The Present State of Housing and Treatment of Transgender Incarcerated Persons.

The care and housing of transgender (TGD) incarcerated persons is a complex concern that is growing because of the increased recognition and diagnosis of gender dysphoria in society. To remain current in this evolving landscape, there have been updates to federal manuals and state guidelines regarding the medical care and housing of the TGD population. Since the publication by Glezer and colleagues in 2013, there has not been a comprehensive overview of current federal and state guidelines, and legal and other considerations on this topic. We provide an update with special consideration given to housing practices, safety, and access to care. A review of the literature shows that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards and Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requirements are not uniformly implemented and enforced on a state level. In fact, some states have policies that are in direct conflict with federal requirements. The safety and equitable treatment of both TGD and cisgender populations is an important topic that merits attention. As new challenges emerge, an increase in federal enforcement and consistency is needed to ensure the humane treatment and protection of TGD inmates.

Can big data increase our knowledge of local rental markets? A dataset on the rental sector in France.

Social Scientists and policy makers need precise data on market rents. Yet, while housing prices are systematically recorded, few accurate data sets on rents are available. In this paper, we present a new data set describing local rental markets in France based on online ads collected through to webscraping. Comparison with alternate sources reveals that online ads provide a non biased picture of rental markets and allow coverage of the whole territory. We then estimate hedonic models for prices and rents and document the spatial variations in rent-price ratios. We show that rents do not increase as much as prices in the tightest housing markets. We use our dataset to estimate the market rent of each transaction and of social dwellings. In the latter case,this allows us to estimate the in-kind benefit received by social tenants which is mainly driven by the level of private rent in their municipality.

Housing and asthma disparities.

The burden of asthma disproportionately affects minority and low-income communities, resulting in racial and socioeconomic disparities in asthma prevalence, asthma exacerbations, and asthma-related death. Social determinants of health are increasingly implicated as root causes of disparities, and healthy housing is perhaps the most critical social determinant in asthma health disparities. In many minority communities, poor housing conditions and value are a legacy of historical policies and practices imbued with structural racism, including redlining, displacement, and exclusionary zoning. As a result, poor-quality, substandard housing is a characteristic feature of many underrepresented minority communities. Consequently, structurally deficient housing stock cultivates home environments rife with indoor asthma triggers. In this review we consider the historical context of urban housing policies and practices and how these policies and practices have contributed to the substandard housing conditions for many minoritized children in the present day. We describe the impact of poor housing quality on asthma and interventions that have attempted to mitigate its influence on asthma symptoms and health care utilization. We discuss the need to promote asthma health equity by reinvesting in these neighborhoods and communities to provide healthy housing.

Expiring Eviction Moratoriums and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated economic crisis have placed millions of US households at risk of eviction. Evictions may accelerate COVID-19 transmission by decreasing individuals' ability to socially distance. We leveraged variation in the expiration of eviction moratoriums in US states to test for associations between evictions and COVID-19 incidence and mortality. The study included 44 US states that instituted eviction moratoriums, followed from March 13 to September 3, 2020. We modeled associations using a difference-in-difference approach with an event-study specification. Negative binomial regression models of cases and deaths included fixed effects for state and week and controlled for time-varying indicators of testing, stay-at-home orders, school closures, and mask mandates. COVID-19 incidence and mortality increased steadily in states after eviction moratoriums expired, and expiration was associated with a doubling of COVID-19 incidence (incidence rate ratio = 2.1; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 3.9) and a 5-fold increase in COVID-19 mortality (mortality rate ratio = 5.4; CI: 3.1, 9.3) 16 weeks after moratoriums lapsed. These results imply an estimated 433,700 excess cases (CI: 365,200, 502,200) and 10,700 excess deaths (CI: 8,900, 12,500) nationally by September 3, 2020. The expiration of eviction moratoriums was associated with increased COVID-19 incidence and mortality, supporting the public-health rationale for eviction prevention to limit COVID-19 cases and deaths.

The effect of eviction moratoria on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Massive unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic could result in an eviction crisis in US cities. Here we model the effect of evictions on SARS-CoV-2 epidemics, simulating viral transmission within and among households in a theoretical metropolitan area. We recreate a range of urban epidemic trajectories and project the course of the epidemic under two counterfactual scenarios, one in which a strict moratorium on evictions is in place and enforced, and another in which evictions are allowed to resume at baseline or increased rates. We find, across scenarios, that evictions lead to significant increases in infections. Applying our model to Philadelphia using locally-specific parameters shows that the increase is especially profound in models that consider realistically heterogenous cities in which both evictions and contacts occur more frequently in poorer neighborhoods. Our results provide a basis to assess eviction moratoria and show that policies to stem evictions are a warranted and important component of COVID-19 control.

Housing problems in a changing society: regulation and training needs in Italy.

The paper focuses on the social, economic and environmental trends of recent years in Italy, highlighting the issue of housing emergency, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. What emerges are several shortages in housing especially in the suburbs of large cities, emphasizing the relevance of this issue in terms of health consequences and its priority for the definition of local policies. The authors underline that the availability of accessible and healthy housing is a human right, and a multisectoral responsibility, achievable only if a contribution is made by all relevant sectors including housing, environmental, social welfare, urban planning, building management and public health. The authors conclude by stressing the strategic role of training and illustrating a proposal addressed to all stakeholders, aiming to provide health evidences in terms of impact of housing hazards on health and to describe good building practices, helpful in order to obtain safe and healthy homes.

From building regulations and local health rules to the new local building codes: a national survey in Italy on the prescriptive and performance requirements for a new performance approach.

BACKGROUND: World Health Organization has highlighted the need to strengthen the relationship between health and built environment factors, such as inappropriate housing conditions. Building Regulations and Local Health Rules provide safety and building hygiene in construction practices. Currently the Italian Government is giving rise to a Building Regulation Type and the paper aims to verify the present contents of recent innovative Local Health Rules and Building Regulations of several Italian municipalities for supporting the performance approach of the future Building Regulations including hygienic issues. METHODS: The analysis examines both Building Regulations and Local Health Rules of a sample of about 550 cities, analysing some specific fields of interest: urban field, outdoor issues, housing features, housing restrictions, and qualitative aspects. RESULTS: The analysis focuses on some specific aspects defining the general data reported in Building Regulations and Local Health Rules, in particular around surfaces, heights, lighting and aeration ratio, basements and semi-basements, gas radon, building greenery, etc. CONCLUSION: The investigation permitted to have a wide vision on the present State of the Art in order to highlight some innovative aspects and design approaches of Building Regulations and Local Health Rules. New perspectives in the new regulations should have a performance approach, starting also from the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Hygienic and sanitary standards of housing in Europe: a comparative analysis of nine countries.

In recent years, growing interest was devoted to housing conditions from both scientific community and public health, so they are now considered among the main environmental and social health determinants of health of the population. Aim of the study is to analyze and compare the current regulations regarding housing sanitary requirements in different Countries of the EU (Sweden, United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain) with the contents of the Italian Health Ministerial Decree 5th July 1975. From the websites of the official channels of the various countries the regulations have been downloaded. For the comparison, only the aspects of BCs concerning the scale of the building were examined; the comparison concerned all the requirements of the Health Ministerial Decree of 5.07.1975 and some other parameters (e.g. indoor chemical pollution, ionizing radiation, non-ionizing radiation) not provided for in the Ministerial Decree, treated in the other standards regulations, and relevant for the indoor well-being of the occupants. The authors observe a wide variability in the contents and in the formulation of the hygienic-sanitary requirements among the different Building Codes, above all as regards the dimensional data and some fundamental themes (e.g. heating systems, mechanical ventilation) whose treatment is often not it is updated with respect to the technological-scientific innovation consolidated over the past few years. A diverse approach among European Countries is also observed: from a market-oriented logic (e.g. UK), to a prescriptive one (Italy), to a functionality-oriented (the Netherlands). The comparative analysis we carried out made it possible to identify convergences and divergences in the standards analysed for the different European countries. As far as the Italian legislation on the usability of residential premises, finally, considering the health, social, environmental and economic trends, many standards contained in the MD 5th July 1975 should be reviewed and updated.

Towards an update of the Italian Ministerial Decree July 5th, 1975.

In recent years, the Scientific Community and the Public Health world, in general, have devoted increasing interest to housing conditions, which are considered, to date, one of the main environmental and social determinants of the population's health. In particular, the Scientific Community has identified and studied various indoor well-being factors (e.g. lighting, temperature, ventilation, air quality, etc.). Some of these factors have been regulated by laws and regulations at various levels: the availability of clear and updated health requirements dictated by the regulations is fundamental to effectively protect public health, especially in confined environments. In the present work, we propose a revision of the Italian Ministerial Decree of July 5th, 1975 titled Modificazioni alle istruzioni ministeriali 20 giugno 1896 relativamente all'altezza minima ed ai requisiti igienico sanitari principali dei locali d'abitazione (Modifications to the ministerial instructions of June 20th, 1896 regarding the minimum height and the main hygienic-sanitary requirements of living spaces) in order to update the definition of the essential elements that qualify a space as habitable from the hygienic-sanitary point of view, taking into account the evidence gathered from the technical and scientific literature on the requirements and contents of the Building Codes of the major European countries.

A proposal of hygienic and sanitary standards for the new Building Code in Italy.

The traditional emphasis of Public Health on the type and quality of housing today merges with other wider determinants of health such as: the neighbourhood, the community and the "place" where a home is located, but also the policies that make access to a healthy home within everyone's reach. At the neighbourhood scale, context-related aspects heavily influence the internal quality and real usability of the buildings themselves, with particular reference to factors such as the quality of the site, the relationship between the building and the context, the presence and quality of the greenery and open spaces surrounding the building, as well as all measures that make it possible to reduce the building's impact on the environment, to protect it against environmental pollution, and to manage the building in an integrated manner for maintenance purposes. Creating healthy living environments means referring to the different dimensions mentioned above, and this not only requires the attention of Public Health operators, but also implies an integration of vision and objectives among various professional skills and competences that puts health at the center of all policies. This proposal, which starts from the analysis of existing local hygiene regulations and scientific literature, aims to take stock of a number of areas considered fundamental for the assessment of building hygiene aspects, with particular reference to the eco-sustainability of buildings and adaptation to climate change. The aspects identified can be considered as a starting point for the preparation of integrated building and hygiene regulations based on documented effective practices for the protection of Public Health.

Clinical Features of Disaster-Associated Direct Deaths during Recent Inland Earthquakes in Japan.

Natural disasters, including earthquakes, cause disaster-associated direct deaths due to hazards and disaster-related deaths. This study was a retrospective and observational study that explored the effect of natural disasters on direct death. Although research reports on disaster-related deaths are common, there are few reports of disaster-associated direct death caused by events, such as house collapses, fires, and sediment-related factors. The amendment of the Building Standards Law in 1981 has made Japanese building standards more stringent. We sought to examine the determinants of the number of disaster-associated direct deaths during recent inland earthquakes in Japan. Following 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes (April 14, 21:26 [magnitude (M) 6.5], April 15, 0:03 [M 6.4], and April 16, 1:25 [M 7.3] and the subsequent numerous aftershocks), police necropsies confirmed 50 disaster-associated direct deaths (28 women [56%]). Thirty-four victims (68%) were elderly people 65 years of age or older, and 38 victims (76%) died as a result of a collapsed house. These percentages are consistent with those associated with recent inland earthquake disasters in Japan. The main finding was a linear correlation between the number of completely collapsed houses and the number of deaths due to house collapse during recent inland earthquakes in Japan (P = 0.02). It is suggested that the maintenance of houses may be important in reducing the number of disaster-associated direct deaths during inland earthquakes. The amendment of the Building Standards Law might reduce the number of disaster-associated direct deaths during inland earthquakes.

[An older woman in the local community in Russia: the neighborhood, non-government organizations and the public utilities sector.]

The article probes into the development of local self-organization of retired women, actively involved in resolving housing issues at their place of residence in Saint-Petersburg. The socio-spatial approach to aging, also referred to as «aging in a place / in a community¼ serves the theoretical framework. This type of aging requires an active approach to the habitual environment of the elderly and their support. It is the groups of older women that generate activists who have free time and the necessary competencies and who are ready to promote the interests of all the residents of an apartment building, a neighborhood or a district. Therefore, the empirical basis of the article was mainly the materials of interviews with women activists. In the public utilities system full of intricate semi-legal schemes, invisible and incomprehensible to the majority of ordinary citizens, activists are not always able to enter into an equitable dialogue with the controlling bodies and public utilities managers. In order to make insignificant changes, older activists are sometimes required to take tremendous efforts and develop new competencies which help to overcome barriers and to defend the collective interests.

Psychosocial and Mental Health Characteristics of RePresent Game Users.

The RePresent games are online video games that are publicly available and designed to educate people about legal self-representation in civil court. This study was part of a project to examine use of the RePresent games in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire from January 2018 to May 2018. Data on game use across the four states were analyzed, and an online survey was conducted to examine characteristics of RePresent game users and nonusers seeking civil legal aid (n = 277). The RePresent games were accessed more than 7,000 times in five months. The most common legal problems reported were related to debt, family, and housing. Compared with nonusers, RePresent game users were significantly more likely to be nonwhite, to have an incarceration history, to have more legal problems, and to screen positive for alcohol use problems. In the total sample, 83 percent screened positive for depression, 81 percent for generalized anxiety disorder, and 45 percent for drug problems. Only 34 percent reported use of mental health services, and 17 percent reported substance abuse treatment in the past year. These findings demonstrate that products like the RePresent games can be widely accessible to adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, civil legal settings may be a new area for mental health screening and intervention.

Mapping Housing Laws in the United States: A Resource for Evaluating Housing Policies' Impacts on Health.

CONTEXT: Safe, stable housing is essential to good health. Housing hazards, including mold, vermin, and lead, can contribute to the development or exacerbation of chronic illnesses such as asthma and neurological disorders. In addition, eviction has been associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes. There are many laws aimed at maintaining healthy housing, or protecting access to stable housing, but their impacts are mostly unknown. POLICY: Using scientific legal mapping, the Center for Public Health Law Research (the Center) created legal data sets on state landlord-tenant laws, state fair housing laws, and city nuisance property ordinances. These data sets track the incidence and key features of these laws, creating legal data that can be used for evaluation. Some important elements of these laws include property maintenance duties; protections against retaliation; protected classes under state fair housing laws; discriminatory acts prohibited by state fair housing laws; types of conduct that constitute nuisance activity; and required nuisance abatement actions. IMPLEMENTATION AND/OR DISSEMINATION: As of August 1, 2017, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have a state landlord-tenant law; all states except Mississippi have a state fair housing law; and 37 of the 40 most populous US cities have a local nuisance property ordinance. EVALUATION: Evaluation of these laws is needed to determine their effectiveness and impacts and to spread the use of evidence-based policies. The creation of these legal data sets is the first step toward evaluation. DISCUSSION: Law can play an important role in promoting healthy housing, but evaluating the law is essential to determining its impact. Tracking the prevalence and key elements of laws is an important first step in conducting evaluation. The legal data created by the Center can be used to evaluate the efficacy and impacts of state landlord-tenant laws, state fair housing protections, and city nuisance property ordinances.

Does the separation from marital partners of Syrian refugees with a residence permit in Germany have an impact on their quality of life?

OBJECTIVE: Around 700,000 Syrian refugees live in Germany, most of them having come alone since 2015 as asylum seekers and waiting in Germany for family reunification. This study focused on separation from marital partner and its impact on quality of life among Syrian refugees with a residence permit. METHODS: For the present investigation, we included only married participants of a larger registry-based study. Therefore, we analyzed 119 participants; 93 of them were married, and their partner accompanied them in Germany at the time of the investigation (partner+), while a further 26 were married but separated from their partner (partner-). The respondents were investigated for mental stress, quality of life and protective factors. RESULTS: The partner- group reported significantly lower quality of life in the domains of psychological and social health in comparison to the partner+ group. Higher general quality of life was associated with higher social support, higher sense of coherence and fewer symptoms of depression. Predictors for a higher quality of life were male gender, fewer symptoms of depression, a higher sense of coherence, higher perceived social support and living together with the marital partner. CONCLUSION: Family separation of Syrian refugees with a residence permit in Germany can have an impact on their quality of life. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our results and determine the long-term effects of family separation.

Resetting Policies to End Family Homelessness.

Homelessness is a devastating experience for children and their families. Families, the majority of whose members are children, now comprise more than one-third of the overall US homeless population. Most of these children are less than six years old. Various assumptions have driven policy and the allocation of resources to programs serving these families. Although decades of research and field experience suggest strategies for preventing and reducing this problem, perspectives differ, hindering the development of effective solutions. In this article, we explore some of these assumptions, including (a) definitions of homelessness used to count the numbers of families and determine resource allocation, (b) the needs of children and responses to the impact of adverse childhood experiences, and (c) whether services matter and should be integrated with affordable housing. We conclude by suggesting various directions to ensure that these children are protected and have the opportunity to grow and thrive.