Contextual Risk Factors
Faculty
Research Focus
The goal of this laboratory is to understand how the different contexts in which we live – including our neighborhoods, schools, work, parks or social networks – shape our disease risks and health outcomes.
About this Lab
Traditional risk factors like smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, and obesity
are shaped by the social and physical environments in which we live. The goal of the
Contextual Risk Factors Laboratory is to identify modifiable aspects of these environments
that are linked with individual health risk factors or behaviors. Currently, the lab
focuses on risk factors and behaviors in the broad areas of cardiovascular disease
(CVD) and obesity.
A major focus of the lab is understanding how social, physical, and policy environments
shape health and disease in rural areas. Dr. Broyles and lab members lead the Louisiana Core of the RURAL Heart and Lung Study, which is a prospective cohort study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute within the National Institutes of Health. The RURAL Heart and Lung Study
began in 2019, and the second wave of data collection for the study will begin in
2027. Over 4,600 residents of ten rural counties across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,
and Kentucky are participating in this important study. This number includes over
800 residents of Louisiana’s Assumption and Franklin Parishes. More information about
the RURAL Heart and Lung Study can be found at the study’s official website.
Much of the work within the RURAL Heart and Lung Study involves developing strong
relationships within rural communities. Lab members are currently focused on providing
parish-specific summaries of health information collected by the study, which can
be used to improve health in these communities. Links to download these databooks,
and other resources developed by the lab to support rural health, can be found below.
- Click here to access the RURAL Heart and Lung Study databook for Assumption Parish.
Other lab contributions are highlighted below.
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The lab has shaped research on how neighborhood social environments influence physical activity through comprehensive scoping review, which includes recommendations for this field (Kepper et al., 2019, Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act).
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Lab members have documented that children living in high crime neighborhoods show dampened responses to a physical activity intervention (Broyles et al., 2016, J Urban Health), which has important consequences for health disparities.
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The lab has provided evidence that stressful neighborhood environments can contribute to poor health in children (Broyles et al., 2012, PloS ONE; Denstel et al., 2023, BMC Public Health).
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It has developed and validated a tool (the ISCOLE School Audit Tool, or ISAT) to to assess the supportiveness of the school environment for physical activity in international settings (Broyles et al., 2015, IJO). Links to download the ISAT and supporting materials are found below.
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The lab has also helped to develop novel methods for assessing neighborhood built and social environments (Kepper et al., 2017, Am J Prev Med) and with characterizing in-neighborhood physical activity (Kepper et al., 2022, Int J Environ Res Public Health) using objective measures.
A full list of related publications can be found here.
Research in this lab has been supported by the American Heart Association and the
National Institutes of Health.
