scholarly journals Exploring the Nexus of Energy Burden, Social Capital, and Environmental Quality in Shaping Health in US Counties

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 620
Author(s):  
Tony G. Reames ◽  
Dorothy M. Daley ◽  
John C. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Oecd Country ◽  
The United States ◽  
Level Energy ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Us Counties

The United States spends more on health care than any other OECD country, yet the nation’s health is declining. Recent research has identified multiple sources for this decline, including one’s position in social and economic structures, environmental quality, and individual and collective social capital. This paper assesses the primary hypotheses that the health effects of household energy burden, social capital and environmental quality on aggregated community health levels remain while controlling for other determinants. The analysis moves beyond prior research by integrating multiple secondary data sources to assess those effects across US counties. Three indicators of public health are analyzed (premature mortality, self-reported health, and life expectancy). The county-level energy burden is measured by the percent of household income spent on housing energy bills for low- and moderate-income households. In addition to energy burden, social capital, environmental quality and other determinants are included in the analysis. The results produced by multivariate regression models support the primary hypotheses, even while a number of control variables also have a significant effect on health. The paper concludes that public health is associated with a complex nexus of factors, including environmental quality and social capital, and that energy burden needs to be among the considerations.

Increases in Premature Mortality Due to Homicide — United States, 1968-1985

1989 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverly Martinez-Schnell ◽  
Richard J. Waxweiler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Relative Impact ◽  
Age At Death

From 1968 to 1985, the rate of homicide in the United States has increased 44%. Its relative impact on premature mortality, as measured by the percentage of years of potential life lost (YPLL) before age 65 from all causes of death due to homicide, has nearly doubled (93% increase). This increase calls attention to the emerging importance of interpersonal violence relative to all public health problems affecting persons under 65 years of age. The percentage of YPLL from all causes of death due to homicide increased in each race/sex group and for both firearm and nonfirearm means of homicide. The increase in homicide YPLL was traced mainly to an increase in the number of homicide deaths and, to a smaller extent, to a decrease in the average age at death of homicide victims.

scholarly journals Social Capital Dimensions are Differentially Associated with COVID-19 Vaccinations, Masks, and Physical Distancing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibtihal Ferwana ◽  
Lav R. Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Residential Mobility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Family Unity

Background Social capital has been associated with health outcomes in communities and can explain variations in different geographic localities. Social capital has also been associated with behaviors that promote better health and reduce the impacts of diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, face masking, and vaccination have all been essential in controlling contagion. These behaviors have not been uniformly adopted by communities in the United States. Using different facets of social capital to explain the differences in public behaviors among communities during pandemics is lacking. Objective This study examines the relationship among public health behavior, vaccination, face masking, and physical distancing during COVID-19 pandemic and social capital indices in counties in the United States. Methods We used publicly available vaccination data as of June 2021, face masking data in July 2020, and mobility data from mobile phones movements from the end of March 2020. Then, correlation analysis was conducted with county-level social capital index and its subindices (family unity, community health, institutional health, and collective efficacy) that were obtained from the Social Capital Project by the United States Senate. Results We found the social capital index and its subindices differentially correlate with different public health behaviors. Vaccination is associated with institutional health: positively with fully vaccinated population and negatively with vaccination hesitancy. Also, wearing masks negatively associates with community health, whereases reduced mobility associates with better community health. Further, residential mobility positively associates with family unity. By comparing correlation coefficients, we find that social capital and its subindices have largest effect sizes on vaccination and residential mobility. Conclusion Our results show that different facets of social capital are significantly associated with adoption of protective behaviors, e.g., social distancing, face masking, and vaccination. As such, our results suggest that differential facets of social capital imply a Swiss cheese model of pandemic control planning where, e.g., institutional health and community health, provide partially overlapping behavioral benefits.

scholarly journals Social capital dimensions are differentially associated with COVID-19 vaccinations, masks, and physical distancing

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260818
Author(s):  
Ibtihal Ferwana ◽  
Lav R. Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Residential Mobility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Family Unity

Background Social capital has been associated with health outcomes in communities and can explain variations in different geographic localities. Social capital has also been associated with behaviors that promote better health and reduce the impacts of diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, face masking, and vaccination have all been essential in controlling contagion. These behaviors have not been uniformly adopted by communities in the United States. Using different facets of social capital to explain the differences in public behaviors among communities during pandemics is lacking. Objective This study examines the relationship among public health behavior—vaccination, face masking, and physical distancing—during COVID-19 pandemic and social capital indices in counties in the United States. Methods We used publicly available vaccination data as of June 2021, face masking data in July 2020, and mobility data from mobile phones movements from the end of March 2020. Then, correlation analysis was conducted with county-level social capital index and its subindices (family unity, community health, institutional health, and collective efficacy) that were obtained from the Social Capital Project by the United States Senate. Results We found the social capital index and its subindices differentially correlate with different public health behaviors. Vaccination is associated with institutional health: positively with fully vaccinated population and negatively with vaccination hesitancy. Also, wearing masks negatively associates with community health, whereases reduced mobility associates with better community health. Further, residential mobility positively associates with family unity. By comparing correlation coefficients, we find that social capital and its subindices have largest effect sizes on vaccination and residential mobility. Conclusion Our results show that different facets of social capital are significantly associated with adoption of protective behaviors, e.g., social distancing, face masking, and vaccination. As such, our results suggest that differential facets of social capital imply a Swiss cheese model of pandemic control planning where, e.g., institutional health and community health, provide partially overlapping behavioral benefits.

The Smoking Gap

Pained ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 163-166
Author(s):  
Michael D. Stein ◽  
Sandro Galea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Smoking Prevalence ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
The United States ◽  
High School Education ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Smoking Rate ◽  
American Southeast ◽  
Education Groups ◽  
College Educated

This chapter discusses the smoking gap. Fifty years ago, smoking prevalence for all education groups was clustered at the 40%–45% mark. Five decades later, 6.5% of college-educated individuals continue to smoke, while the prevalence is more than triple that among those with a high school education or less (23.1%). These smokers tend to be disadvantaged socially and economically, and bear the majority of morbidity and premature mortality. As such, in the process of lowering smoking overall, people have created a smoking gap between those who are well-educated and those who are less educated, between those with higher and lower incomes. However, the smoking gap is not restricted only to socioeconomic status. Geography is also at play. “Tobacco Nation”—a swath across the American Southeast where 700 million pounds of tobacco are harvested annually, and rates of smoking remain higher than elsewhere—suggests that policy, culture, and the persistent influence of the tobacco industry in this region has shaped who smokes and who does not in the United States. Other studies have documented the high tobacco retailer density in neighborhoods with larger proportions of African Americans, the ethnic group with the highest smoking prevalence. The chapter then details what people can learn from the smoking gap and the best public health approach to reduce the smoking rate.

The Effect of Women’s Descriptive Representation on Premature Mortality

Social Forces ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 820-846
Author(s):  
Dana Patton ◽  
Richard C Fording
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Premature Death ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women

Abstract Although many studies have found that women legislators pursue policies important to women, we know relatively little concerning the effect of women’s descriptive representation (WDR) on women’s quality of life. We address this question by examining the relationship between the election of women state legislators and public health. Specifically, we estimate the effect of WDR on premature death rates from 1982 to 2010. We find that WDR serves to improve the well-being of both women and men. However, the effect of WDR on women’s health is contingent on several important factors. First, the health-improving effects of WDR are most strongly related to the descriptive representation of Democratic women. Second, the effect of Democratic WDR on women’s health, relative to men’s health, increases with the scale of the state’s Medicaid program. Finally, we estimate the mediating role of nine specific policies, finding that four policies mediate the effect of Democratic WDR on premature mortality. Overall, our results suggest that policy remedies aimed at improving the severe underrepresentation of women in government may help to improve the relatively low ranking of the United States on indicators of public health.

scholarly journals Reduction in US Health Care Spending Required to Meet the Institute of Medicine’s 2030 Target

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (12) ◽  
pp. 1735-1740
Author(s):  
J. Mac McCullough ◽  
Matthew Speer ◽  
Sanne Magnan ◽  
Jonathan E. Fielding ◽  
David Kindig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Care Spending ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
High Resource ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Demand For Health ◽  
Critical Public Health

Objectives. To quantify changes in US health care spending required to reach parity with high-resource nations by 2030 or 2040 and identify historical precedents for these changes. Methods. We analyzed multiple sources of historical and projected spending from 1970 through 2040. Parity was defined as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) median or 90th percentile for per capita health care spending. Results. Sustained annual declines of 7.0% and 3.3% would be required to reach the median of other high-resource nations by 2030 and 2040, respectively (3.2% and 1.3% to reach the 90th percentile). Such declines do not have historical precedent among US states or OECD nations. Conclusions. Traditional approaches to reducing health care spending will not enable the United States to achieve parity with high-resource nations; strategies to eliminate waste and reduce the demand for health care are essential. Public Health Implications. Excess spending reduces the ability of the United States to meet critical public health needs and affects the country’s economic competitiveness. Rising health care spending has been identified as a threat to the nation’s health. Public health can add voices, leadership, and expertise for reversing this course.

scholarly journals How social capital helps communities weather the COVID-19 pandemic

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245135
Author(s):  
Christos A. Makridis ◽  
Cary Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Concern For Others ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
Geographically Distributed ◽  
Us Counties ◽  
Mediating Factor ◽  
Using Data

Why have the effects of COVID-19 been so unevenly geographically distributed in the United States? This paper investigates the role of social capital as a mediating factor for the spread of the virus. Because social capital is associated with greater trust and relationships within a community, it could endow individuals with a greater concern for others, thereby leading to more hygienic practices and social distancing. Using data for over 2,700 US counties, we investigate how social capital explains the level and growth rate of infections. We find that moving a county from the 25th to the 75th percentile of the distribution of social capital would lead to a 18% and 5.7% decline in the cumulative number of infections and deaths, as well as suggestive evidence of a lower spread of the virus. Our results are robust to many demographic characteristics, controls, and alternative measures of social capital.

scholarly journals An exploratory analysis of network characteristics and quality of interactions among public health collaboratives

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Varda ◽  
Jessica H. Retrum
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Organizational Characteristics ◽  
Exchange Relationships ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Quality Improvement Process ◽  
Interorganizational Dynamics ◽  
System A ◽  
Design And Methods

While the benefits of collaboration have become widely accepted and the practice of collaboration is growing within the public health system, a paucity of research exists that examines factors and mechanisms related to effective collaboration between public health and their partner organizations. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the structural and organizational characteristics of public health collaboratives. Design and Methods. Using both social network analysis and traditional statistical methods, we conduct an exploratory secondary data analysis of 11 public health collaboratives chosen from across the United States. All collaboratives are part of the PARTNER (www.partnertool.net) database. We analyze data to identify relational patterns by exploring the structure (the way that organizations connect and exchange relationships), in relation to perceptions of value and trust, explanations for varying reports of success, and factors related to outcomes. We describe the characteristics of the collaboratives, types of resource contributions, outcomes of the collaboratives, perceptions of success, and reasons for success. We found high variation and significant differences within and between these collaboratives including perceptions of success. There were significant relationships among various factors such as resource contributions, reasons cited for success, and trust and value perceived by organizations. We find that although the unique structure of each collaborative makes it challenging to identify a specific set of factors to determine when a collaborative will be successful, the organizational characteristics and interorganizational dynamics do appear to impact outcomes. We recommend a quality improvement process that suggests matching assessment to goals and developing action steps for performance improvement.

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