This study explores the relationship between place-based social vulnerability and post-disaster migration in the U.S. Gulf Coast region following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Using county-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we develop a regional index of social vulnerability and examine how its various dimensions are related to migration patterns in the wake of the storms. Our results show that places characterized by greater proportions of disadvantaged populations, housing damage, and, to a lesser degree, more densely built environments were significantly more likely to experience outmigration following the hurricanes. Our results also show that these relationships were not spatially random, but rather exhibited significant geographic clustering. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and public policy.

Objective: This study used spatial statistical methods to test the hypotheses that county-level adult obesity prevalence in the United States is (1) regionally concentrated at significant levels, and (2) linked to local-level factors, after controlling for state-level effects. Methods: Data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other secondary sources. The units of analysis were counties. The dependent variable was the age-adjusted percentage of adults who were obese in 2009 (body mass index >30 kg/m 2 ). Results: The prevalence of county-level obesity varied from 13.5% to 47.9% with a mean of 30.3%. Obesity prevalence across counties was not spatially random: 15.8% belonged to high-obesity regions and 13.5% belonged to low-obesity regions. Obesity was positively associated with unemployment, outpatient healthcare visits, physical inactivity, female-headed families, black populations, and less education. Obesity was negatively correlated with physician numbers, natural amenities, percent 65 years, Hispanic populations, and larger population size. A number of variables were notable for not reaching significance after controlling for other factors, including poverty and food environment measures.Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the importance of local-level factors in explaining geographic variation in obesity prevalence, and thus hold implications for geographically targeted interventions to combat the obesity epidemic.

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Objective Significant clusters of high and low obesity counties have been demonstrated across the United States (U.S.). This study examined regional disparities in obesity prevalence and differences in the related structural characteristics across regions of the U.S. Design and Methods Drawing on model-based estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regional differences in county-level adult obesity prevalence (percent of the adult population [≥ 20 years] that was obese [BMI≥30kg/m2] within a county, 2009) were assessed with a LISA (Local Indicators of Spatial Association) analysis to identify geographic concentrations of high and low obesity levels. We utilized regional regime analysis to identify factors that were differentially associated with obesity prevalence between regions of the U.S. Results High and low obesity county clusters and the effect of a number of county-level characteristics on obesity prevalence differed significantly by region. These included the positive effect of African American populations in the South, the negative effect of Hispanic populations in the Northeast, and the positive effect of unemployed workers in the Midwest and West. Conclusions Our findings suggest the need for public health policies and interventions that account for different regional characteristics underlying obesity prevalence variation across the U.S.

An important way in which employment hardship has come to be conceptualized and measured is as underemployment. Underemployment goes beyond mere unemployment (being out of a job and looking for work), to include those who have given up looking for work, part-time workers whose employer(s) cannot give them full-time work, and the working poor. To provide needed background for the other articles in this special issue, we trace the history of the concept of underemployment, review existing empirical literature, offer a critique of the measurement of underemployment as conventionally operationalized, and provide up-to-date evidence on the trends and correlates of underemployment in the United States.