Political and social determinants of health – @theU

Housing insecurity makes it difficult to be healthy

In my own work as a researcher, I examine how health and well-being are affected by homelessness, which is a social determinant of health. Lack of safe, stable, adequate and affordable housing directly affects the health of youth and adults.

In youth, it is associated with increased rates of depression, incarceration, and tobacco use. In adults, it is associated with poor physical and mental health, risk of drug addiction, violence, food insecurity and material deprivation.

During the outbreak, black and Hispanic families suffered. The greatest levels of housing instability Nationwide, including the threat of displacement.

While we know about ethnic and racial disparities in housing instability at the national level, there is little systematic data to understand the cultural, ethnic, and legal context of housing instability and its health consequences for Hispanic or Latino families.

I am a member An international team of researchers Examining the Impact of Housing Insecurity on Latino Family Health in Northern Nevada. Our work, supported by a Robert Wood Foundation Interdisciplinary Research (RWJF-IRL) award, seeks to clarify how housing security affects the health and well-being of Latino families.

Latino health is shaped by political and social factors such as language/cultural barriers, lack of preventive care, and lack of health insurance. for example, Latinos have the highest uninsured rates of any race or ethnicity in the US.. While 4 out of 5 Latinos are US citizens, non-citizens are excluded from all federal and many state and local aid sources. This includes housing support.