scholarly journals Engaging Citizens Via Journey Maps to Address Urban Health Issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117863022096312
Author(s):  
Amanda Pomeroy-Stevens ◽  
Muh Afdhal ◽  
Neeraj Mishra ◽  
Kim Farnham Egan ◽  
Karin Christianson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Health ◽  
Informal Settlement ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The City

Effectively addressing urban health challenges requires engagement of citizens. However, citizens often face barriers providing feedback, and city officials likewise face difficulties incorporating feedback in a meaningful and systematic way. This paper shares one innovative approach to capturing citizens’ stories about urban health concerns, developed by the Building Healthy Cities (BHC) project in 2 Asian cities (Indore, India, and Makassar, Indonesia). Using ethnographic methods, BHC developed “journey maps” as a monitoring tool to follow key service issues over time. Several urban health-related issues were identified in each city. For this paper, we focus on wastewater management, which was a serious health issue in both cities. Qualitative data were collected from citizens in one neighborhood and city officials quarterly starting in early 2018; these data were supplemented by city spending data, usage statistics, photos and news articles. In both cities, the journey maps captured notable changes during the first 2 years of the project. At the start of the journeys (2018), informal settlement citizens in Indore reported poor drainage which was compounded by trash, narrow roads blocking vehicular removal of waste, and unsafe infrastructure leading to waterborne diseases and injuries (including several child deaths). Likewise in Makassar, dirty water overflowed from open drains due to frequent flooding and garbage. Citizens reported exposure to diarrhea, dengue and skin symptoms due to the drains, which was confirmed by the local health post. By the end of Year 2 (2019), these journeys captured increasing dialogue between citizens and the city, which resulted in several improvements. In Indore, changes included garbage vans built for narrow streets and construction of a safer bridge. In Makassar, while they still suffer from seasonal flooding, the city has increased garbage pickup, included drainage activities in the village-level budgeting process, and a slum improvement project has pledged funding to improve drainage and street issues in 41 neighborhoods. Journey maps work on the premise that capturing a community’s experience and relaying it to government officials can bring about positive change. They also provide crucial grassroots level evidence to support more traditional research findings, which can lead to effective urban health solutions. As this work continues, BHC is training citizens to collect and share their own journeys.

scholarly journals Urban Health and Social Marginality: Perceived Health Status and Interaction with Healthcare Professionals of a Hard-to-Reach Community Living in a Suburban Area of Rome (Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8804
Author(s):  
Susanna Caminada ◽  
Federica Turatto ◽  
Silvia Iorio ◽  
Lorenzo Paglione ◽  
Miriam Errigo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Health ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Perceived Health Status ◽  
Local Health Unit ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Related

The study reports an urban health investigation conducted in Bastogi, an outskirt of Rome (Italy) characterised by social marginalization and deprivation. Our aim was to analyse the health perception, health-related behaviours, and interaction with healthcare professionals of the inhabitants of Bastogi compared to the population living in the area of the same local health unit (ASL). The Progresses of Health Authorities for Health in Italy questionnaire (PASSI) was administered to a sample of 210 inhabitants of Bastogi. Data were analysed and compared to those of the ASL collected in 2017–2018. The socio-economic indicators showed an overall worse condition for the inhabitants of Bastogi, with a significantly higher proportion of foreign and unemployed residents and a lower educational level compared to the ASL. Significant differences in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, mental health complaints, and participation in prevention strategies, including cancer screening, were found. The questionnaire showed a lower help-seeking behaviour and a lack of reliance on health professionals in Bastogi inhabitants. Our findings highlight how social determinants produce health inequities and barriers to accessing healthcare. The difficulties of conducting quantitative research in complex and hard-to-reach contexts, characterized by high social vulnerability, are outlined.

San Francisco's Vision for the Future: An Integrated Urban Wastewater Management Plan

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan W. Loiacono ◽  
Chu-Fei H. Ho ◽  
Natalie V. Sierra ◽  
Domènec Jolis ◽  
Carolyn Chiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Control Plant ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Urban Watershed ◽  
Aging Infrastructure ◽  
The City

The City and County of San Francisco (“City”) embarked upon a 30-year master planning process in part prompted by public concerns related to the neighbourhood impacts of the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant (SEP). The Sewer System Master Plan, as it is called, developed a long term Integrated Urban Watershed Management Plan for the City's treatment plants and collection system. This paper focuses on the planning framework and public input to the process, particularly as it relates to proposed changes to the SEP. The resulting improvements address issues of replacing aging infrastructure, eliminating odor emissions, and visually screening the treatment plants that are situated within an urban setting. The recommended project addresses the needed repair of the existing infrastructure; and proposes that the City move towards an integrated urban watershed approach, initially through localized rainwater harvesting and opportunistic water reclamation.

scholarly journals Improving smoking cessation in first episode psychosis: a quality improvement project by the City & Hackney Early and Quick Intervention Psychosis (EQUIP)

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e001002
Author(s):  
Orestis Kanter Bax ◽  
Nadim Hakim ◽  
Michael Jeggo ◽  
Declan Phelan ◽  
Timothy Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Participation ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
First Episode Psychosis ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Episode Psychosis ◽  
The City

Smoking tobacco is a major public health issue and a significant cause of increased mortality. People with a first episode of psychosis are more likely to smoke and the subgroup that goes on to have schizophrenia will have a significantly reduced life expectancy to the general population. The City & Hackney Early and Quick Intervention in Psychosis Team is a community mental health team at East London NHS Foundation Trust, providing outpatient care for adults presenting with first episode psychosis. This project aimed to increase the number of smoking cessation referrals from EQUIP to national smoking cessation services to 15% of the total team caseload over 6 months initially. A secondary measure was to complete an assessment of the smoking status for 90% of the caseload at all times. Change ideas were tested using plan-do-study-act cycles. A smoking cessation referral pathway was created and disseminated to the outpatient and inpatient services. The project was discussed at least monthly at the clinical team meeting. An education and skills building session was organised and took place at the team away day and an education drop-in session for patients was organised. The project was slow to take-off and patient participation was essential in driving progress. The aim was achieved at 23 months. A collateral benefit indicated that 25.7% of the total number of smokers had been recorded as having stopped smoking during the course of this project. This project demonstrates the effectiveness of quality improvement methodology facilitated by efficient leadership, collaborative teamwork, patient participation and persistence to address a complex problem that has significant consequences to patient health.

scholarly journals Quick and collaborative response to teenage pregnancies in a poor semi-rural area of Belgium

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Déom ◽  
L Ben Abdelhafidh ◽  
N Annez ◽  
C Glorie ◽  
M Roland
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Reproductive Health Services ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Victims Of Violence ◽  
The City

Abstract Early pregnancies are often linked to precarious situations. Even if Belgium has seen a decrease in teenage pregnancies, in the former mining region of the Hainaut there are still twice as many births to young women under 20 compared to the national rate. Colfontaine is one of the poorest cities in Belgium. Last year, one of the local high schools counted 10 pregnant teenagers out of 450 students. Médecins du Monde was already present in the city at the time with a mobile health clinic called the Médibus. In response, we carried out a mapping of the local sexual and reproductive health actors. The lack of accessibility to social and health structures capable of welcoming teenagers anonymously and free of charge quickly emerged as a problem, the nearest family planning center being located 30 minutes away by bus. In September 2019, in partnership with 5 local health actors, we decided to reshape the Médibus into the Adobus in order to offer family planning consultations, health promotion and harm reduction activities at the high school once a week. In addition to offering health information services, we also aim to detect teenagers experiencing vulnerable situations such as addiction, violence, gender issues and refer them to appropriate services. Halfway through the project, we met 430 teenagers in 14 afternoons. The most common reasons for consultation (N = 310) were questions related to contraception for 29% and to sexually transmitted infections for 24,5%. 70,9% of teenagers received condoms and 13 girls were tested for pregnancy. One girl received a morning-after pill. 3 teenagers with addiction problems and 17 victims of violence were detected. The teams referred 18 teenagers to other services. The success of this outreach project confirms the need for information regarding sexual and reproductive health for teenagers living in precarious situations as well as the need to develop reachable and affordable sexual and reproductive health services in semi-rural areas. Key messages Outreach is an efficient approach to respond to teenagers’ needs in poor semi-rural areas. Outreach facilitated the detection of early pregnancies, addiction and violence issues among teenagers.

Determinant factors of culinary creative business performance in the city of Makassar

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (04) ◽  
pp. 44-53
Author(s):  
ST HATIDJA ◽  
◽  
Amiruddin TAWE ◽  
Chalid I. MUSA ◽  
La HALISU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Full Data ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Modelling Techniques ◽  
The City

The purpose of this study is to analyze how the capabilities of business performance in creative culinary ventures in Makassar City, Indonesia. Data were obtained from sources using a questionnaire distributed to 1,402 entrepreneurs in the small and medium business category. The sampling method is probability sampling with simple random sampling technique. The number of samples in this study was determined using the Slovin formula of 311 people, totalling 197 respondents who received the questionnaire in full. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with structural equation modelling techniques. The research findings explain dynamic capabilities that are important for enhancing innovation and business performance, as well as to assist future researchers to examine other factors that are predictors in improving business performance.

scholarly journals Community Satisfaction of the Urban Flood Control System Improvement Project (UFCSI)

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-34
Author(s):  
Mohammad Sofyan
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
City Government ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Project Implementation ◽  
Community Satisfaction ◽  
Urban Flood ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Land Clearing ◽  
The City

The purpose of this study is to encourage ownership, responsibility and to develop stakeholders and policy makers for the river normalization program in the pre-construction, construction and post-construction stages. The use of the IPA method to measure community satisfaction in the quadrants on the Importance Performance Matrix map. The results of the study showed that the socialization from the Department of Water and Public Works, when the project was finished, was not in line with community expectations. Flood control projects that have been built, coordination with the contractor at the time of project implementation, socialization from the city government prior to project implementation, socialization from the city government when the project is finished, socialization from the river hall at the time before project implementation, socialization from the river hall at the time the project was completed, dissemination of information from the irrigation service prior to project implementation, and community involvement in project implementation. The process of land clearing, and the price agreement that has been reached. Improved land clearing, and price agreements that have been reached can be reconsidered because their impact on the benefits felt by the community is very small.

scholarly journals Community Needs Assessments in a Student-Run Clinic serving a West Philadelphia Neighborhood

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Arenas ◽  
Dania D. Hallak ◽  
Rommell Noche ◽  
Gilberto Vila-Arroyo ◽  
Swathi Raman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pap Smear ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Needs Assessments ◽  
Healthcare Needs ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Healthcare Interventions ◽  
Local Healthcare

ABSTRACTBackgroundWhile Community Needs Assessments (CNAs) are an important tool for Student-Run Clinics (SRCs) to understand local communities’ healthcare needs, few studies have evaluated CNAs and their impact on care provided at SRCs.ObjectiveEvaluate results from two CNAs of an SRC in East Parkside, Philadelphia to better comprehend (1) community awareness and opinions regarding the SRC and (2) local healthcare concerns and access.Methods58 and 105 East Parkside residents were surveyed in 2011 and 2015 respectively. The results were analyzed to quantify various health-related measures in the community.ResultsResults showed high rates of hypertension, asthma, and diabetes. Rates of pap-smear and hypertension screening matched national averages while mammograms and colonoscopies were below national rates. Both CNAs showed that less than 40% of community members were aware of the clinic’s existence.ConclusionsCNAs can provide valuable insights regarding local health needs which can inform future healthcare interventions.

scholarly journals Punching out: exploring justifications for employment land conversions in the GTA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Cogliano
Keyword(s):  
Smart Growth ◽  
Land Conversion ◽  
Transit Oriented Development ◽  
Planning Policy ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Planning Framework ◽  
Support Employment ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The City

The current planning framework in the Province of Ontario is based on principles of “smart growth” including transit oriented development, intensification, and a focus on building complete communities. While the advancement of these principles has been positive in certain cases, the literature identifies that industrial lands may face redevelopment pressure as smart growth principles are adopted. This paper provides the opportunity to assess the extent of which this is the case in the context of the City of Markham. A content analysis of twelve employment land conversion applications provides for an on-the-ground case study of how the planning framework in Ontario, informed by smart growth principles, is leveraged by developers to support employment land conversions. Research findings include conflicting interpretations, among stakeholders, of planning policy goals related to employment land. Recommendations include the need for a more consistent articulation of policy goals and a rethink of traditional zoning strategies for industrial lands.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document