HEALab
Health Equity
Analytics
Lab
Examining Social Drivers of Health across the Lifespan
Melissa Flores, Ph.D.
Current Projects
Toward Accurate Cardiovascular Risk Assessment for Latino/x Populations
This project is funded by The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). We are testing the accuracy of existing cardiovascular disease risk scores in a large Hispanic/Latino/x cohort study. We are also exploring whether the addition of social drivers of health to these scores improves performance.
Social Networks and Heart Health in Latino/x Adults
In this study, we are exploring the relationship between network structure and dynamics with stress, and day-to-day night-time blood pressure variability (NBPV) in a community sample of Latino/x adults. We are collecting hair cortisol and daily diary measures of stress and social connection.
Navigating Race and Health in Youth and Parent Dyads
In this study we are collaborating with the SLAAY Lab (Dr. Sei Kim; Montclair University) to understand how parents talk to their teens about exposure to racial and ethnic bias through social media. We are interested in how social network structure may moderate or mediate associations between social media exposure to racial/ethnic bias and mental and physical health in both Asian American and Latino/x youth and parents.
Resilience in Neighborhoods
This project is focused on understanding neighborhood social drivers of cardiovascular health across the lifespan. We are using GIS mapping to link data from the American Community Survey to publicly available cohort data from youth and older adults. We are interested in factors related to risk and resilience including social cohesion, ethnic density, and access to resources.