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Health Concerns in South Philadelphia: A Community-Based Risk Assessment and Analysis of Multiple Exposures in a Historic Urban Setting
Citation:
Hibbert, K., J. Richmond-Bryant, C. Gross-Davis, J. Reyes, J. Essoka, J. Fry, AND A. Jarabeck. Health Concerns in South Philadelphia: A Community-Based Risk Assessment and Analysis of Multiple Exposures in a Historic Urban Setting. 2018 SRA Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 02 - 06, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
A Community-Based Risk Assessment and Analysis of Multiple Exposures in a Historic Urban Setting
Description:
South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a region of public health concern due to multiple sources of chemical exposures and population vulnerability. South Philadelphia has several possible pollution sources and exposure pathways that can contribute to the cumulative exposures that residents encounter. Historical exposure sources include a 150-year-old oil refinery still in operation, a navy shipyard that operated from 1859 to 1995, and a large railroad station. South Philadelphia is roughly 9.7 sq. miles and has densely populated low income residential neighborhoods that were historically enclaves of immigrant and African-American communities with a moderately high crime-rate. Recent neighborhood gentrification bred a rise in diversity of SES and ethnicities triggering changes in social structure. The goal of this study is to investigate how associations of air pollutant exposures with health risks among Philadelphia residents are modified by exposure to non-chemical stressors. Both quantitative (SEPA, Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey) and qualitative (focus groups) data have been collected for self-reported health status, demographic information, social behavioral tendencies, activity levels, acculturation, and perception of place-based stressors and risks. Air quality measurement data are being merged into the SEPA dataset in attempts of quantifying possible relationships. Analyses are first being performed to examine associations between self-reported health effects from SEPA and air pollutant data (PM2.5, O3, HAPs). Effect modification by social determinants of health is also being analyzed.
