The Interview as a Technology for Understanding the Social World: The Case of Interviews About Race

The interview is a technology used all over the world to learn about others’ lives, disseminate opinions, and construct narratives concerning the social world. While formerly a province of elite members of society prior to the 19th century, the interview became accessible to ordinary people everywhere over the past 150 years. In this article, we explore how the interview as a technology, although promising in its democratic possibilities, can marginalize, exclude, and misrepresent people. We examine interviews conducted in relation to one particular context in the United States: Forsyth County, Georgia. Through our examination of interviews conducted about race in public media over the last 50 years, we found that sometimes the ways interviewees were selected, interviewed, and represented reproduced and reified existing stereotypes and discourses surrounding the question of “why Forsyth County continued to be an all-White county” for much of the 20th century. Furthermore, when information sought focused solely on interviewees’ opinions and perspectives, critical dialogue did not occur. We argue that for research interviews on sensitive topics such as “race” to fulfill their democratic promise, researchers must intentionally design studies in ways that support research for social justice.

Investigating the Relationship between Urban Form and Economic Mobility in Forsyth County, NC

Forsyth County, NC, is the third lowest ranked county in the United States for upward economic mobility. Urban scholars argue that sprawling development is an obstacle. This paper includes a focused analysis of the census tracts in Forsyth County. Using a spatial autoregressive model, we find some evidence that less sprawling tracts have higher rates of upward mobility. We find that tracts with more bus stops and less brownfields have higher rates of upward mobility. Though there are data limitations, findings still offer insights for policies and programs that may help in reversing the county’s low mobility rates.

Has the Allocation of Certain Teachers Impacted Student Achievement and Upward Economic Mobility? The Case of Forsyth County, NC Elementary Schools

Forsyth County, North Carolina has one of the lowest rates of upward economic mobility in the entire United States. Researchers find that one of strongest correlates of upward mobility is the quality of schools in the local system. Using 2018 and 2017 NC Public School Report Card (SRC) data for Forsyth County elementary schools, I find that the percentage of experienced teachers at a school is a significant predictor of school performance. At high-performing schools, a much larger share of their faculties consist of highly experienced and educated teachers, compared to low-performing schools that predominately serve economically disadvantaged children. Experienced and high-quality teachers can have significant long-term impacts on elementary school children, especially those who come from underprivileged families. Yet in Forsyth County, schools with greater shares of economically disadvantaged children have lower percentages of teachers with these characteristics. I argue that the Forsyth County school system can assist in reversing low mobility rates by allocating more experienced teachers toward low-performing elementary schools that serve mostly disadvantaged children. This will insure that these schools have higher experienced-to-inexperienced teacher ratios, while also helping to reduce teacher turnover.

Pet-Friendly Rental Housing: Racial and Spatial Inequalities

Renters with pets seeking quality and affordable accommodations face numerous challenges. This research aims to identify whether the racial/ethnic predominance of the neighborhood population relates to the willingness of landlords to accept pets. To address this question, we gathered 266 rental listings from Craigslist and Zillow over a two-week period in Forsyth County, North Carolina. While the vast majority of landlords allowed dogs and cats at rental units in predominantly white neighborhoods, less than half permitted pets at properties in African-American neighborhoods. Chi-square tests demonstrated the statistical significance of these differences. Additional policies including breed restrictions, weight/size limits, non-refundable fees, and additional rent for pets further limited the ability of renters to keep pets. We discuss implications for tenant autonomy, the welfare of companion animals, and the perpetuation of racial segregation.

Abstract P107: Differences in Cardiovascular Mortality Risk Among African Americans in the Minnesota Heart Survey, 1985-2015, versus African Americans in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) Cohort: 1987-2015

Geographic differences in CVD mortality across the U.S. are well-established, but frequently overlooked. ARIC enrolled African Americans (AA) from Jackson, MS and Forsyth County, NC, areas of the Southeast with some of the highest CVD mortality rates, especially among AAs. The Minnesota Heart Survey enrolled AAs from Minnesota where CVD rates are among the lowest. However, it is not known whether AAs in Minnesota also have low rates. Using these two cohorts, we assessed whether CVD-related mortality risk among AAs differs by region. Baseline measures of CVD risk factors for MHS were taken in 1985 from a population based sample of AAs, ages 45 to 65, living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. These same measures were made at ARIC visit 1 (1987-89) in AA participants of the same age residing in Jackson, MS and Forsyth County, NC. CVD and total mortality were identified using ICD codes for underlying cause of death from State and National Death Index records in both cohorts. We compared MHS and ARIC on CVD death rates using Poisson regression, prevalence of risk factors, and risk factor hazard ratios using Cox regression. After risk factor adjustment, AA men in MHS had a rate of 5.2 (95% CI: 3.2, 7.2) CVD deaths per 1000 person-years compared to 15.1 (95% CI: 13.1, 17.1) for AA men in ARIC. For AA women, MHS had 4.1 (95% CI: 2.7, 5.5) CVD deaths per 1000 person-years versus 10.2 (95% CI: 9.0, 11.4) in ARIC. CVD mortality rates were higher in Jackson than Forsyth County within ARIC. CVD death rates paralleled risk factor prevalence at baseline. Compared to MHS, ARIC had significantly higher total cholesterol (215 vs. 202 mg/dL), albeit higher HDL cholesterol (55 vs. 53 mg/dL), as well as higher anti-hypertensive medication use (41 vs. 30%), diabetes (13 vs. 11%) and BMI (30 vs. 29 kg/m 2 ), while smoking did not differ. Despite risk factor differences, hazard ratios of CVD death associated with each risk factor did not differ between studies even after inclusion of a competing risk of non-CVD death. In conclusion, the CVD death rate was lower in AAs in MHS than in AAs residing in the Southeast in ARIC largely due to lower risk factor levels, since the hazard of CVD death for each risk factor did not differ. Study differences reflect incompletely identified geographic variation that need further exploration, especially in the context of health disparities, but support maintaining low risk as a key to CVD prevention.

Abstract 9759: Race and Gender Differences in Survival Among Hospitalized Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Surveillance Study

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for about half of HF hospitalizations, and has been reported to be more common amongst Caucasians and women in outpatient population studies. There are limited data, however, on the influence of race and gender on survival in HFpEF. We evaluated whether clinical characteristics and outcomes differ amongst HFpEF patients by race and gender. Methods: HFpEF (EF≥ 50%) hospitalization cases from 2005-2009 adjudicated by a physician panel were analyzed from the community-based surveillance component of the ARIC study, comprising 4 US communities (Jackson, MS; Washington County, MD; Minneapolis, MN; and Forsyth County, NC; combined population in 2009 = 214,000). The association of race and gender with mortality at 28-days and 1-year was evaluated. Results: Of 3,786 (weighted n = 18,265) adjudicated acute decompensated HF cases, 1,726 (weighted n = 8114) were categorized as HFpEF. Patient characteristics included: female (44%), African American (AA, 32%), hypertension (83%), diabetes (46%), and mean BMI of 28. Compared to Caucasians, AA’s were younger (70 vs. 77 years, p<0.001), more frequently women (47% vs. 42%, p<0.001), with higher systolic blood pressure (SBP, 145 vs. 135 mmHg, p<0.001), and more prior HF hospitalizations (50% vs. 37%, p<0.001). Compared to men, women were older (76 vs. 73 years, p<0.001), with higher SBP (141 vs. 138 mmHg, p=0.03), and better renal function (eGFR 42 vs. 38 mL/min/1.73m 2 , p<0.001). Overall 28-day and 1-year mortality was 13.1% and 32.8%, respectively, with no differences in un-adjusted or adjusted estimates by race or gender (Table 1). Conclusions: In hospitalized HFpEF patients, overall 28-day and 1-year mortality were high without apparent race- or gender-based differences in mortality. These data may help inform the development of future interventions and resource allocation.