Urban cultures in America and around the world are growing, and with this growth comes a unique set of health issues. Traditional public health and medical practices and methods must be adapted to respond to the urban population. The Journal of Urban Health reflects the focus of its parent organization, The New York Academy of Medicine, on the emerging field of urban health and epidemiology.

Important changes in patterns of disease and disability have been noted in urban populations, encouraging health professionals to expand their vision to include social and economic determinants of health. For example, the parallel epidemics of substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, HIV, tuberculosis, and violence underscore the significance of such key factors as poverty, family disintegration, racial bias, and urban crowding in shaping the profile of urban morbidities.

The Journal of Urban Health addresses these health issues from both clinical and policy perspectives, filling a neglected niche in medical and health literature.

Since January 2006, the Journal has been published by Springer and has increased from four to six issues per year, thus ensuring timely reportage of important clinical developments and policy issues. In addition to original articles, the Journal publishes urban health data, book reviews, selected reports and proceedings from Academy symposia, and classic papers that are important to the knowledge base of the field.

Special Features:

The May/June 2008 issue of the Journal features a special section on injection drug use. Three original research articles and one editorial reach new results on health issues faced by this population. One study finds that there is a greater risk for HIV, HBV, and HCV infection among injection drug users in a city where syringe exchange and pharmarcy syringe distribution are illegal, as compared to the same population in a city where those practices are legal. Another reveals the attitudes of Australian heroin users to peer distribution of naloxone, a common strategy to prevent heroin overdose. Nearly all of respondents thought naloxone distribution was a "good idea" and a similar majority would participate in a related training program. Another study estimated the population of injection drug users throughout the United States.


In the March/April 2008 issue of the Journal, new original research articles focused on a number of different urban health issues. One study examined the associations between environmental characteristics and physical activity. Among their highly interesting results, the authors found that environmental characteristics and walking are related but complex. The relationship varies depending on reason, intensity, and function of physical activity. Another study examined the associations between alcohol availability and neighborhood characteristics in Los Angeles and southern Louisiana. The authors tested the relationships between alcohol outlets per roadway mile, shelf space, and least price by beverage type and socieconomic and demographic characteristics. The authors found that alcohol availability, but not least price, were associated with some community characteristics.


In the January/February 2008 issue of the Journal, one study found, among a sample of adult women in Baltimore, MD, that a high percentage had witnessed community violence and were more likely to experience clinically significant anxiety or depressive symptoms. The authors conclude that adult women who witness community violence need to be specifically targeted for mental health interventions. Two other studies focused on pediatric mercury and rodent allergen exposure in New York City and Los Angeles, respectively. In New York, researchers found that mercury levels were low, if they were even present, in their sample; however, because some participants thought they could purchase mercury for cultural purposes, the authors urge that community education should be developed to convey the health impact of mercury exposure. In Los Angeles, researchers found rodents and detectable mouse allergen in kitchen dust in more than 50% of homes of children with asthma.

Additional information about the Journal of Urban Health is available on the Internet on the publisher's website.

Please see the Springer website for submission information and instructions for authors.

Academy Fellows receive free online access to current and archived issues of the Journal of Urban Health as well as the Journal of Community Health and the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, which can be accessed through the members-only portion of this site.

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