Abstract
External built residential environment characteristics include aspects of building design such as types of walls, doors and windows, green spaces, density of houses per unit area, and waste disposal facilities. Neighborhoods that are characterized by poor quality external built environment can contribute to psychosocial stress and increase the likelihood of mental health disorders. This study investigated the relationship between characteristics of external built residential environment and mental health disorders in selected residences of Nakuru Municipality, Kenya. External built residential environment characteristics were investigated for 544 residents living in different residential areas that were categorized by their socioeconomic status. Medically validated interview schedules were used to determine mental health of residents in the respective neighborhoods. The relationship between characteristics of the external built residential environment and mental health of residents was determined by multivariable logistic regression analyses and chi-square tests. The results show that walling materials used on buildings, density of dwelling units, state of street lighting, types of doors, states of roofs, and states of windows are some built external residential environment characteristics that affect mental health of adult males and females. Urban residential areas that are characterized by poor quality external built environment substantially expose the population to daily stressors and inconveniences that increase the likelihood of developing mental health disorders.
Highlights
External built residential environment encompasses the built surrounding of dwelling units that provide the setting for human activities and range in scale from immediate to neighborhood and large-scale civic surroundings
Ochodo and Moturi are with the Department of Environmental Science, Egerton University, P.O Box 536, Egerton, Njoro, Kenya; Ndetei is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya; Ndetei is with the Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF), Nairobi, Kenya; Otieno is with the Department of Geography, Egerton University, Egerton, Njoro, Kenya
Income levels of respective neighborhoods were determined by their type of housing that took into consideration types of walling and roofing materials, design of houses, and amenities as prescribed by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.17The total number of households in the four residential areas that were sampled (Milimani, Section 58, Shabab, and Rhonda) was 61,220.36
Summary
External built residential environment encompasses the built surrounding of dwelling units that provide the setting for human activities and range in scale from immediate to neighborhood and large-scale civic surroundings. Internal built residential environment refers to the man-made components of the inside locations of dwelling units. The potential for built environments to promote health outcomes is linked to their effectiveness in facilitating stress coping and restoration. Good designs of the built environment can reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and reduce pain. Unsupportive surroundings are linked to negative effects such as higher occurrence of delirium, depression, and greater need for pain medication.[1,2].
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