Housing and Racial Health Inequalities
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Housing and Racial Health Inequalities
The U.S. has been subject to criticism over the discrimination of minorities in housing and the potential dangers associated with the trend. Chambers et al. (2019) performed a cross-sectional study to examine the relationship between homeownership, mortgage recovery, and the risk of cardiovascular disease among Hispanics and Latinos. The research was encouraged by the inconsistencies in past investigations regarding the contribution of foreclosure stress and heart disease risk factors as hypertension, smoking, and high cholesterol. Previous research on the subject confirmed that mortgage foreclosures could have adverse health effects on the affected people and the community at large, hence the need to assess the nature of the interaction between the involved variables.
The study population was a community-based cohort of 16,415 Hispanic/Latino people aged between 18 and 74 years across cities in Miami, New York, Bronx, and Chicago. Baseline measurements were conducted from 2008 to 2011, focusing on sociodemographic, biological, and behavioral evaluations. Sample selection targeted individuals who owned homes, tenants paying rent, and people without historical cardiovascular disease. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics for all variables. Poisson regression frameworks were employed to assess frequency ratios for hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and smoking tendencies. Further stratified investigations were conducted to scrutinize the link between foreclosure risk and cardiovascular illness contributing factors. Necessary adjustments were made to account for the influence of sociodemographic factors.
The results of the study indicated that most of the participants (74%) were tenants in areas with a high mortgage foreclosure risk, while homeowners were mainly in regions with a low mortgage recovery risk. Unadjusted data confirmed that an increase in a unit risk of foreclosure resulted in a surge of cardiovascular disease risk factors such as smoking or hypertension. Such tendencies were mainly associated with tenants than homeowners. The outcomes of the study demonstrate the interplay between the risk of mortgage foreclosure and the economic instability of regions, factors that increase stress-related negative behaviors as well as limiting the ability of people to access health care resources. Hence, health care policy interventions should target areas with a high risk of mortgage foreclosure to help the residents to lead a healthy lifestyle.
References
Chambers, E. C., Hanna, D. B., Hua, S., Duncan, D. T., Camacho-Rivera, M., Zenk, S. N., … Gallo, L. C. (2019). Relationship between area mortgage foreclosures, homeownership, and cardiovascular disease risk factors: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1–8. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6412-2