142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

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SESSION ABSTRACT - Incorporating health into housing decisions: Potential health implications for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 8:30 AM - 8:45 AM

Marjory Givens, PhD, MSPH , Health Impact Project, Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, DC
Ruth Lindberg, MPH, MUP , Health Impact Project, Pew Charitable Trusts, washington, DC
Barry Keppard , Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Boston, MA
Mariana Arcaya, ScD, MCP , Society Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Sunia Zaterman , Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, Washington, DC
Carmen Brick , Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, washington, DC
Ismael Guerrero , Resident and Community Services, Denver Housing Authority, Denver, CO
Renee Nicolosi , Denver Housing Authority, Denver, CO
Keshia Pollack, PhD, MPH , Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Aaron Wernham, MD, MS , Director, Health Impact Project, Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, DC
By 2040, the U.S. population aged 65 and older is projected to double, reaching 80 million individuals and representing 20% of the total population. The availability, accessibility, and affordability of supports for seniors, including health-promoting services and features in residential and neighborhood settings will be increasingly important considerations.  For low-income seniors and persons with disabilities, subsidized rental housing tied to supportive services has been viewed as a platform for community integration and “Aging in Place”.

Stemming from work through the National Prevention Council (NPC), and in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, we piloted the use of health impact assessment (HIA) as an opportunity for collaborative, cross-sector efforts that consider prevention and health in areas where they may not typically be considered, such as housing policy. This panel will discuss efforts in multiple arenas to incorporate the consideration of health into housing, using HIA as an approach to promote “Aging in Place”.  Panelists will discuss how HIA relates to the NPC goals; describe the opportunities and challenges of piloting an HIA on federal housing policy; present the ways in which large Public Housing Authorities in the United States are working to support “Aging in Place”; and describe the efforts of a local Public Housing Authority to incorporate the consideration of health into housing and service needs of seniors and persons with disabilities in their community.

Learning Areas:

Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe benefits and challenges experienced in piloting Health Impact Assessment on federal housing policy as part of the National Prevention Strategy. Explain connections between affordable and accessible rental housing, supportive services and health, particularly for seniors and persons with disabilities. Discuss opportunities for “aging in place” using public housing as a platform for providing long-term, community-based care to low-income seniors and persons with disabilities.

Keyword(s): Federal Policy, Healthy Housing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have many years experience in conducting and building capacity for health consideration in decision making. I have over a decade of experience in housing and health research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.