In: Bulletin of the World Health Organization: the international journal of public health = Bulletin de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé, Band 89, Heft 6, S. 422-431
In: Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology: SPPE ; the international journal for research in social and genetic epidemiology and mental health services
Abstract Purpose Recent evidence shows that loneliness is associated with socioeconomic factors. However, studies often focus on traditional socioeconomic indicators (income, occupation, educational level) only, disregarding other important socioeconomic determinants, such as job insecurity, housing conditions or material deprivation. Therefore, we analyse the association of a broad range of socioeconomic indicators with loneliness. Moreover, we investigate potential age and gender differences in this relationship.
Methods We used cross-sectional data from the Barcelona Health Survey 2021, representative of the population of Barcelona (Spain). Individuals over the age of 14 were selected (n = 3,337). The outcome was a loneliness score based on 4 items of the UCLA scale. Loneliness was regressed on a series of sociodemographic and emerging socioeconomic correlates. Linear regression models were fitted, and potential age and gender moderation effects were tested by means of two-way interactions.
Results Job insecurity and precarity-related factors, such as having a temporary job or working without a contract, material deprivation and financial difficulties, as well as poor housing conditions and facing housing insecurity were associated with increased loneliness levels. While the association between loneliness and precarity-related factors is stronger among younger individuals, material deprivation is associated with increased loneliness among older workers and women.
Conclusion Beyond sociodemographic individual characteristics, socioeconomic factors are strongly associated with loneliness levels in the population. Findings support the relevance of broadening the scope of socioeconomic indicators, assessing both material conditions as well as perceived insecurity.
International audience ; This paper aims at assessing the effectiveness of introducing road safety onto the political agenda in the year 2004 – and the overall effect of the road safety measures implemented thereafter - on the number of road traffic injured people in Spain.
Existe abundante información e investigaciones sobre las desigualdades en salud en Barcelona, pero este tema no estuvo claramente priorizado en la agenda política. Con la llegada al gobierno de un partido de la nueva izquierda (Barcelona en Comú) en 2015 hubo un impulso importante de la agenda política para reducir las desigualdades, también las de salud. El objetivo de esta revisión es describir el avance realizado respecto a las desigualdades en salud en estos 4 años, sobre todo en los ámbitos donde ha participado la salud pública. Respecto a la evidencia y la comunicación sobre las desigualdades en salud, se presentan los avances en el Informe Anual de Salud de Barcelona y la creación del Observatorio de Salud, Desigualdades e Impactos de las Políticas Municipales. Las políticas que se presentan se refieren a diferentes estrategias municipales, el Plan de Salud, el impulso del programa Barcelona Salud en los Barrios y el Plan para el Abordaje de las Desigualdades en la Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona. La conjunción de la voluntad política, la capacidad técnica y el impulso de la ciudadanía han facilitado un avance en la ciudad de Barcelona en las políticas para reducir las desigualdades sociales en salud. ; There is a wealth of information and research on health inequalities in Barcelona, but this issue has not been clearly prioritised on the political agenda. The arrival in government of a new left-wing party (Barcelona en Comú) in 2015, gave an important boost to the political agenda to reduce inequalities and health inequalities. The aim of this review is to describe the progress made in relation to health inequalities in these four years and especially in the areas involving public health. With respect to evidence and communication on health inequalities, the progress made is presented in the Barcelona annual health report and the creation of the Observatory on Health, Inequalities and Impacts of Municipal Policies. The policies presented refer to different municipal strategies, the Health Plan, the promotion of the Barcelona Health in the Neighbourhoods programme and the Plan for Tackling Inequalities in the Barcelona Public Health Agency. The combination of political will, technical capacity and the drive of citizens have facilitated progress in the city of Barcelona in policies to reduce social inequalities in health.
Background: Car-dependent city planning has resulted in high levels of environmental pollution, sedentary lifestyles and increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change. The Barcelona Superblock model is an innovative urban and transport planning strategy that aims to reclaim public space for people, reduce motorized transport, promote sustainable mobility and active lifestyles, provide urban greening and mitigate effects of climate change. We estimated the health impacts of implementing this urban model across Barcelona. Methods: We carried out a quantitative health impact assessment (HIA) study for Barcelona residents ≥20 years (N = 1,301,827) on the projected Superblock area level (N = 503), following the comparative risk assessment methodology. We 1) estimated expected changes in (a) transport-related physical activity (PA), (b) air pollution (NO2), (c) road traffic noise, (d) green space, and (e) reduction of the urban heat island (UHI) effect through heat reductions; 2) scaled available risk estimates; and 3) calculated attributable health impact fractions. Estimated endpoints were preventable premature mortality, changes in life expectancy and economic impacts. Results: We estimated that 667 premature deaths (95% CI: 235-1,098) could be prevented annually through implementing the 503 Superblocks. The greatest number of preventable deaths could be attributed to reductions in NO2 (291, 95% PI: 0-838), followed by noise (163, 95% CI: 83-246), heat (117, 95% CI: 101-137), and green space development (60, 95% CI: 0-119). Increased PA for an estimated 65,000 persons shifting car/motorcycle trips to public and active transport resulted in 36 preventable deaths (95% CI: 26-50). The Superblocks were estimated to result in an average increase in life expectancy for the Barcelona adult population of almost 200 days (95% CI: 99-297), and result in an annual economic impact of 1.7 billion EUR (95% CI: 0.6-2.8). Discussion: The Barcelona Superblocks were estimated to help reduce harmful environmental exposures (i.e. air pollution, noise, and heat) while simultaneously increase PA levels and access to green space, and thereby provide substantial health benefits. For an equitable distribution of health benefits, the Superblocks should be implemented consistently across the entire city. Similar health benefits are expected for other cities that face similar challenges of environmental pollution, climate change vulnerability and low PA levels, by adopting the Barcelona Superblock model. ; We would like to thank Maria Foraster for helpful advice on the noise analyses and Glòria Carrasco for taking the pictures of the Sant Antoni Superblock. JB gratefully acknowledges funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No 727852 (project Blue-Action), 730004 (project PUCS) and 737480 (Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship ACCLIM). The climate-fit. city is developed as part of the PUCS project, which has received funding from the European Union's H2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 73004.