate of late-stage diagnosis of breast cancer than women in census tracts that remained poor, remained affluent or where housing declined in value.
CURL worked with UIC to conduct focus groups with community members in gentrifying and non-gentrifying Chicago neighborhoods to determine if gentrification disrupted the availability of local medical care, affected residents' social networks, contributed to stress felt by these residents, or placed additional financial demands on them that resulted in cutbacks in their usage of medical facilities.
The focus group findings were used to suggest new variables or data sources researchers can use in statistical analysis of the causes of late-stage breast cancer diagnosis and to help community groups form strategies to help local residents find and use medical services as neighborhoods gentrify.
Research Team:
P. Nyden, CURL
D. Barrett, UIC Department of Sociology
M. Manno, UIC Graduate Assistant
J. Davis, CURL
A. Passinault, Undergraduate Fellow CURL
Community Partner: