The effect of gentrification on children’s mental health
P4A researchers from the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service released new findings indicating that children growing up in gentrifying areas show elevated levels of anxiety and depression by ages 9–11. Kriston Capps from CityLab interviewed lead researcher Ingrid Gould Ellen about the research:
“We see it as a red flag…. It might be that gentrification is bringing changes to neighborhoods that make original residents feel like they no longer belong in those neighborhoods, which makes kids feel uncomfortable and anxious. That is something to watch out for.”
Increasing healthy food access in rural North Carolina
As part of the Healthy People 2020 “Stories from the Field” series, P4A researcher Stephanie Jilcott Pitts explained her research investigating North Carolina’s 2016 Healthy Food Small Retailer Program’s impact on underresourced communities.
Early indicators suggest the policy is working; healthy options were significantly more affordable, available, and of higher quality and greater variety in stores participating in the program. And communities are on board: “local health departments, farms, and farmers’ markets all want in on the action.”
P4A researchers will be heading to Philadelphia and Denver next month for the annual conferences of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM).
Come visit us at the “For Action” booth (#517) at APHA’s Expo from November 3 to 5, and catch researcher Ruqaiijah Yearby’s presentation on racial equity tools at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5.
And if you’re heading to APPAM, don’t miss P4A’s panel, “Lessons from California: How Paid Leave Policies Can Boost Family Health and Economic Stability” on Friday, November 8, at 1:30 p.m., as well as presentations on the Earned Income Tax Credit and
paid sick leave from P4A researchers.
Community corner
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Systems for Action program has an open call for proposals for research testing innovative mechanisms for aligning delivery and financing systems for medical, social, and public health services, with a focus on health equity. The deadline to submit a proposal is 3:00 p.m. (EST) on November 6, 2019.
P4A researchers George Wehby and Robert Kaestner published a new paper on the effects of the minimum wage on infant health.
