Identifying environmental health priorities in underserved populations: a study of rural versus urban communities

Abstract Background Focus groups and workshops can be used to gain insights into the persistence of and potential solutions for environmental health priorities in underserved areas. The objective of this study was to characterize focus group and workshop outcomes of a community-academic partnership focused on addressing environmental health priorities in an urban and a rural location in Alabama between 2012 and 2019. Methods Six focus groups were conducted in 2016 with 60 participants from the City of Birmingham (urban) and 51 participants from Wilcox County (rural), Alabama to discuss solutions for identified environmental health priorities based on previous focus group results in 2012. Recorded focus groups were transcribed and analyzed using the grounded theory approach. Four follow-up workshops that included written survey instruments were conducted to further explore identified priorities and determine whether the priorities change over time in the same urban (68 participants) and rural (72 participants) locations in 2018 and 2019. Results Consistent with focus groups in 2012, all six focus groups in 2016 in Birmingham identified abandoned houses as the primary environmental priority. Four groups listed attending city council meetings, contacting government agencies and reporting issues as individual-level solutions. Identified city-level solutions included city-led confiscation, tearing down and transferring of abandoned property ownership. In Wilcox County, all six groups agreed the top priority was drinking water quality, consistent with results in 2012. While the priority was different in Birmingham versus Wilcox County, the top identified reason for problem persistence was similar, namely unresponsive authorities. Additionally, individual-level solutions identified by Wilcox County focus groups were similar to Birmingham, including contacting and pressuring agencies and developing petitions and protesting to raise awareness, while local policy-level solutions identified in Wilcox County included government-led provision of grants to improve septic systems, and transparency in allocation of funds. Workshops in 2018 and 2019 further emphasized water quality as the top priority in Wilcox County, while participants in Birmingham transitioned from abandoned houses as a top priority in 2018 to drinking water quality as a new priority in 2019. Conclusions Applying a community-engaged approach in both urban and rural locations provided better understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges for identifying potential interventions for environmental health priorities in both locations. Results can help inform future efforts to address locally defined environmental health issues and solutions.

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A Breath of Fresh Air: Approaches to Environmental Health in Late Medieval Urban Communities

10.1007/978-3-030-74443-4_7 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 131-151

Author(s):

Carole Rawcliffe

Keyword(s):

Human Physiology ◽

Environmental Health ◽

Urban Communities ◽

Urban Environment ◽

Local Level ◽

Vital Role ◽

Stagnant Water ◽

Late Medieval ◽

Classical Greece ◽

Clean Air

AbstractThis essay explores the medieval belief that disease was spread by the foul odours arising from such common nuisances as butchers’ waste, dung heaps, stagnant water, and tanneries, as a result of which great importance was placed upon fresh, clean air in medieval cities, especially in times of pestilence. It examines the medical rationale behind these ideas, which derived from Classical Greece and reflect sophisticated assumptions about human physiology. It also considers the numerous sanitary measures that were introduced at both a national and local level in pursuit of a hygienic urban environment, and the extent to which ordinary citizens recognised the vital role played by the air that they breathed in preserving or endangering communal health.

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Private school vouchers in developing countries: A survey of the evidence

10.31235/osf.io/6j7qp ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Donald R. Baum

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

School Choice ◽

Urban Communities ◽

Education System ◽

Private School ◽

School Attendance ◽

Underserved Populations ◽

Effective Means ◽

School Vouchers ◽

Rural And Urban

This paper provides a narrative review of the existing rigorous evaluations of private school vouchers in developing countries. The findings suggest that school vouchers can be an effective means of expanding access to education, particularly for underserved populations (e.g., poorer students, girls, and students in undersupplied rural and urban communities). However, there is insufficient empirical evidence to sustain the expectation that universal school voucher policies will substantially raise the performance of an education system by increasing school choice and competition; and, universal vouchers are likely to reinforce socioeconomic stratification. However, as a catalyst for increased school attendance, targeted school vouchers have been effective at improving the performance of students on the margins of participation in the education system; and these outcomes can be achieved at lower costs than in the traditional public school system.

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