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Projekt Druckansicht

Urbane Bevölkerungsgesundheit im Kontext der Geographie - zum Verständnis der Verknüpfung von Gesundheit und sozio-ökologischer Umwelt in der Stadt

Antragsteller Dr. Oliver Grübner
Fachliche Zuordnung Humangeographie
Förderung Förderung von 2013 bis 2016
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 232127285
 
Erstellungsjahr 2016

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

Human-made and natural disasters happen with regularity around the globe and are increasing with the growing influence of environmental climate change putting an increasing number of communities at risk for experiencing the mental health consequences of disasters, such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Urban populations are particularly concerned because of high population densities with larger numbers of communities potentially exposed to disaster as compared to rural populations. In addition, growing urbanization leads to more and more people being exposed to factors from the urban social (e.g. poverty, lack of social support) or physical environment (e.g. pollution, traffic noise) being negatively associated with psychological resilience and urban population health. With this project I sought to assess the interactions between socio-ecological factors and health risk across geographic space. Using a spatial epidemiological approach, my team was among the first to provide evidence for geographic variation in post disaster mental health risk based on both, survey data, and on social media data from Twitter. The project results provide evidence that local social and physical conditions affect post disaster mental health risk and that individual- and community-level resources and exposure shape post disaster resilience. For example, individuals who experienced individual stressors (e.g. multiple losses) and who lived in more disaster-damaged communities were more likely to report poor mental health or need for services than were other persons after a disaster. The findings suggest the need for on-going support to economically disadvantaged communities in which residents have endured disaster-related stressors. Independently of disaster, adverse socio-ecological environments such as in slums were also linked to poor health outcomes (e.g. mental well-being, mortality). These results suggest that large variations of poverty even within urban areas are important factors to consider when interpreting rural-urban differences in health providing key insights for priority setting and targeting of disease prevention programmes. The here applied spatial epidemiological approach is transferable to other regions around the globe and, in the light of a changing climate and increasing urbanization, could be used to strengthen neighborhood resources of demographic groups at greatest risk of adverse outcomes. This may improve community-level resilience especially in those areas and populations at risk of disaster. In the aftermath of a disaster, the approach can be used to identify survivors at greatest risk of mental health problems and to plan for targeted interventions to reach them. Moreover, in countries with limited formal surveillance infrastructure, a spatial epidemiological approach using social media may have potential for the identification of mass trauma and guidance of emergency care into those areas mostly afflicted.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

Zusatzinformationen

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