Considering daily mobility for a more comprehensive understanding of contextual effects on social inequalities in health: A conceptual proposal
Section snippets
Background
In recent years, there have been calls to consider individuals׳ agency in contextual studies of social inequalities in health (Entwisle, 2007), and to take into account the interplay between individuals and their environment (Frohlich et al., 2001, Cummins et al., 2007, Kwan, 2009). A suggested response has been to integrate people׳s daily mobility across space when defining context or the spatial area(s) within which health-relevant resources and features are measured (Cummins et al., 2007,
Objective
Drawing from literature in geography, urban studies, public health, and sociology, this paper seeks to provide elements of response to the above limitations. It introduces a conceptual proposal which anchors the links between daily mobility and contextual influences on social inequalities in health into the concept of mobility potential. Mobility potential is defined as the capacity to be mobile and a resource that is unequally distributed across social groups (Kaufmann et al., 2004). We argue
Daily mobility potential: an unequally distributed resource
We conceptualise daily mobility as a behaviour embedded within a social context (Kaufmann, 2011, Camarero and Oliva, 2008) which involves social norms (including aspects of interpersonal relationships), social structures (e.g. class, race, gender), as well as institutional practices (Poland et al., 2006). The concept of “mobility potential” which, following Kaufmann et al. (2004), is the “capacity to move in geographic and social space” (p. 750), is central to this perspective. Indeed, it has
Discussion
Drawing from conceptual and empirical work conducted in various fields, we developed a conceptual proposal linking daily mobility with contextual influences on social inequalities in health. Given the increasing interest in integrating mobility in the social sciences in the past 15 years (Sheller and Urry, 2006) (and more recently in public health (Kwan, 2009)), and given the long-standing mandate of public health to reduce social inequalities through action on local environments (Diez Roux and
Conclusion
Public health is perpetually focused on reducing health inequalities by acting on people׳s daily lives and on the places where they live, work, study, and play (Organisation Mondiale De La Santé, 2008). This paper offers a timely contribution, pressing for more conceptually-rooted research and action, focused on context and social inequalities in health. The conceptual proposal made here allows the direct study of mobility potential and the factors enabling or constraining it, a first step
Funding
MS is a recipient of a Doctoral Research Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada. KF holds a CIHR New Investigator Award. YK is a recipient of a young investigator award from Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Julie Vallée and Stephanie Alexander for commenting on an earlier version of this paper, as well as Deena Aziz for editing the manuscript.
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