The health implications of urban development, particularly in rapidly changing, low-income urban neighborhoods, are poorly understood. We describe the Healthy Neighborhoods Study (HNS), a Participatory Action Research study examining the relationship between neighborhood change and population health in nine Massachusetts neighborhoods. Baseline data from the HNS survey show that social factors, specifically income insecurity, food insecurity, social support, experiencing discrimination, expecting to move, connectedness to the neighborhood, and local housing construction that participants believed would improve their lives, identified by a network of 45 Resident Researchers exhibited robust associations with self-rated and mental health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHIV Treatment as Prevention (TasP) initiatives promote antiretroviral therapy (ART) access and optimal adherence (≥95 %) to produce viral suppression among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and prevent the onward transmission of HIV. ART treatment interruptions are common among PLHIV who use drugs and undermine the effectiveness of TasP. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 PLHIV who use drugs who had experienced treatment ART interruptions in a setting with a community-wide TasP initiative (Vancouver, Canada) to examine influences on these outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrivate gardens provide habitat and resources for many birds living in human-dominated landscapes. While wild bird feeding is recognised as one of the most popular forms of human-wildlife interaction, almost nothing is known about the use of bird baths. This citizen science initiative explores avian assemblages at bird baths in private gardens in south-eastern Australia and how this differs with respect to levels of urbanisation and bioregion.
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