IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i22p8413-d444687.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Air Pollution-Related Health Impacts on Individuals Experiencing Homelessness: Environmental Justice and Health Vulnerability in Salt Lake County, Utah

Author

Listed:
  • Angelina L. DeMarco

    (Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA)

  • Rebecca Hardenbrook

    (Department of Mathematics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA)

  • Jeff Rose

    (Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA)

  • Daniel L. Mendoza

    (Department of City & Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
    Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA)

Abstract

Experiences of homelessness, although widely varied, are characterized by extensive time in public spaces, often outdoors. However, there has been little empirical research about the ways in which environmental factors affect individuals experiencing homelessness (IEHs). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to use an environmental justice approach to understand how cardiopulmonary health of IEHs is affected by episodic poor air quality in Salt Lake County. It was hypothesized that people who had experienced unsheltered homelessness and those who had been experiencing homelessness for longer periods of time would report greater health difficulties from poor air quality exposure. Through a combination of in-person semistructured interviews with IEHs ( n = 138) and access to corresponding state-based service provider databases, researchers examined both overall descriptives of and relationships between types (sheltered and unsheltered) and duration (chronic and nonchronic) of homelessness. More than 61% of IEHs reported physical reactions to air pollution, 37% reported air pollution-related emotional stress, and more than 89% had sought medical attention for a condition related to air pollution. Findings indicate that while IEHs report a number of health effects related to poor air quality, there were no significant differences between individuals based on either sheltered status or duration of their experiences of homelessness. This study provides an initial empirical inquiry to understand how environmental disamenities negatively influence IEHs, as well as noting that sheltered status and duration of homelessness are less impactful than originally hypothesized.

Suggested Citation

  • Angelina L. DeMarco & Rebecca Hardenbrook & Jeff Rose & Daniel L. Mendoza, 2020. "Air Pollution-Related Health Impacts on Individuals Experiencing Homelessness: Environmental Justice and Health Vulnerability in Salt Lake County, Utah," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-16, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:22:p:8413-:d:444687
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8413/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8413/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel L. Mendoza & Tabitha M. Benney & Rajive Ganguli & Rambabu Pothina & Benjamin Krick & Cheryl S. Pirozzi & Erik T. Crosman & Yue Zhang, 2020. "Understanding the Relationship between Social Distancing Policies, Traffic Volume, Air Quality, and the Prevalence of COVID-19 Outcomes in Urban Neighborhoods," Papers 2008.01828, arXiv.org.
    2. Keuntae Kim & Ivis Garcia, 2019. "Why Do Homeless Families Exit and Return the Homeless Shelter? Factors Affecting the Risk of Family Homelessness in Salt Lake County (Utah, United States) as a Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Caton, C.L.M. & Dominguez, B. & Schanzer, B. & Hasin, D.S. & Shrout, P.E. & Felix, A. & McQuistion, H. & Opler, L.A. & Hsu, E., 2005. "Risk factors for long-term homelessness: Findings from a longitudinal study of first-time homeless single adults," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(10), pages 1753-1759.
    4. Tao Xue & Tong Zhu & Yixuan Zheng & Qiang Zhang, 2019. "Author Correction: Declines in mental health associated with air pollution and temperature variability in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-1, December.
    5. Julia R. Woodhall-Melnik & James R. Dunn, 2016. "A systematic review of outcomes associated with participation in Housing First programs," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 287-304, April.
    6. Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Chen, Xi, 2017. "Happiness in the air: How does a dirty sky affect mental health and subjective well-being?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 81-94.
    7. Ivis García & Keuntae Kim, 2020. "“ I Felt Safe ”: The Role of the Rapid Rehousing Program in Supporting the Security of Families Experiencing Homelessness in Salt Lake County, Utah," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Daniel L. Mendoza & Cheryl S. Pirozzi & Erik T. Crosman & Theodore G. Liou & Yue Zhang & Jessica J. Cleeves & Stephen C. Bannister & William R. L. Anderegg & Robert Paine III, 2020. "Absentee and Economic Impact of Low-Level Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone Exposure in K-12 Students," Papers 2007.09230, arXiv.org.
    9. Casey Mullen & Sara E. Grineski & Timothy W. Collins & Daniel L. Mendoza, 2020. "Effects of PM 2.5 on Third Grade Students’ Proficiency in Math and English Language Arts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Côté, Philippe-Benoit & Blais, Martin, 2019. "Between resignation, resistance and recognition: A qualitative analysis of LGBTQ+ youth profiles of homelessness agencies utilization," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 437-443.
    11. Cheryl S. Pirozzi & Daniel L. Mendoza & Yizhe Xu & Yue Zhang & Mary Beth Scholand & Robert P. Baughman, 2018. "Short-Term Particulate Air Pollution Exposure is Associated with Increased Severity of Respiratory and Quality of Life Symptoms in Patients with Fibrotic Sarcoidosis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-10, May.
    12. Tao Xue & Tong Zhu & Yixuan Zheng & Qiang Zhang, 2019. "Declines in mental health associated with air pollution and temperature variability in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maeve G. MacMurdo & Karen B. Mulloy & Daniel A. Culver & Charles W. Felix & Andrew J. Curtis & Jayakrishnan Ajayakumar & Jacqueline Curtis, 2022. "Mapping Mobility: Utilizing Local-Knowledge-Derived Activity Space to Estimate Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution among Individuals Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-9, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daqing Zu & Keyu Zhai & Yue Qiu & Pei Pei & Xiaoxian Zhu & Dongho Han, 2020. "The Impacts of Air Pollution on Mental Health: Evidence from the Chinese University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Zhi Cao & Jingbo Zhou & Meng Li & Jizhou Huang & Dejing Dou, 2023. "Urbanites’ mental health undermined by air pollution," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(4), pages 470-478, April.
    3. Xie, Tingting & Yuan, Ye & Zhang, Hui, 2023. "Information, awareness, and mental health: Evidence from air pollution disclosure in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Lohmann, Paul M. & Gsottbauer, Elisabeth & You, Jing & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2023. "Air pollution and anti-social behaviour: Evidence from a randomised lab-in-the-field experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    5. Xuefeng Li & Han Yang & Jin Jia, 2022. "Impact of energy poverty on cognitive and mental health among middle-aged and older adults in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Aatishya Mohanty & Nattavudh Powdthavee & Cheng Keat Tang & Andrew J. Oswald, 2024. "Temperature Variability and Natural Disasters," Papers 2409.14936, arXiv.org.
    7. Jinling Quan, 2019. "Multi-Temporal Effects of Urban Forms and Functions on Urban Heat Islands Based on Local Climate Zone Classification," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-35, June.
    8. Marc Fadel & Eliane Farah & Nansi Fakhri & Frédéric Ledoux & Dominique Courcot & Charbel Afif, 2024. "A Comprehensive Review of PM-Related Studies in Industrial Proximity: Insights from the East Mediterranean Middle East Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-44, October.
    9. Peng Nie & Ke Zhao & Dawei Ma & Huo Liu & Saqib Amin & Iftikhar Yasin, 2024. "Global Climate Change, Mental Health, and Socio-Economic Stressors: Toward Sustainable Interventions across Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-26, October.
    10. Mary Abed Al Ahad & Urška Demšar & Frank Sullivan & Hill Kulu, 2022. "Air pollution and individuals’ mental well-being in the adult population in United Kingdom: A spatial-temporal longitudinal study and the moderating effect of ethnicity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-27, March.
    11. André Hajek & Hans-Helmut König, 2023. "Do Individuals with High Climate Anxiety Believe That They Will Die Earlier? First Evidence from Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-8, March.
    12. Hania Rahimi-Ardabili & Thomas Astell-Burt & Phi-Yen Nguyen & Juan Zhang & Yu Jiang & Guang-Hui Dong & Xiaoqi Feng, 2021. "Green Space and Health in Mainland China: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-22, September.
    13. Fangfang Hou & Xiao Han & Qiong Wang & Shuai Zhou & Jingya Zhang & Guodong Shen & Yan Zhang, 2022. "Cross-Sectional Associations between Living and Built Environments and Depression Symptoms among Chinese Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-12, May.
    14. Canham, Sarah L. & Donovan, Morrison & Rose, Jeff & Jones, Shannon & Garcia, Ivis, 2023. "Transportation needs and mobility patterns of persons experiencing homelessness following shelter decentralization," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    15. Yue Hua & Yun Qiu & Xiaoqing Tan, 2023. "The effects of temperature on mental health: evidence from China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1293-1332, July.
    16. Ivis García, 2024. "The Value of Reentry Housing, Zoning, and “Not in My Back Yard” (NIMBY) Obstacles, and How to Overcome Them," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, February.
    17. Nicolas Barrantes & Jhonatan Clausen, 2022. "Does Multidimensional Poverty Affect Depression? Evidence from Peru," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 22(2), pages 107-129, April.
    18. Tomoaki Nakaishi & Sunbin Yoo & Shigemi Kagawa & Shunsuke Managi, 2024. "Impact of air pollution on human morality: A multinational perspective," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Kimberly A. Rollings & Christina S. Bollo, 2021. "Permanent Supportive Housing Design Characteristics Associated with the Mental Health of Formerly Homeless Adults in the U.S. and Canada: An Integrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-37, September.
    20. Jin Sun & Chuntian Lu & Jinchen Xie, 2022. "The Impact of Sustained Exposure to Air Pollutant on the Mental Health: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:22:p:8413-:d:444687. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.