Health effects of housing improvements

Despite long-established associations between housing conditions and health, the evidence linking housing improvements to changes in health outcomes is still sparse. Our latest briefing paper, Health Effects of Housing Improvements, reports on changes in physical and mental health outcomes related to housing improvements undertaken in social housing Glasgow since 2003 as part of investment agreed as part of the stock transfer to bring stock up to the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS). The objective of the research was to establish whether there were any differences in the change in physical and mental health outcomes over time between those who did or did not receive four different types of housing improvements. The briefing paper looks at the effects of each of four housing improvements on physical and mental health. It also examines the effects of multiple improvements and of time since the improvements in order to investigate whether the effects change over time. Our findings relating the health improvements following housing improvements are modest. However, while housing improvements may not lead manifest improvements in individual health over the short term but improved and maintained housing stock should lead to longer term health improvements at the population level. Although housing providers improve homes with the expectation of health gains they also aim to improve residential satisfaction and quality of life more generally. Our study highlights the central importance of employment to the health of residents in deprived areas, and supports a case for more attention to be paid to employment as part of regeneration, whether through economic, employability or health-improvement measures

Accessibility Analysis and Transport Planning: Challenges for Europe and North America (part of the Nectar Series on Transportation and Communications Networks Research). Geurs, K T, Krizek, K J, Reggiani, A.

No abstract available

Can housing improvements cure or prevent the onset of health conditions over time in deprived areas?

Background: There is a need for more evidence linking particular housing improvements to changes in specific health conditions. Research often looks at generic works over short periods. Methods: We use a longitudinal sample (n = 1933) with a survey interval of 2–5 years. Multivariate logistic regression is used to calculate the odds ratios of developing or recovering from six health conditions according to receipt of four types of housing improvements. Results: Receipt of fabric works was associated with higher likelihood of recovery from mental health problems and circulatory conditions. Receipt of central heating was also associated with higher likelihood of recovery form circulatory conditions. No evidence was found for the preventative effects of housing improvements. Conclusions: Health gain from housing improvements appears most likely when targeted at those in greatest health need. The health impacts of area-wide, non-targeted housing improvements are less clear in our study

Bicycle and car share schemes as inclusive modes of travel? A socio-spatial analysis in Glasgow

Public bicycle and car sharing schemes have proliferated in recent years and are increasingly part of the urban transport landscape. Shared transport options have the potential to support social inclusion by improving accessibility: these initiatives could remove some of the barriers to car ownership or bicycle usage such as upfront costs, maintenance and storage. However, the existing evidence base indicates that, in reality, users are most likely to be white, male and middle class. This paper argues that there is a need to consider the social inclusivity of sharing schemes and to develop appropriate evaluation frameworks accordingly. We therefore open by considering ways in which shared transport schemes might be inclusive or not, using a framework developed from accessibility planning. In the second part of the paper, we use the case study of Glasgow in Scotland to undertake a spatial equity analysis of such schemes. We examine how well they serve different population groups across the city, using the locations of bicycle stations and car club parking spaces in Glasgow, comparing and contrasting bike and car. An apparent failure to deliver benefits across the demographic spectrum raises important questions about the socially inclusive nature of public investment in similar schemes

Household car adoption and financial distress in deprived urban communities: A case of forced car ownership?

This paper explores the relationship between car ownership and financial circumstances for people living in disadvantaged urban communities. Assumptions about cars signifying status and income are problematised by an examination of the characteristics of those who adopt cars. We consider the possibility that, despite low incomes and financial problems, cars may be a necessity for some urban dwellers. Patterns of car ownership and adoption are analysed using cross-sectional and longitudinal survey data collected from communities in Glasgow, between 2006 and 2011, before, during and after the recession. Car ownership rates increased, as more people adopted a car than relinquished vehicles. The likelihood of household car adoption was influenced by changes in household size, increased financial difficulties in relation to housing costs, and where householders gained work. A small but growing proportion of households (up to 8.5% by 2011) are deemed ‘forced car owners’ by virtue of owning a car despite also reporting financial difficulties: three-quarters of this group maintain a car despite financial problems whilst a quarter adopt a car despite financial problems. Findings suggest that poor households are reluctant to relinquish their cars to ease money problems when under financial stress and that, for some, acquiring a car may be seen as necessary to better their circumstances. In neither case can we see evidence that the sustainable transport agenda is reaching disadvantaged communities and there are concerns that regeneration strategies are failing to promote mobility and accessibility for poor communities via transport policies

Assessment of Risk Factors for Health Disparities among Latina Farm Workers

Purpose/Background: Latina farm workers may experience a unique intersection of social and environmental factors that are known to affect health and well-being. The disadvantages inherent in their gender, race and social class may be compounded by their immigration status, rural location and the hazards of farm work. We propose to identify the most critical risk factors for poor health facing this underserved and understudied population. Materials & Methods: Our study uses a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative data from focus groups (n=3 groups of 10 participants each) and semi-structured interviews (n=15) with quantitative and qualitative survey data (n=100) and biological monitoring (n=45). The study includes six domains of inquiry: sociodemographics, food security and food access, housing conditions, social isolation, access to medical care and occupational hazards. Urinary biomonitoring is used to assess exposure to common agricultural pesticides. Results: All study participants identify as Latina or Hispanic and, among those recruited to date (n=25), range in ages from 25 to 71 and report an average of 12 years working in agriculture. While sample and data collection is in progress, preliminary analysis indicate that these participants spend an average of 7.5 months per year employed in agricultural work.Participants report working with a range of crops common in Southern Idaho, including onions, sugarbeets, peas, corn, grapes, and hops. More than 25% of the study participants report that their employers do not provide water, cups and hand washing facilities on a daily basis. Participants report use of backpack and air blast sprayers, and approximately one-third report receiving training from their employers on the use of pesticides. Discussion/Conclusion: This research will assess the prevalence of social and environmental risk factors among Latina farm workers using an interdisciplinary approach that combines surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups, biological monitoring and field observations

S00RS SGB No. 19 (Delta)

A BILL To appropriate one thousand one hundred thirty-six dollars and seventy-five cents ($1136.75) to the Delta to defray costs associated with the printing of the 2000 edition of the Delta, the undergraduate literature magazine

Burning Man Values Examined: Gratitude as a Culturally-Driven and Value-Based Organizational Mainstay

Gratitude expression is examined as a culturally-derived principle that can be adopted as a best practices strategy that can make organizations more dynamic and human relationships more meaningful. Burning Man is presented as an exemplar of gratitude implementation by crafting the expression of gratitude into an elevated organizational phenomenon (including a cultural principal of unconditional gifting). Burning Man has also crafted a “Culture of Appreciation” as a set of organizationally-derived practices complementary to processes of gratitude implementation. The paper concludes with a discussion of gratitude and appreciation as an organizational mainstay

Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Relation to Progression in Physical Disability Among Older Adults

BACKGROUND: Physical disability is common though not inevitable in older age and has direct bearing on a person’s ability to perform activities essential for self-care and independent living. Air pollution appears to increase the risk of several chronic diseases that contribute to the progression of disability. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in relation to progression in physical disability. METHODS: We conducted our investigation within the Chicago Health and Aging Project. We measured participants’ exposures to TRAP using two surrogates: residential proximity to major roads (1993 onwards) and ambient concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NOX; 1999 onwards), predicted via a geographic information systems-based spatiotemporal smoothing model (cross-validation R2 = 0.87) that incorporated community-based monitoring and resolved intraurban exposure gradients at a spatial scale of tens of meters. Participants’ lower-extremity physical ability was assessed every 3 years (1993–2012) via tandem stand, chair stand, and timed walking speed. Results: In multivariable-adjusted analyses (n = 5,708), higher long-term NOX exposure was associated with significantly faster progression in disability. Compared with the 5-year decline in physical ability score among participants in the lowest quartile of NOX exposure, decline among those in the highest exposure quartile was 1.14 units greater (95% confidence interval [CI]: –1.86, –0.42), equivalent to 3 additional years of decline among those in the lowest exposure quartile. The association was linear across the continuum of NOX exposure: per 10-ppb increment in exposure, the 5-year decline in physical ability score was 0.87 unit greater (95% CI: –1.35, –0.39). Proximity to a major road was not associated with disability progression (n = 9,994). CONCLUSIONS: These data join a growing body of evidence suggesting that TRAP exposures may accelerate aging-related declines in health

The UV absorption spectrum of C60 (buckminsterfullerene): A narrow band at 3860 Å

The absorption spectrum of the special C60 cluster buckminsterfullerene has been studied in a supersonic beam by laser depletion of the cold van der Waals complexes of C60 with benzene and methylene chloride. Both complexes were found to display a single, isolated absorption band in the near ultraviolet superimposed on a structureless absorption continuum. For the methylene chloride complex this feature is centered at 3860 Å, and is roughly 50 cm−1 wide. In the benzene van der Waals cluster, the corresponding feature is located at 3863 Å, and has a similar width. This spectrum is tentatively assigned to the 0–0 band of the lowest 1T1u<--1Ag (LUMO+1<--HOMO) transition of a truncated icosahedral carbon shell structure, broadened by coupling to the underlying quasicontinuum of ground state vibrational levels