title: Linking social and built environmental factors to the health of public housing residents: a focus group study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Public housing residents have a high risk of chronic disease, which may be related to neighborhood environmental factors. Our objective was to understand how public housing residents perceive that the social and built environments might influence their health and wellbeing.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted focus groups of residents from a low-income public housing community in Baltimore, MD to assess their perceptions of health and neighborhood attributes, resources, and social structure. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two investigators independently coded transcripts for thematic content using editing style analysis technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight residents participated in six focus groups. All were African American and the majority were women. Most had lived in public housing for more than 5 years. We identified four themes: public housing's unhealthy physical environment limits health and wellbeing, the city environment limits opportunities for healthy lifestyle choices, lack of trust in relationships contributes to social isolation, and increased neighborhood social capital could improve wellbeing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Changes in housing and city policies might lead to improved environmental health conditions for public housing residents. Policymakers and researchers may consider promoting community cohesiveness to attempt to empower residents in facilitating neighborhood change.
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. ehaywar2@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Health Care, LLC, Baltimore, MD, USA. cibe2@jhu.edu.|Department of Health Policy and Management, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. cibe2@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Chidinma
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ibe
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. jhyoung@jhmi.edu.|Johns Hopkins Health Care, LLC, Baltimore, MD, USA. jhyoung@jhmi.edu.|Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. jhyoung@jhmi.edu.|Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. jhyoung@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Jeffery Hunter
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. karthya.potti@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Karthya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Potti
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. pauljonesiii@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. cpollac2@jhmi.edu.|Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. cpollac2@jhmi.edu.|Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. cpollac2@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Craig Evan
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pollack
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. gudzune@jhu.edu.|Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. gudzune@jhu.edu.|Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 2024 E. Monument St, Room 2-621, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. gudzune@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Gudzune
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D011638:Public Housing; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012931:Social Environment; D035502:Trust; D014505:Urban Population