Research

“The significance of studying financial hardship is that it might influence health outcomes in unexpected and different ways from traditional measures of socioeconomic status.”

The Tucker-Seeley Research Lab is committed to researching socioeconomic disparities in health with a specific focus on outcomes across the chronic disease continuum (from prevention to end-of-life care). Our projects are at the intersection of social epidemiology, health services, and community-based research.

Socioeconomic disparities in health are closely linked to health disparities by race/ethnicity and place, and this intersectionality informs our research projects. In particular, our research activities highlight the importance of the association between socio-demographic factors and health/health behavior across the life course.

Research conducted by the Tucker-Seeley Research Lab uses qualitative and quantitative methods to address these key questions:

  • How do we conceptualize (define) and operationalize (measure) financial well-being (FWB) in research across the chronic disease continuum from prevention to end-of-life care?
  • What are the specific components of FWB associated with outcomes across the chronic disease continuum?
  • How does the neighborhood environment influence the health/health behavior of residents?
  • How do public health and aging related agencies collaborate to improve the health of older adults and implement health equity?

We situate our work on financial well-being within the larger discussion to social determinants of health (SDOH) and health disparities related to chronic diseases (e.g. cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias). We continue to build on our past work, which has shown a strong association between financial hardship and multiple health outcomes, even after controlling for traditional socioeconomic status measures.

The Lab’s research has been published in the American Journal of Public Health, Economics and Human Biology, BMC Public Health, Annals of Epidemiology, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and other journals.

To learn more about our FWB research please see the video below: