Principal Investigator: Eugenia Catarina South, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Department: Emergency Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia
Services Provided: Data Wrangling, Data Analysis
Description:
The places where people live, work, and play have a profound effect on their physical and mental health and general wellbeing. This is particularly relevant in low-resource communities, which often lack quality infrastructure such as sidewalks and parks, and where neighborhood physical conditions such as vacant and dilapidated spaces, poor lighting, and trash are ubiquitous and unavoidable. Neighborhood conditions can also positively impact mental health and wellbeing. For example, living near and spending time in green space is associated with less depression and stress and improved social cohesion. We will link the locations of a randomized control trial of vacant lot greening withwith Penn Medicine Electronic Health Record (EHR) data. We will then evaluate the impact of the vacant lot greening intervention on acute care utilization for stress responsive complaints and diagnosis. We will use ED visits and sick visits taking place in the primary care setting.