Gun Violence on Walkable Routes to and from School: Recommendations for Policy and Practice
AbstractGun-related violence exposure is a significant public health problem for urban youth. Few studies have implemented methods to estimate the spatial influence of activity spaces on gun violence exposure constrained by the physical configuration of walkable street networks. The present research uses computational network and local indicators of spatial autocorrelation methods to explore gun violence exposure along the walkable streets near schools in Compton, California. Findings demonstrated strong evidence that gun violence is clustered at all distances along the pedestrian network and in proximity to Compton Unifie...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 22, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
The Affordable Rental Housing Crisis and Population Health Equity: a Multidimensional and Multilevel Framework
AbstractThe US is facing a severe affordable rental housing crisis that contributes to multiple forms of housing insecurity including homelessness, crowded and poor quality housing conditions, unstable housing arrangements, and cost burdens. A considerable body of evidence finds that housing insecurity is an important determinant of health. However, the existing literature may fall short of conceptualizing and measuring the full impact of housing insecurity on population health and on racial health equity. In this paper, we seek to expand the conceptualization of housing as a determinant of population health equity by cons...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 22, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Experiences, Expectations, and Satisfaction with Police —a Population-Based Study of Differences by Race and Ethnicity in Two Counties
AbstractWe used the 2021 Policing in America Survey to examine experiences with police and perceptions of policing in Cook County, IL, and Dallas County, TX. Substantial portions of residents believe that local police use force during at least half of arrests (Cook 45.8%, Dallas 52.2%) and report dissatisfaction with local policing efforts (Cook 49.0%, Dallas 48.5%). Black and Hispanic residents in both communities were more likely than white, non-Hispanic residents to have frequent use of force expectations and dissatisfaction with police. Several other indicators of experiences with and perceptions of police also varied ...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 21, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Church Closings Were Associated with Higher COVID-19 Infection Rates: Implications for Community Health Equity
This study investigates the changes in physical church closings years 2013 to 2019 in New York City (NYC), Philadelphia, and Baltimore and the association with COVID-19 infection rates. We applied Bayesian spatial binomial models to analyze confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of February 28, 2022, in each city at the zip code-level. A one unit increase in the number of churches closed corresponded to a 5% higher COVID-19 infection rate, in NYC (rate ratio = 1.05, 95% credible interval = 1.02–1.08%), where the association was significant. Church closings appears to be an important indicator of neighborhood social vuln...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 21, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Impact of Urban Slum Residence on Coverage of Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health Service Indicators in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana: an Ecological Time-Series Analysis, 2018 –2021
This study assessed the trends and compared inequities in MNCH service utilization between slum and non-slum districts in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. It analyzed information from 29 districts using monthly time-series Health Management Information System (HMIS) data on MNCH service utilization between January 2018 and December 2021. Multivariable quantile regression models with robust standard errors were used to quantify the impact of urban slum residence on MNCH service utilization. We assessed the inequality of MNCH coverage indicators between slum and non-slum districts using the Gini index with bootstrapped sta...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 16, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
The Effect of Gun-Free School Zones on Crimes Committed with a Firearm in Saint Louis, Missouri
The objective of this study was to use a cross-sectional, multi-group controlled ecological study design in St. Louis, MO city that compared the counts of crimes committed with a firearm occurring in gun-free school zones compared to a contiguous area immediately surrounding the gun-free school zone (i.e., gun-allowing zones) in 2019. Gun-free school zones were measured and analyzed in two ways. In the primary analysis, boundaries of the tax parcels were used for each school as the beginning of the gun-free school zone. Results from this analysis, after adjustment for pair-matching and confounding, were null. In the second...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 14, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Urban Health Scholarship and Practice in the Post-Pandemic Era
AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic highlighted several challenges that cities face that can affect the health of urban populations. These challenges are an opportunity for sharpening of our urban health scholarship, to rethink the questions the field should be asking, and how the answers to those questions should guide practice. The central role of inequities in cities, the politics of urban health, communication for health, the deployment of health care, and the future of urban living are all areas that merit attention by scholars and practitioners in the field in coming decades. (Source: Journal of Urban Health)
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 14, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Simulating Energy Use, Indoor Temperatures, and Utility Cost Impacts Amidst a Warming Climate in a Multi-family Housing Model
AbstractRising ambient temperatures due to climate change will impact both indoor temperatures and heating and cooling utility costs. In traditionally colder climates, there are potential tradeoffs in how to meet the reduced heating and increased cooling demands, and issues related to lack of air conditioning (AC) access in older homes and among lower-income populations to prevent extreme heat exposure. We modeled a typical multi-family home in Boston (MA) in the building simulation program EnergyPlus to assess indoor temperature and energy consumption in current (2020) and projected future (2050) weather conditions. Selec...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - November 10, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Challenges Unique to Transgender Persons in US Correctional Settings: a Scoping Review
AbstractUS correctional facilities operate under a binary interpretation of gender, which can yield inherent risks and conflicts for incarcerated transgender people. We conducted a scoping literature review on challenges unique to transgender individuals within US correctional settings. Online databases were searched to identify papers that addressed the challenges of incarcerated transgender adults age 18 + within US correctional institutions. A concurrent analysis of legal literature was reviewed with key policy recommendations extracted. A total of 33 papers (21 scientific studies and 12 legal analyses) met criteri...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - October 18, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Reciprocal Neighborhood Dynamics in Gun Violence Exposure, Community Health, and Concentrated Disadvantage in One Hundred US Cities
AbstractGun violence imparts a tremendous human and financial toll on local communities. Researchers have documented extensive mental and physical health consequences of generalized violence exposure but few studies have analyzed the particular impacts of gun violence on community well-being using nationally comprehensive data. We leverage a unique database of almost 16,000 neighborhoods in 100 US cities (2014 –2019) to examine how year-over-year rates of gun violence correspond to overall neighborhood well-being and three aspects of community health: (1) health behaviors, (2) physical and mental health status, and (3) h...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - October 16, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Elevations in Blood Pressure Associated with Exposure to Violence are Mitigated by Pro-gun-Carrying Attitudes among Street-Identified Black Males and Females
This study examined relations between exposure to violence, gun-carrying attitudes, and blood pressure in a community sample of street-identified Black American boys/men and girls/women. Survey data and blood pressure were collected from 329 participants (ages 16 –54; 57.1% male) recruited from two small urban neighborhoods with high rates of violence using street participatory action research methodology. Results revealed that systolic blood pressure was elevated in the sample as was exposure to severe forms of direct and vicarious violence (e.g., shootin gs, assault). Attitudes about carrying guns moderated association...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - October 13, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Spatial Distributions of Diarrheal Cases in Relation to Housing Conditions in Informal Settlements: A Cross-Sectional Study in Abidjan, C ôte d’Ivoire
AbstractIn addition to individual practices and access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities, housing conditions may also be associated with the risk of diarrhea. Our study embraced a broad approach to health determinants by looking at housing deprivation characteristics as exposures of interest and confronting the latter ’s spatial distribution to that of diarrheal cases. We tested the hypothesis that the risk of diarrhea in informal settlements is not only associated with WASH services, but also with inadequate dwelling characteristics, and that their spatial distributions follow similar patterns. We desi...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - October 6, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Police Bias and Low Relatability and Diet Quality: Examining the Importance of Psychosocial Factors in Predominantly Black Communities
AbstractHow police bias and low relatability may contribute to poor dietary quality is poorly understood. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from 2021 from a cohort ofn = 724 adults living in predominantly Black communities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; these adults were mostly Black (90.6%), low-income (median household income $17,500), and women (79.3%). We estimated direct and indirect paths between police mistrust and dietary quality (measured by Healthy Ea ting Index (HEI)-2015) through perceived stress, community connectedness, and subjective social status. Dietary quality was poor (mean HEI-2015 scor...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - October 4, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
Cruel and Unusual: Reforming Carceral Systems to Protect and Affirm Transgender and Gender-Diverse Communities
AbstractTransgender and gender-diverse communities are disproportionately incarcerated in the USA. Incarcerated gender minority populations are detained within carceral systems constructed around a cisgender (gender identity matches sex assigned at birth) binary (only male and female identities recognized) understanding of gender. This leads to marginalizing experiences while perpetuating the extreme vulnerability individuals experience in the community. In order to address this cruel and unusual experience, carceral systems should undergo “whole-setting” reforms to protect and affirm transgender and gender-diverse pop...
Source: Journal of Urban Health - October 2, 2023 Category: Health Management Source Type: research
