Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Actual and Virtual Parks Benefit Quality of Life and Physical Activity: A Cluster Trial.
Urban parks provide connectedness to nature as a health resilience environment for promoting health. Virtual reality can provide opportunities for urban citizens to be exposed to natural elements with health benefits. The purpose was to explore the effects of actual and virtual parks on the quality of life and physical activity of urban residents. ⋯ Participants in the experimental groups of both kinds of parks had significant improvements in their self-rated health, physical and environmental quality of life, and sedentary time after the intervention. Urban parks are an important natural resource for citizens' health and physical activity promotion. Virtual parks can simulate actual parks and have similar health benefits and are thus are recommended for citizens who lack opportunities and motivation to go to actual parks.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Cash Transfers and After-School Programs: A Randomized Controlled Trial for Young Men at Risk of Violence Exposure in Wilmington, Delaware.
We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether an after-school program paired with a cash transfer (a conditional cash transfer) or a cash transfer alone (an unconditional cash transfer) can help improve health and economic outcomes for young men between the ages of 14 and 17 whose parents have low incomes and who live in neighborhoods with high crime rates. We find that receiving the cash transfer alone was associated with an increase in healthy behaviors (one of our primary outcome composite measures) and that the cash transfer paired with after-school programming was associated with an improvement in the financial health of participants (one of our secondary outcome composite measures). ⋯ Neither the cash transfer alone nor the programming plus cash transfer had statistically significant effects on our other primary composite measures (physical and mental health or school attendance and disciplinary actions), or our other secondary composite measures (criminal justice engagement or social supports) but in most cases, confidence intervals were too large to rule out meaningful effects. Results suggest that cash transfers hold promise to improve the health of youth without any indication of any adverse effects.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Impact of Guaranteed Income on Health, Finances, and Agency: Findings from the Stockton Randomized Controlled Trial.
The purpose of this experiment was to test the effects of a $500 per month guaranteed income for 2 years on health and financial outcomes. A mixed-methods randomized controlled trial in Stockton, CA, USA enrolled 131 individuals to the treatment condition and 200 to control to receive a guaranteed income from February 2019 to January 2021. Quantitative data collection began 3 months prior to allocation at 6-month intervals concluding 6 months after withdrawal of the intervention. ⋯ The treatment condition reported lower rates of income volatility than control, lower mental distress, better energy and physical functioning, greater agency to explore new opportunities related to employment and caregiving, and better ability to weather pandemic-related financial volatility. Thus, this study provides causal evidence of positive health and financial outcomes for recipients of guaranteed income. As income volatility is related to poor health outcomes, provision of a guaranteed income is a potentially powerful public health intervention.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Shelter Bans Among People Experiencing Homelessness: an Exploratory Study of Predictors in Two Large Canadian Datasets.
Emergency shelters are a core component of homeless service systems that address immediate basic needs. Service bans, which refer to temporary or permanent disallowances from a program or organization, are an underresearched phenomenon that can leave people experiencing homelessness without needed supports. This exploratory study examined the factors associated with shelter bans among people experiencing homelessness using secondary data from two Canadian studies: (1) a multisite randomized controlled trial of Housing First (At Home/Chez Soi Demonstration Project) and (2) a cross-sectional survey of youth experiencing homelessness across Canada (2019 Without a Home-National Youth Homelessness Survey). ⋯ Overall, the findings suggest that victimization and criminalization during homelessness may increase the risk of shelter loss from bans and further exclusion. The observed regional differences also highlight the potential limits of individual-level predictors. Further research is needed on shelter ban outcomes, as well as how capacity limits and organizational policies affect banning decisions.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Nurtured in Nature: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase Time in Greenspace among Urban-Dwelling Pregnant Women.
Spending time in nature is associated with numerous mental health benefits, including reduced depression and improved well-being. However, few studies examine the most effective ways to nudge people to spend more time outside. Furthermore, the impact of spending time in nature has not been previously studied as a postpartum depression (PPD) prevention strategy. ⋯ When analyzing women who completed the intervention (13 of 17 subjects), the intervention was associated with three times higher nature visits compared to control (IRR 3.1, 95%CI 1.16-3.14, p = 0.025). No significant differences were found in the EPDS scores, although we may have been limited by the study's sample size. Nurture in Nature increased the amount of time postpartum women spent in nature, and may be a useful population health tool to leverage the health benefits of nature in majority Black, low-resourced communities.