275054 Healthy People 2020: Evaluating the health and safety impact of greening

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM

Charlie Branas, PhD , Professor of Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
Background: The University of Pennsylvania‘s Perelman School of Medicine collaborates with the Philadelphia LandCare Program (PLP) to determine the effectiveness of greening. The University of Pennsylvania has been studying the impact of PLP on criminal activity and measures of health for over a decade. Objectives/Purpose: This presentation will explain how the University of Pennsylvania and PLP collaborate to evaluate the program, and include the broader community in the evaluation design. The presentation will also present initial evaluation results and plans for future evaluation. Methods: The University of Pennsylvania conducted a decade-long analysis of the impact of a vacant lot greening program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on health and safety outcomes. Results: A recent study demonstrated that greening was associated with a significant reduction in gun assaults from 1999 to 2008. This study also showed that vacant lot greening was associated with residents reporting less stress and more exercise in select sections of the city, Discussion/Conclusions: Greening vacant lots may be a low-cost, replicable mechanism for addressing neighborhood livability, public health, and safety in blighted neighborhoods.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Describe the results from the Philadelphia LandCare Program evaluation and future planned evaluations. Articulate the importance of evaluation in public health.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am PI on federally funded grants evaluating the vacant lot greening programs under discussion.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3215.1: Who's Leading the Leading Health Indicators?: Harnessing Community Action to Address Social Determinants of Health