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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Carrie E. Fesperman, MPH, MRP, Health Behavior Health Education/City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 125 Purefoy Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, 919-637-7759, carrief@email.unc.edu

Public transportation systems are traditionally evaluated using service efficiency or cost-effectiveness indicators. Consequently, the social impacts of transportation services are often overlooked and under-prioritized in agency funding decisions. This pilot study explores the social impacts of public transportation on a vulnerable subgroup of transit users, victims of domestic violence. In the United States, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women ages 15-44 years, more than injury from car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Domestic violence victims generally have increased need for accessing health services and social services. Unfortunately, restricting or denying access to personal transportation is a common tool of abusive partners to isolate women from basic needs and services as well as from potential support networks. Public transportation, or the lack thereof, can therefore play a disproportionately influential role in the lives of these women. Interviews with clients (N=6) and staff (N=2) of a domestic violence prevention agency located in Orange County, NC were used to collect data about how transportation affected the lives of victims. NVIVO software was used to conduct content analysis of the interviews. Results indicated: 1) inadequate access to public transportation influences victims' ability to access needed services; 2) victims in rural areas are more adversely affected by lack of transportation; 3) victims experience multiple barriers to using public transportation; and 4) transportation greatly influences victims' sense of isolation, experience of abuse, and perceived ability to leave. The data generated establishes the need for further exploration of the social impacts of transportation.

Learning Objectives:

• - Examine the equity impacts of service evaluation methods employed by transit agencies
• - Discuss how limited access to personal transportation or public transit can affect vulnerable populations’ access to care and general well-being
• - Assess potential ramifications for policy and program decisions of transit agencies and other community providers

Keywords: Access to Care, Social Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered