IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v22y2025i2p219-d1583426.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Intersecting Paths to Health: A Factor Analysis Approach to Socioeconomic and Environmental Determinants in Indiana

Author

Listed:
  • Siavash Ghorbany

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA)

  • Ming Hu

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
    School of Architecture, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA)

  • Siyuan Yao

    (Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA)

  • Chaoli Wang

    (Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA)

  • Matthew Sisk

    (Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA)

  • Quynh C. Nguyen

    (National Institute of Nursing Research, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA)

  • Kai Zhang

    (Department of Population and Community Health, College of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA)

Abstract

Public health is the basis of society’s well-being and the nation’s development. Despite the importance of this factor and huge investments in the health sector in the United States, public health is facing enormous challenges due to the unknown nature of the influential variables in this sector. This research aims to investigate the influential variables on public health from different sources including the demographic features, built environment, socioeconomic variables, and environmental factors impact on 30 major health issues. To achieve this goal, this study utilizes exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression methods on the data obtained from the state of Indiana. The results indicated that health issues and influential factors can be divided into five main factors. This study identifies Health Burdens and Socioeconomic Disparities as a key factor, encompassing a wide range of health issues and socioeconomic variables, highlighting a significant association between socioeconomic disparities, poor health outcomes, and environmental exposures. The analysis underscores the intricate relationship between socioeconomic status, health behaviors, chronic diseases, and environmental factors, suggesting that effective interventions must address healthcare access, quality, and broader determinants of health to improve outcomes in affected communities. The results of this study can be helpful to public health policymakers, urban planners, and future public health researchers.

Suggested Citation

  • Siavash Ghorbany & Ming Hu & Siyuan Yao & Chaoli Wang & Matthew Sisk & Quynh C. Nguyen & Kai Zhang, 2025. "Intersecting Paths to Health: A Factor Analysis Approach to Socioeconomic and Environmental Determinants in Indiana," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(2), pages 1-23, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:2:p:219-:d:1583426
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/219/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/219/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simranjot Mann & Sharon K. Byrne, 2023. "Period Poverty from a Public Health and Legislative Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(23), pages 1-9, November.
    2. Lynn Phan & Weijun Yu & Jessica M. Keralis & Krishay Mukhija & Pallavi Dwivedi & Kimberly D. Brunisholz & Mehran Javanmardi & Tolga Tasdizen & Quynh C. Nguyen, 2020. "Google Street View Derived Built Environment Indicators and Associations with State-Level Obesity, Physical Activity, and Chronic Disease Mortality in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-10, May.
    3. Keele, Luke & Stevenson, Randolph T. & Elwert, Felix, 2020. "The causal interpretation of estimated associations in regression models," Political Science Research and Methods, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 1-13, January.
    4. Evelina Pappa & Nick Kontodimopoulos & Angelos Papadopoulos & Dimitris Niakas, 2009. "Assessing the socio-economic and demographic impact on health-related quality of life: evidence from Greece," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 54(4), pages 241-249, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christoph Dworschak, 2024. "Bias mitigation in empirical peace and conflict studies: A short primer on posttreatment variables," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(3), pages 462-476, May.
    2. Šuštaršič Ana & Videmšek Mateja & Karpljuk Damir & Miloloža Ivan & Meško Maja, 2022. "Big Data in Sports: A Bibliometric and Topic Study," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 19-34, June.
    3. Schuessler, Julian, 2024. "Causal analysis with observational data," OSF Preprints wam94, Center for Open Science.
    4. Xiao, Shufeng & Yu, Tianjiao, 2024. "Underperformance duration and R&D internationalization: Institutional contingencies in an emerging economy," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4).
    5. Higney, Anthony & Hanley, Nick & Moro, Mirko, 2022. "The lead-crime hypothesis: A meta-analysis," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    6. Drydakis, Nick, 2021. "Social Rejection, Family Acceptance, Economic Recession and Physical and Mental Health of Sexual Minorities," IZA Discussion Papers 14733, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Sophia Fauser & Michael Gebel, 2023. "Labour Market Dualism and the Heterogeneous Wage Gap for Temporary Employment. A Multilevel Study across 30 Countries," LIS Working papers 853, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    8. Fengrong Ou & Kai Li & Qian Gao & Dan Liu & Jinghai Li & Liwen Hu & Xian Wu & E Kale Edmiston & Yang Liu, 2012. "An Urban Neo-Poverty Population-Based Quality of Life and Related Social Characteristics Investigation from Northeast China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(6), pages 1-7, June.
    9. Mo Chen & Xuhua Hu & Jijian Zhang & Zhe Xu & Guang Yang & Zenan Sun, 2023. "Are Firms More Willing to Seek Green Technology Innovation in the Context of Economic Policy Uncertainty? —Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-24, September.
    10. Melvin Khee-Shing Leow & Konstadina Griva & Robin Choo & Hwee-Lin Wee & Julian Thumboo & E Shyong Tai & Stanton Newman, 2013. "Determinants of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in the Multiethnic Singapore Population – A National Cohort Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-13, June.
    11. Xiaohe Yue & Anne Antonietti & Mitra Alirezaei & Tolga Tasdizen & Dapeng Li & Leah Nguyen & Heran Mane & Abby Sun & Ming Hu & Ross T. Whitaker & Quynh C. Nguyen, 2022. "Using Convolutional Neural Networks to Derive Neighborhood Built Environments from Google Street View Images and Examine Their Associations with Health Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-18, September.
    12. Koehnlein, Brittney & Koren, Ore, 2021. "Covid-19, STATE CAPACITY, AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE BY NONSTATE ACTORS," SocArXiv qz8ps, Center for Open Science.
    13. Simone Cenci & Samuel Tang, 2024. "Addressing companies’ low-carbon transition challenges requires diversified investments in environmental initiatives," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(11), pages 1-18, November.
    14. Essotanam Mamba & Afi Balaki, 2022. "Effects of trade policies on external trade performances of ECOWAS countries (1996–2017)†," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 535-566, July.
    15. Schuessler, Julian, 2024. "Causal analysis with observational data," OSF Preprints wam94_v1, Center for Open Science.
    16. Jean Caron, 2012. "Predictors of Quality of Life in Economically Disadvantaged Populations in Montreal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 411-427, July.
    17. Xin Xu & Yuan Zhao & Siyou Xia & Panpan Cui & Wenmin Tang & Xiaoliang Hu & Bei Wu, 2022. "Quality of Life and Its Influencing Factors Among Centenarians in Nanjing, China: A Cross-Sectional Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 735-755, April.
    18. Lucas Albuquerque-Oliveira, João & Moraes Oliveira-Neto, Francisco & Pereira, Rafael H.M., 2024. "A novel route-based accessibility measure and its association with transit ridership," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    19. Lauri Peterson, 2022. "Domestic and international climate policies: complementarity or disparity?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 97-118, March.
    20. Evelina Pappa & Simela Chatzikonstantinidou & George Chalkiopoulos & Angelos Papadopoulos & Dimitris Niakas, 2015. "Health-Related Quality of Life of the Roma in Greece: The Role of Socio-Economic Characteristics and Housing Conditions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-13, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:2:p:219-:d:1583426. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.