Behavioral Medicine's special issue highlights how contextual factors play role in health outcomes

Behavioral Medicine presents "Health and Context" - a special issue providing important evidence for the myriad ways that contextual factors, such as neighborhoods, schools, family settings, and cultural contexts in which individuals engage, play a role in health outcomes. Examining such contextual factors not only builds a deeper understanding of health and human development but also informs intentional change strategies aimed at improving health for individuals at risk. Health and Context, Volume 41, Issue 3, 2015 of Behavioral Medicine will be available online at www.tandfonline.com/VBMD.

Articles address the range of ecological systems that may influence health outcomes. The articles are presented in an order based on the level of context/system considered in each article, beginning with those focusing on more endogenous (internal) systems and concluding with those articles addressing more exogenous (external) systems. The issue begins with two articles on mesosytems, namely social and peer network. The next set of articles considers the influences of exogenous systems on health outcomes -- the military, homeless shelters, neighborhoods, parks, and disaster-prone environments. The final set of articles address the influence of socially produced conditions including economic states and stigma.

Source: Taylor & Francis