Health Policy Commons^™

Crowdsourcing Global Wastewater Data, Don Mosteller, Sam Cohen, Cory Nestor, Angel Hsu, Omar Malik

Yale Day of Data

No time to waste: Crowdsourcing global wastewater treatment data

Worldwide, over 80 percent of wastewater is discharged into water bodies without undergoing treatment, severely impairing human well-being and ecosystem vitality along the way. National performance on wastewater treatment is difficult to quantify and is poorly understood due to a lack of common definitions, poor data collection standards, and limited historical data. To address this, the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a research group that produces a biennial ranking of country-level environmental performance, developed a first-of-its kind national wastewater treatment indicator.[1]

The indicator assesses wastewater treatment performance for 183 countries, …

Jefferson's New Smoking Policies: Steps Toward A Healthier Work Environment, Russell K. Mcintire Phd,Mph, Amber Bowie Mph Student

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Adolescent Girls, Human Rights And The Expanding Climate Emergency, Holly G. Atkinson, Judith Bruce

Publications and Research

Many adolescent girls—the poorest girls in the poorest communities—already live in an “emergency.” Humanitarian crises only amplify the call on their coping and caring capacities, while exacerbating their vulnerabilities. The frequency and intensity of emergencies, including natural disasters, conflicts, and infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola, appear to be growing.¹ These emergencies threaten entire communities and whole countries, often with global implications. Many become virtually permanent. The authors urge key actors responding to both the threats and opportunities that climate change poses to understand adolescent girls as exceptionally at risk on the one hand, and as exceptionally resilient and …

A Community Needs Assessment To Improve Lung Health Within Substandard Housing Units, Stephanie M. Goble

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The Census Bureau states “more than 45 million people, or 14.5 percent of all Americans, lived below the poverty line last year [2013].” Many of these individuals are living in substandard housing conditions, which are causing preventable poor lung health among the population. The CDC reported that asthma was linked to 3,404 deaths in 2010. The link between poor health and living conditions is a hypothesis that has been contemplated for a long time now. Florence Nightingale speculated, “The connection between health and the dwelling of the population is one of the most important that exists...” (Jacobs) Based on this …

The Social Costs Of Industrial Growth In The Sub-Arctic Regions Of "Canada", Caylee T. Cody

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Colonialism in the land that is now called “Canada” is rooted in the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous people’s way of existing and interacting with the world. The present study identifies that the social costs of industrial growth are part of an ongoing process of colonialism which continues to annex Indigenous lands to feed the capitalist economy and reify the power of the state. Through a comparative analysis of literature written about the Attawapiskat First Nation and the Innu Nation, the study reveals that the financial rewards of industrial growth are few, while the cultural, human, and environmental costs are many. …

Global Trade Impacts: Addressing The Health, Social And Environmental Consequences Of Moving International Freight Through Our Communities, Martha Matsuoka, Andrea Hricko, Robert Gottlieb, Juan Delara

Martha Matsuoka

As ports and goods movement activity expands throughout the United States, a major challenge is how to make the adverse impacts of freight transportation a more central part of economic development, policy and planning discussions and transportation decision making. In 2009, faculty and staff from the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute of Occidental College and from the environmental health sciences and regional equity programs of the University of Southern California (USC) began a study of this evolving global trade and freight transportation system, focusing on areas in the United States where the system is expanding and where community, labor and …

Municipal Officials' Participation In Built Environment Policy Development In The United States, Stephenie C. Lemon, Karin V. Goins, Kristin L. Schneider, Ross Brownson, Cheryl A. Valko, Kelly R. Evenson, Amy A. Eyler, Katie M. Heinrich, Jill Litt, Rodney Lyn, Hannah L. Reed, Nancy O'Hara Tompkins, Jay Maddock

Stephenie C. Lemon

Purpose. This study examined municipal officials' participation in built environment policy initiatives focused on land use design, transportation, and parks and recreation. Design. Web-based cross-sectional survey. Setting. Eighty-three municipalities with 50,000 or more residents in eight states. Subjects. Four hundred fifty-three elected and appointed municipal officials. Measures. Outcomes included self-reported participation in land use design, transportation, and parks and recreation policy to increase physical activity. Independent variables included respondent position; perceptions of importance, barriers, and beliefs regarding physical activity and community design and layout; and physical activity partnership participation. Analysis. Multivariable logistic regression models. Results. Compared to other positions, public …

Water Poverty In Disadvantaged Communities In California, Alyssa J. Galik

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

California, the eighth largest economy in the world, has nearly one million residents that lack daily access to clean drinking water, yet it recently became the first state in the US to declare water a human right through the passage of 2013 Assembly Bill 685. The majority of water quality violations take place in the rural San Joaquin Valley in unincorporated, low-income communities, which have difficulties accessing clean, drinking water due to issues including quality, affordability, and physical availability. The role of community participation in improving water poverty has been studied extensively in developing countries but its impact is infrequently …

Increasing Environmental Performance In A Context Of Low Governmental Enforcement: Evidence From China, Mary Alice Haddad

Mary Alice Haddad

Adapting Your Environment For Children With Asthma, American Lung Association, Thinktv Dayton, Center For Urban And Public Affairs, Wright State University

Public Health

The following report analyzes answers to pre- and post-tests from care providers regarding asthma knowledge and opinions of asthma. These care providers attended a seminar on asthma sponsored through the American Lung Association with ThinkTV with the purpose of helping care providers better understand the various aspects of dealing with children who have asthma. Seminars were held from July 1st, 2014 through June 30, 2015. There were 426 participants who completed the pre- and post-surveys. Not all participants answered every question. Participants were given a pre-test before the seminar and the same assessment as a post-test after the seminar. Therefore, …

Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities …

Creating Healthy Community In The Postindustrial City, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.