Linking social and built environmental factors to the health of public housing residents: a focus group study

Erin Hayward; Chidinma Ibe; Jeffery Hunter Young; Karthya Potti; Paul Jones III; Craig Evan Pollack; Kimberly A Gudzune

doi:10.1186/s12889-015-1710-9

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Linking social and built environmental factors to the health of public housing residents: a focus group study

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Linking social and built environmental factors to the health of public housing residents: a focus group study

Erin Hayward, Chidinma Ibe, Jeffery Hunter Young, Karthya Potti, Paul Jones III, Craig Evan Pollack and Kimberly A Gudzune

BMC public health, Vol.15(1), pp.351-351

04/10/2015

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-015-1710-9

PMCID: PMC4404077

PMID: 25884687

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Abstract

Public housing residents have a high risk of chronic disease, which may be related to neighborhood environmental factors. Our objective was to understand how public housing residents perceive that the social and built environments might influence their health and wellbeing. We conducted focus groups of residents from a low-income public housing community in Baltimore, MD to assess their perceptions of health and neighborhood attributes, resources, and social structure. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two investigators independently coded transcripts for thematic content using editing style analysis technique. Twenty-eight residents participated in six focus groups. All were African American and the majority were women. Most had lived in public housing for more than 5 years. We identified four themes: public housing's unhealthy physical environment limits health and wellbeing, the city environment limits opportunities for healthy lifestyle choices, lack of trust in relationships contributes to social isolation, and increased neighborhood social capital could improve wellbeing. Changes in housing and city policies might lead to improved environmental health conditions for public housing residents. Policymakers and researchers may consider promoting community cohesiveness to attempt to empower residents in facilitating neighborhood change.

African Americans

Health Behavior

Residence Characteristics

Life Style

Poverty

Humans

Middle Aged

Focus Groups

Social Environment

Baltimore - epidemiology

Urban Population

Trust

Adult

Environment

Female

Aged

Health Status

Public Housing

Details

Title: Subtitle: Linking social and built environmental factors to the health of public housing residents: a focus group study
Creators: Erin Hayward - The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. ehaywar2@jhmi.edu
Chidinma Ibe - Department of Health Policy and Management, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. cibe2@jhu.edu
Jeffery Hunter Young - Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. jhyoung@jhmi.edu
Karthya Potti - University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. karthya.potti@gmail.com
Paul Jones III - The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. pauljonesiii@yahoo.com
Craig Evan Pollack - Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. cpollac2@jhmi.edu
Kimberly A Gudzune - Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 2024 E. Monument St, Room 2-621, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. gudzune@jhu.edu
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: BMC public health, Vol.15(1), pp.351-351
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-015-1710-9
PMID: 25884687
PMCID: PMC4404077
NLM abbreviation: BMC Public Health
ISSN: 1471-2458
eISSN: 1471-2458
Grant note: P50 HL105187 / NHLBI NIH HHS K23HL116601 / NHLBI NIH HHS K07 CA151910 / NCI NIH HHS P50HL0105187 / NHLBI NIH HHS K23 HL116601 / NHLBI NIH HHS K07CA151910 / NCI NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 04/10/2015
Academic Unit: Family and Community Medicine
Record Identifier: 9984083277702771

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