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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Gary Klein, PhD¹, Nicole Dreisbach, BA², Francine Axler, MPH², Abdul Beraima, PhD¹, and Lynne Kotranski, PhD³. (1) IS, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, 260 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-985-2564, gary@phmc.org, (2) Research and Evaluation, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, 260 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, (3) Vice President, Research and Evaluation, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, 260 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102

Do low-income residents derive any health equity from residing in gentrifying communities? Two ethnically diverse and adjacent Philadelphia neighborhoods, Northern Liberties and West Kensington, have recently experienced significant gentrification. This has led to increased socioeconomic heterogeneity within these neighborhoods, a phenomenon that some laud as beneficial to the community at-large. Northern Liberties/West Kensington is one of only three neighborhood areas in Philadelphia (out of 45) that have over 40% of its residents living in poverty and over 30% living above 200% of the poverty level (U.S. Census). Analysis of PHMC's 2004 Household Health Survey, a biannual survey of over 10,000 households in southeastern Pennsylvania, 4000 of which are in Philadelphia, reveals that diabetes, and factors that trigger diabetes, such as obesity and lack of exercise, are especially predominant among the poor in Northern Liberties/West Kensington. For instance, 34.5% of poor adults in these neighborhoods reported diabetes in 2004, compared to 12.0% of the non-poor within the same neighborhoods (p < .05), and compared to 17.6% of the poor in other Philadelphia neighborhoods (p < .05). These findings hold controlling for age, and the pattern is similar for obesity and exercise. In sum, although these neighborhoods are near higher income areas and have socioeconomic heterogeneity, the health of the poor not only lags behind the non-poor within the same neighborhoods, but also behind the poor in other Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply census and city property data to measure socioeconomic heterogeneity and gentrification.
• Recognize the links among gentrification, socioeconomic heterogeneity and health equity.
• Describe diabetes discrepancies between the poor and non-poor in a gentrified neighborhood.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Poverty

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered