Community Housing Research Articles

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS AND HEALTH AMONG OLDER ADULTS LIVING IN SUBSIDIZED HOUSING: LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS PERSPECTIVES

Abstract Social isolation among older adults living in the United States is a major public health problem that disproportionately affects those living below the poverty line. Though decades of epidemiological studies have provided important insights on the impact of social isolation on health, there have been limited qualitative studies on the dynamics of social connections among older adults in subsidized housing. This study aims to advance our understanding of the perspectives of local stakeholders in the field of subsidized housing on the social connections of older adults and how to enhance social connection. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between July 2021 and October 2021 with local stakeholders in Baltimore’s subsidized housing community to better understand social connections among older adults. Stakeholders included, but were not limited to, the following positions: service coordinators, property managers, maintenance staff, and security guards. Interviews were imported and analyzed using NVIVO12 software and a qualitative content analytic approach. Preliminary themes identified included: barriers and facilitators of connection, engagement with family, and ideas about interventions. Mental and physical health challenges, access to and use of communications technology, and lack of transportation were barriers while food incentives, gift card giveaways, and resident champions were facilitators of social connection. Social isolation among older adults is an important concern among stakeholders in subsidized housing. To promote social connection in older adults, interventions must adopt a multi-pronged approach that addresses the barriers and leverage existing facilitators within subsidized housing communities.

DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH AMONG LOW-INCOME OLDER IMMIGRANTS: DOES ETHNICALLY HOMOGENEOUS ENVIRONMENT MATTER?

Abstract Older immigrants comprised 14% of the US older population, which is predicted to continue to rise. Despite the importance of ethnic attachment in older immigrants’ well-being, little is known how ethnically homogeneous housing environment affect older adults’ health. This study aims to fill the gaps in knowledge on low-income older immigrants living in subsidized senior housing and to explore the associations between immigrant status, senior housing environments, and self-rated health among this population. Our survey data was collected from 18 subsidized senior housing communities in IL, MO, and NH (N=459). Bilingual surveyors fluent in Chinese, Russian, and Korean were also available for the participants with limited English proficiency as the sampled housings were the multi-ethnicity properties. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was employed for our analysis to address our participants were clustered within senior housing.More than a half (56%) of our sample lived in ethnically homogeneous senior housing (either all immigrants or all non-immigrants). Immigrants consist of 53% of our sample, and 48% of them lived in ethnically homogeneous housing. Our finding showed that immigrants were more likely to report low level of self-rated health (OR=0.885, p< 0.01). However, ethnically homogeneous senior housing environments positively influence the association between immigrant status and self-rated health (OR=1.219, p<.05).This study highlights the importance of ethnically homogeneous living environment for low-income older immigrants in senior housing. Although ethnic diversity may be beneficial in broader society, concentration of ethnic minority older immigrants could play an important role in terms of social support and service delivery.

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY PARTNER VIEWS ON THE BENEFITS OF THE R3 PROGRAM

Abstract Housing with services programs have potential to benefit residents and operators of affordable senior housing communities. This study aimed to understand housing and community partner views on the benefits of the R3 program. Data derived from 31 interviews with R3 program managers and wellness team members, executives and direct service staff at the intervention sites, and community partners. Overwhelmingly positive overall assessments of the R3 program were reported. Concrete benefits to residents included receiving additional attention and support; connecting with family and health care resources; enhancing group programming; preventing ambulance transports; helping with transitions; and improving health and quality of life. Psychosocial benefits to residents included: empowering program participants; providing socio-emotional support; and alleviating psychosocial distress. Benefits to housing sites included augmenting staffing levels, skills, and capabilities; proactively tracking and responding to resident needs; lowering resident turnover; and learning from and adopting procedures and processes underlying the R3 philosophy.

HUBUNGAN KONDISI RUMAH DENGAN KEJADIAN TUBERKULOSIS PARU

Dense housing conditions make it possible to spread germs from one human to another. Pulmonary tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacterial is transmitted through droplets in the air a person with pulmonary tuberculosis is the cause of pulmonary tuberculosis infection in the population. This study aims to determine the relationship between occupant density and ventilation conditions of the house with the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in Maros South Sulawesi. The type of research used is quantitative research with a descriptive survey design. The total sample of 33 home patients with positive pulmonary tuberculosis was determined by purposive sampling. The results showed a correlation between the occupant density of residents and home ventilation conditions with the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis. Advice for family and community housing should have enough space especially for people with pulmonary tuberculosis that room made specifically to reduce the risk of transmission to residents sharing. House window to be created and placed in a way that ensures the sunlight can get into the main house in the morning because the sun can be deadly Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Designing Smart Floating Village In Belawan With Ecological Architecture Approach


 Rising sea levels are essential issues due to global warming increasing every year. This leads to the potential for the amount of land to be reduced. One of the areas in Medan that is directly adjacent to the water is Belawan Subdistrict. Based on the data observation of water level in the Belawan sub-district, there is a significant level change every year. Some areas in the coastal area of Belawan have the possibility of drowning. To overcome this, Smart Floating Village is designed as a floating settlement in the future. The method used to solve this design problem is through observation, literature studies, and precedent studies of similar projects that have been built. The analysis and study results obtained a large pontoon structure (VLFS) as the module's base used for floating settlements. Settlements based on large pontoon structure modules can have various activities such as housing and other community needs facilities. The Smart Village concept is also applied to this design to eliminate the perception of the slum environment in coastal residential areas. To connect the idea of a smart village and floating settlements, an ecological architecture approach is needed to maintain a balance between humans and the environment. This research is expected to be a further discussion study for further research on floating settlements that apply the innovative village concept and can be helpful in architectural science regarding case studies and similar approaches.

ИРОН ХАДЗАР (ИРОН ХÆДЗАР) КАК ЭЛЕМЕНТ СОЦИАЛЬНОЙ ИНФРАСТРУКТУРЫ В СОВРЕМЕННОМ СЕВЕРООСЕТИНСКОМ ГОРОДЕ

The article describes khadzars—special ritual houses built in the courtyards of residential areas of Vladikavkaz (Republic of North Ossetia—Alania) that have become elements of informal social infrastructure. As a venue for ritual feasts, khadzars are built by families living in a multi-storey house or complex of houses and are the responsibility of the “khadzar activists”—groups of adult men who organise and oversee collective rituals during funerals, memorials, Ossetian and national calendar festivities, and sometimes weddings. These same men often use the khadzar to pass their leisure time in it. Built with the tacit consent of local authorities and actively used by them to, for example, hold meetings with residents during election campaigns, khadzars nevertheless remain illegal structures with an unclear legal status. The lack of clarity on this issue becomes a problem when utility companies start demanding that residents enter into separate contracts to connect the khadzars to the city’s infrastructure—heating and electricity—which poses a challenge to the neighbourhood community. This raises the question for the house or yard community as to who really owns these buildings and who should therefore take care of their fate.

Moving towards a circular economy model through I4.0 to accomplish the SDGs

In this study, we propose a Blockchain enabled Municipal Solid Waste Management Framework (SoGReIn Framework©) which will return benefits to the Consumers with corporate participation under Extended Producer’s Responsibility Protocol. This inclusive approach will require integrated efforts from Corporates, citizens, Government, NGOs, technocrats, academicians and the waste pickers. The benefits of the model can also be shared by all the stakeholders. The study is based on the insights received from exploring the experiences of some of the exemplar large residential housing communities located in the metropolitan cities in India who have undertaken voluntary efforts in segregating, recycling and reusing various types of wastes generated at the household level and converting them into resources. It further discusses how with the help of new age technology such efforts can help in negotiating corporate participation and help in the reduction of the consumption of plastic wastes. The model, thus suggested can help in furthering the attainment of multiple UN Sustainable Development goals.

Assessment of Satisfaction Level of Residents in a Housing Community, A Case of City Paradise, Lalitpur

As mentioned by Canter and Rees (1982), residential satisfaction (RS) is the degree to which the residential environment helps dwellers achieve their goals, and it evaluates the extent to which the current housing environment is meeting residents’ needs, expectations and ambitions. Residential satisfaction in planned housing is a widely researched topic in global context, however, in case of Nepal, not much research has been done on the topic. There are many planned housing communities being developed, but the living experience of the residents are rarely studied, and neither their perception in living in gated communities. This paper aims to contribute to theory and practice concerning residential satisfaction in housing community of Lalitpur known as City Paradise which is one of the major projects of Civil Homes Housing Company. This study is based in a household survey conducted in City Paradise Housing community. Data was collected from 40 households out of total 72 units, through simple random sampling to avoid any kind of biasness during the study. Data was analyzed to study the level of satisfaction, using Likert scale, among the residents with respect to design and planning characteristics of housing units, public facilities and services, and neighborhood. The results of analysis show that the respondents comparatively had higher satisfaction levels in context of neighborhood planning and less satisfied with design and planning features of housing and provision of public facility and convenience. Residents are quite satisfied with the child-friendly environment in their neighborhood, but planning and layout of buildings are not good enough to meet their satisfaction level. This research helps to address current issues related to satisfaction level of the residents of housing community and recommend the possible ways for its betterment.

Conscientiousness and cognitive skills in security sphere: Associations and configurations

In balancing the mission of state security forces and bodies, private security guards are expected to provide partial fulfillment to society’s sturdy desire for safety and security. They exert responsibility for protecting housing and commercial communities, as well as institutions and critical infrastructure systems, including manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and health and educational facilities. Acknowledging that these individuals must possess specific capabilities for a satisfactory level of performance, this study aims to empirically explore how those capabilities interact to obtain a good fit for their job. In order to accomplish this objective, the paper scrutinizes the insights of 94 Colombian security guards. It examines the potential associations (through a partial least squares-structural equation modeling) and configurations (through a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis) between the personality trait of conscientiousness and two relevant cognitive skills: mental agility and visual memory. The findings revealed coincidences and contradictions between techniques and addressed constructs’ arrangements to understand how individual capabilities are associated with work outcomes. Even though conscientious individuals tend to perceive strong compatibility with the security job, the skills under study display signs of being contingent on obtaining the same work attachment effect. This study concludes that a security guard’s job specification must privilege the possession of a conscientiousness trait and, if possible, self-perception of proficiency in cognitive skills, such as mental agility and visual memory, to obtain a correct fitting for the job.

Gender differences in association of urbanization with psychological stress in Chinese adults: A population-based study.

To investigate the gender-specific associations between exposure to urbanization and psychological stress in China experiencing rapid urbanization. Data were obtained from the 2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey. A total of 4,388 men and 5,098 women aged at least 18 years were obtained from 288 communities across 12 provinces and municipalities. Tertiles of the urbanization index, summarizing 12 urbanization dimensions at the community level, were used to define low, medium, and high levels of urbanization. The psychological stress was measured based on the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. The gender-stratified multilevel analysis (Level-1: Individuals, Level-2: Communities, and Level-3: provinces/municipalities) was used to estimate the association between exposure to urbanization and psychological stress. After controlling for age, education status, marital status, work status, household income per capita, current smoking, alcohol drinking, sleep duration, BMI, and chronic conditions, the urbanization index was negatively associated with psychological stress in women (P trend = 0.017) but not men (P trend = 0.476). More specifically, a one-standard deviation increase in the score of community population density (β = -0.329, P = 0.329), modern markets (β = -0.247, P = 0.044), education (β = -0.448, P = 0.002), and housing (β = -0.380, P = 0.005) was negatively associated with psychological stress only in women, separately. Our data revealed that living in the most urbanized communities is associated with lower levels of psychological stress for women but not men. Thus, this study can help empower decision-makers to accurately target vulnerable communities and plan effective strategies to address psychological outcomes.

Inter-sectoral policy partnerships: a case study of South Western Sydney’s Health and Housing Partnership

The evidence linking human health and housing is overwhelming. However, less focus has been on collaborative action between the sectors to improve health. Focussing on social housing adds an important equity lens to the housing and health partnership literature. Since 2009, a unique formal partnership between a State Health Service, State Social Housing Organisation and a research organisation has existed. The partnership aims to realise potential benefits of integrating health considerations into asset and social planning within the housing sector and to empower residents to lead on outcomes they identify for the community and themselves individually. The partnership has a shared vision of working together to improve the health and wellbeing of social housing communities in one of Australia’s most disadvantaged regions. This paper presents an analysis of over a decade of the partnership work. We present the history of the partnership, overview outcomes to date, and describe key mechanisms and contextual factors that have enabled action. We present our findings using two frameworks, one a practice focussed partnership toolkit and the other a theory informed approach to health focussed governance. Both frameworks enable us to present findings linking the practical successes and challenges of this partnership work with deeper insights from theory.

Achieving Calm: A Study on the Health Care Experiences of People With Lived Experience of Homelessness in Central Texas.

The experiences of care of people with lived experience of homelessness are rarely embraced to change care delivery. We conducted qualitative group and one-on-one interviews utilizing experience group methodology with 27 people with lived experience of homelessness currently housed in one permanent housing community in central Texas. We analyzed data using an inductive thematic approach to identify shared obstacles and barriers to receiving health care. We then analyzed findings with the capability, comfort, and calm value framework to identify health outcomes that matter most to study participants. Poor access to care, discontinuities in care, distrust in providers, and confusing terminology were identified as the biggest barriers to health. The overwhelming majority of experiences reflected poor health outcomes of calm, the outcome of a health care experience that adds ease to one's life rather than logistical and administrative chaos. We propose three practical approaches to achieve calm for this population as follows: systems-level embracement of compassionate care, integration of relationship-based care navigation into all levels of care, and building efficient transportation into care design. We conclude that designing health care that works in the lives of people with lived experience of homelessness is critical to address the gaps in care that fuel the health disparity these individuals face compared to people without this lived experience.

What Does a Public Health Approach to Mental Health and Illness Look Like?

What Does a Public Health Approach to Mental Health and Illness Look Like?

Housing as critical social and economic infrastructure: A decision-making framework

Housing is an important social and economic asset for society. However, increasing costs of living and demand for affordable housing is outpacing supply in Australia. Governments and housing providers, particularly community housing providers, are grappling with these challenges. This paper discusses steps towards building a more rigorous, evidence-based approach for social and affordable housing provision in Australia. It is proposed that housing be considered like other critical social and economic infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and civil infrastructure (i.e., roadways). The paper presents findings of Australian industry-led social and affordable housing research undertaken between 2014 to 2020. Past and current research findings inform the decision-making framework, including: (i) a productivity-based conceptual framework; (ii) the establishment of nine impact domains including meaningful and measurable outcomes and indicators; (iii) a composite return on investment approach which addresses the broader benefits of access to safe and secure housing; and (iv) thirteen elements being used to map the complex and integrated social and affordable housing network. The emergent decision-making framework resulting from this longitudinal study will be a critical tool for government and social and affordable housing providers to achieve economically and socially sustainable outcomes.

Community Houses to Increase Access to Home Dialysis.

Community Houses to Increase Access to Home Dialysis.

Housing Satisfaction Among Older Adults Living in Low-Income Seniors’ Housing

ABSTRACT Tenant experience surveys are a key tool for social housing landlords to gauge their success in providing high quality housing. This paper examines feedback from a tenant experience survey facilitated in a low-income housing seniors’ housing community to: (1) examine their perceptions of their housing across key domains related to tenant satisfaction; and (2) identify opportunities they felt would improve their housing experience. A total of 1,114 households completed the survey. Results showed that tenants generally had high satisfaction with property management, safety and security, communication with staff, access to services, community support, and tenancy management. However, open-ended comments from tenants highlighted specific situations that negatively impacted their housing, including maintenance issues, safety concerns, and limited access to health and social programs. Findings point to several suggestions for social housing providers to enhance their services to foster inclusive, supportive, and safe housing environments for low-income older adults.

Feasibility of High-Frequency Monitoring of the Home Environment and Health in Older Adults: Proof of Concept

Technology provides new opportunities to understand and optimize the relationship between the home indoor environmental quality and health outcomes in older adults. We aimed to establish proof-of-concept and feasibility of remote, real-time, high-frequency, and simultaneous monitoring of select environmental variables and outcomes related to health and wellbeing in older adults. Thirty-four participants (27 were female) with an average age (SD) of 81 years (±7.1) were recruited from community and supportive housing environments. Environmental sensors were installed in each home and participants were asked to use a wearable device on their finger and answer smartphone-based questionnaires on a daily basis. Further, a subgroup of participants were asked to complete tablet-based cognitive tests on a daily basis. Average compliance with the wearable (time worn properly/total time with device) was 81%. Participants responded to 69% of daily smartphone surveys and completed 80% of the prescribed cognitive tests. These results suggest that it is feasible to study the impact of the home thermal environment and air quality on biological rhythms, cognition, and other outcomes in older adults. However, the success of non-passive data collection elements may be contingent upon baseline cognition.

Advancing research on urban greenspace experiences and perceptions in disadvantaged communities: A social housing perspective

Empirical assessments of the experiences and perceptions of urban green space (UGS) in a social housing context are scant. Studying UGS perception in these contexts is important to understand how people experience and derive benefits from UGS in disadvantaged communities. This short communication provides interdisciplinary and methodological guidance on how to conduct empirical assessment of UGS experience and perception in social housing neighborhoods. For conducting these types of studies, we suggest researchers go beyond simply calculating UGS abundance around communities and consider assessing UGS experiences and perceptions. We suggest designing studies that account for the mixed nature of many social housing communities and that develop useful UGS perception measures that can be associated with wellbeing and community indicators. Finally, we also recommend: (1) designing studies at the local scale and developing strong relationsihps with the social housing communities before and while conducting these studies; (2) considering safety as a key component of UGS perception measures; (3) considering the association between UGS perception measures and wellbeing and community experience indicators to strengthen existing models of UGS benefit provision.

Introduction to “Queer Healing and Transformative Justice”: A Special Issue of QED

Introduction to “Queer Healing and Transformative Justice”: A Special Issue of <i>QED</i>

Is the Australian primary healthcare system ready for the Rheumatic Heart Disease Endgame strategy? Data synthesis and recommendations

Is the Australian primary healthcare system ready for the Rheumatic Heart Disease Endgame strategy? Data synthesis and recommendations