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High Life Study protocol: a cross-sectional investigation of the influence of apartment building design policy on resident health and well-being.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:The rapid increase in apartment construction in Australia has raised concerns about the impacts of poorly designed and located buildings on resident health and well-being. While apartment design policies exist, their content varies across jurisdictions and evidence on their impact on health and well-being is lacking. This cross-sectional observational study (2017-2021) aims to generate empirical evidence to guide policy decisions on apartment development and help to create healthy, equitable higher-density communities. Objectives include to benchmark the implementation of health-promoting apartment design requirements and to identify associations between requirements and resident health and well-being outcomes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:Eligible buildings in three Australian cities with different apartment design guidelines will be stratified by area disadvantage and randomly selected (~n=99). Building architects, developers and local governments will be approached to provide endorsed development plans from which apartment and building design features will be extracted. Additional data collection includes a resident survey (~n=1000) to assess environmental stressors and health and well-being impacts and outcomes, and geographic information systems measures of the neighbourhood. The study has 85% power to detect a difference of 0.5 SD in the primary outcome of mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale) at a 5% level of significance. Analyses will compare policy compliance and health-promoting design features between cities and area disadvantage groups. Regression models will test whether higher policy compliance (overall and by design theme) is associated with better health and well-being, and the relative contribution of the neighbourhood context. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Human Research Ethics Committees of RMIT University (CHEAN B 21146-10/17) and the University of Western Australia (RA/4/1/8735) approved the study protocol. In addition to academic publications, the collaboration will develop specific health-promoting indicators to embed into the monitoring of apartment design policy implementation and impact, and co-design research dissemination materials to facilitate uptake by decision makers.

SUBMITTER: Foster S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6687010 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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High Life Study protocol: a cross-sectional investigation of the influence of apartment building design policy on resident health and well-being.

Foster Sarah S Maitland Clover C Hooper Paula P Bolleter Julian J Duckworth-Smith Anthony A Giles-Corti Billie B Arundel Jonathan J

BMJ open 20190802 8

<h4>Introduction</h4>The rapid increase in apartment construction in Australia has raised concerns about the impacts of poorly designed and located buildings on resident health and well-being. While apartment design policies exist, their content varies across jurisdictions and evidence on their impact on health and well-being is lacking. This cross-sectional observational study (2017-2021) aims to generate empirical evidence to guide policy decisions on apartment development and help to create h ...[more]

PMID: 31377707

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Project description:ImportanceLabor unions are purported to improve working conditions; however, little evidence exists regarding the effect of resident physician unions.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association of resident unions with well-being, educational environment, salary, and benefits among surgical residents in the US.Design, setting, and participantsThis national cross-sectional survey study was based on a survey administered in January 2019 after the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE). Clinically active residents at all nonmilitary US general surgery residency programs accredited by the American Council of Graduate Medical Education who completed the 2019 ABSITE were eligible for participation. Data were analyzed from December 5, 2020, to March 16, 2021.ExposuresPresence of a general surgery resident labor union. Rates of labor union coverage among non-health care employees within a region were used as an instrumental variable (IV) for the presence of a labor union at a residency program.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was burnout, which was assessed using a modified version of the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory and was defined as experiencing any symptom of depersonalization or emotional exhaustion at least weekly. Secondary outcomes included suicidality, measures of job satisfaction, duty hour violations, mistreatment, educational environment, salary, and benefits.ResultsA total of 5701 residents at 285 programs completed the pertinent survey questions (response rate, 85.6%), of whom 3219 (56.5%) were male, 3779 (66.3%) were White individuals, 449 (7.9%) were of Hispanic ethnicity, 4239 (74.4%) were married or in a relationship, and 1304 (22.9%) had or were expecting children. Among respondents, 690 residents were from 30 unionized programs (10.5% of programs). There was no difference in burnout for residents at unionized vs nonunionized programs (297 [43.0%] vs 2175 [43.4%]; odds ratio [OR], 0.92 [95% CI, 0.75-1.13]; IV difference in probability, 0.15 [95% CI, -0.11 to 0.42]). There were no significant differences in suicidality, job satisfaction, duty hour violations, mistreatment, educational environment, salary, or benefits except that unionized programs more frequently offered 4 weeks instead of 2 to 3 weeks of vacation (27 [93.1%] vs 52 [30.6%]; OR, 19.18 [95% CI, 3.92-93.81]; IV difference in probability, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.09-1.45]) and more frequently offered housing stipends (10 [38.5%] vs 9 [16.1%]; OR, 2.15 [95% CI, 0.58-7.95]; IV difference in probability, 0.62 [95% CI 0.04-1.20]).Conclusions and relevanceIn this evaluation of surgical residency programs in the US, unionized programs offered improved vacation and housing stipend benefits, but resident unions were not associated with improved burnout, suicidality, job satisfaction, duty hour violations, mistreatment, educational environment, or salary.

Project description:BackgroundWorldwide, disaster exposure and consequences are rising. Disaster risk in New Zealand is amplified by island geography, isolation, and ubiquitous natural hazards. Wellington, the capital city, has vital needs for evacuation preparedness and resilience to the devastating impacts and increasing uncertainties of earthquake and tsunami disasters. While poor quality of life (QoL) is widely-associated with low levels of engagement in many health-protective behaviors, the relationships among health-related quality of life (HrQoL), well-being, and preparedness are virtually unknown.MethodsWe hypothesized that QoL and well-being affect household evacuation preparedness. We performed a quantitative epidemiologic survey (cross-sectional design) of Wellington adults. Our investigation assessed health-promoting attributes that build resiliency, conceptualized as health-protective attitudes and behaviors. Multidimensional QoL variables were measured using validated psychometric scales and analyzed for associations with evacuation preparedness, and we determined whether age and gender affected these relationships.ResultsWe received 695 survey responses (28.5% response rate; margin of error ±3.8%; 80% statistical power to detect true correlations of 0.11 or greater). Correlational analyses showed statistically significant positive associations with evacuation preparedness for spiritual well-being, emotional well-being, and life satisfaction. No associations were found for mental health, social well-being, or gender; physical health was weakly negatively associated. Evacuation preparedness increased with age. Regression analyses showed that overall health and well-being explained 4.6-6.8% of the variance in evacuation preparedness. Spiritual well-being was the only QoL variable that significantly and uniquely explained variance in preparedness.ConclusionsHow well-being influences preparedness is complex and deeply personal. The data indicate that multidimensional readiness is essential, and meaningfulness is an important factor. Inadequate levels of tangible preparedness actions are accompanied by gaps in intangible readiness aspects, such as: 1) errors in perceived exposure to and salience of natural hazards, yielding circumscribed risk assessments; 2) unfamiliarity with the scope and span of preparedness; 3) underestimating disaster consequences; and 4) misinterpreting the personal resources required for self-managing disaster and uncertainty. Our results highlight that conceptualizing preparedness to include attitudes and behaviors of readiness, integrating well-being and meaningfulness into preparedness strategies, and prioritizing evacuation planning are critical for resiliency as a dynamic process and outcome.

Dataset Information

High Life Study protocol: a cross-sectional investigation of the influence of apartment building design policy on resident health and well-being.

Publications

High Life Study protocol: a cross-sectional investigation of the influence of apartment building design policy on resident health and well-being.

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