Presenting Author: Pui Ying Chan, MPH, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

ABSTRACT

Background: Gentrification is a process of urban development whereby resource-deprived neighborhoods are revitalized via an influx of affluent, educated residents, resulting in displacement of poorer residents, disrupted social ties, and increased stress. Few studies have explored the association between gentrification and health. We assessed the impact of displacement on healthcare utilization in New York City (NYC).

Methods: We used 2006-2014 New York State Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System data to identify persons having ≥1 emergency department (ED) visit or hospitalization and a NYC address at least every 2 years since 2006. Displaced persons were defined as those who resided in gentrifying neighborhoods in 2006 and ever moved to poor, non-gentrifying neighborhoods at subsequent visits (n=3,032). The comparison group included persons consistently residing in gentrifying neighborhoods (n=9,941). Inverse probability weighting was used to balance baseline (defined as first movement date for displaced group and 2009 for comparison group) demographics and clinical characteristics between the two groups. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for post-baseline ED visits, hospitalizations, and psychiatric visits were calculated using doubly-robust negative binomial regression.

Results: Displaced persons were more likely to be men, younger, and have mental illness at baseline than the comparison group (p<0.001). After weighting, displaced persons had more ED visits (IRR=1.1 [1.0-1.2]), hospitalizations (IRR=1.3 [1.2-1.4]), and psychiatric visits (IRR=1.7 [1.4-2.0]) post-baseline than the comparison group.

Implications:Persons displaced from gentrifying neighborhoods had more ED visits and hospitalizations, particularly due to mental illness. Further analyses are needed to explore causal pathways, especially the role of mental illness.

Authors: Pui Ying Chan, MPH; Sung woo Lim, MA, MS, DrPH; Sarah Walters, MPH; Gretchen Culp, PhD; Mary Huynh, PhD; and Hannah Gould, PhD.