someone's health, finances and other individual factors impact their wellbeing. but their environment (open spaces, community) also matters.
preventing chronic disease (pcd) is a peer-reviewed electronic journal established by the national center for chronic disease prevention and health promotion. pcd provides an open exchange of information and knowledge among researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and others who strive to improve the health of the public through chronic disease prevention.
inclusive neighbourhood grants trafford council’s inclusive neighbourhood grant and community cohesion grant schemes, provide residents and community organisations with the opportunity to apply for funding to deliver a community event or project. throughout 2020, £100,000 is available to residents and community groups through the inclusive neighbourhood grant scheme. grants will come in two sizes – […]
despite longstanding ideas in sociology and related disciplines that hold rural life as being more communal and harmonious, little is known about the ways that social cohesion is defined or distribut
to examine the role of neighborhood social conditions and walking in community-dwelling older adults. a multi-level analysis of data from 4,317 older adults (mean age = 74.5; 73% black) from a geographically-defined urban community. participants ...
definition and purpose of community cohesion index (cci) the community cohesion index (cci) is a statistical measure that is used
dr. anouk tersteeg and dr. gideon bolt from utrecht university explore the opportunities ahead for social cohesion in diverse and deprived neighbourhoods
international youth day will be held on august 12 and it returns on an extremely crucial point for cities: the active integration and participation of young people in social dynamics. why is it so important?
new research turns received wisdom about the effect which diversity has on local communities.
united states research concludes concentrations of latinos/latinas and african americans have a negative impact on neighborhood social cohesion (nsc); however, european research finds higher levels of nsc when controlling for measures of concentrated disadvantage. this study utilizes a longitudinal stratified random sample of 7,495 households in 430 census blocks within 10 united states cities that participated in the making connections initiative. results show higher nsc is associated with higher percentages of residents who are latino/latina, african american, and homeowners when controlling for measures of concentrated disadvantage. the study findings challenge the stigma associated with concentrations of racial minorities in neighborhoods.
guidance on the six facets that can provide a useful framework for schools to develop their work to promote community cohesion.
a theme within our cep community wellbeing programme. find out more about our research and staff working on community cohesion
neighbourhood cohesion is a concept describing the residents’ sense of community, engagement in acts of neighbouring, and attractiveness of living in the neighbourhood. since 2000’s the term ‘cohesion’ has also been used in geography and in spatial policy to represent the distribution of functions and opportunities in space. the two approaches seem be complementary, but they lack consistency and appropriate conceptual framework. this paper aims at developing an integrated methodological framework which will include both social and spatial aspects of cohesion at the local level. its empirical content refers to studies conducted in 2017–2019 in five locations in poland. three methods of spatial analysis are presented depicting various aspects of territorial cohesion of a neighbourhood: functional balance, accessibility of facilities and match between supply and demand. such approach enables effective measurement and comparison of neighbourhoods representing various settlement types. the results show that the highest levels of cohesion were obtained for large cities where the density of amenities is the highest, and the lowest levels were noted in suburban settlements which confirms their malfunctioning character. the paper concludes with a critical revision of the concept of neighbourhood cohesion which can serve as a guideline for local urban policy.
background neighborhood factors of social isolation have been understudied, hindering efforts to reduce social isolation at the neighborhood level. this study aims to investigate the longitudinal effects of neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder on social isolation in community-dwelling older adults, as well as to examine whether race/ethnicity moderates the neighborhood-isolation relationship. methods we used 11-year data from the national health and aging trend study, a longitudinal national study of medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older. social isolation was measured through a summary score across four domains: marital/partner status, family and friend contact, religious attendance, and club participation. a series of weighted mixed-effects logistic regression models were performed to test the study aims. sample sizes ranged from 7,303 to 7,291 across individual domains of social isolation. results approximately 20% of participants reported social isolation. findings indicated a negative association between neighborhood social cohesion and social isolation. higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion were longitudinally associated with lower odds of social isolation (odds ratio [or] = 0.52, 95% ci: 0.47–0.58). yet, the presence of neighborhood physical disorder was associated with an increased risk of overall social isolation ([or] = 1.2, 95% ci: 1.00, 1.44). race/ethnicity significantly moderated the effects of neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder on social isolation. the odds of no in-person visits associated with neighborhood social cohesion are smaller among black adults compared to white adults. black adults had constantly lower odds of isolation from religious attendance compared to white adults regardless of the level of neighborhood social cohesion. hispanic adults had decreased odds of having no friends associated with signs of physical disorder, while no associations were found among older white adults. white adults had higher odds of isolation from in-person visits when living in neighborhoods with signs of physical disorder, whereas no association was observed among older black and hispanic adults. conclusions this study elucidates the role of neighborhood characteristics in shaping social isolation dynamics among older adults. furthermore, the observed moderation effects of race/ethnicity suggest the need for culturally sensitive interventions tailored to address social isolation within specific neighborhood and racial contexts.
research has shown that in socially fragmented neighbourhoods, people at risk of schizophrenia are less likely to receive the support they need to prevent them from developing psychosis.
findings from wave 4 of a telephone survey we commissioned to better understand the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on people in scotland
background neighborhood social cohesion (nsc) is the network of relationships as well as the shared values and norms of residents in a neighborhood. higher nsc has been associated with improved cardiovascular health, largely among whites but not african americans. in a bi-racial cohort, we aimed to study the association between nsc and chronic disease awareness and engagement in healthy self-management behaviors, two potential mechanisms by which nsc could impact cardiovascular health outcomes. methods using the healthy aging in neighborhoods of diversity across the lifespan study (handls), we cross-sectionally examined the association between nsc and awareness of three chronic conditions (diabetes, chronic kidney disease (ckd), and hypertension) and engagement in healthy self-management behaviors including physical activity, healthy eating, and cigarette avoidance. results study participants (n = 2082) had a mean age of 56.5 years; 38.7% were white and 61.4% african american. of the participants, 26% had diabetes, 70% had hypertension and 20.2% had ckd. mean nsc was 3.3 (sd = 0.80) on a scale of 1 (lowest score) to 5 (highest score). there was no significant association between nsc and any chronic disease awareness, overall or by race. however, each higher point in mean nsc score was associated with less cigarette use and healthier eating scores, among whites (adjusted odds ratio [aor], 95% confidence interval [ci]: =0.76, 0.61–0.94; beta coefficient [βc]:, 95% ci: 1.75; 0.55–2.97, respectively) but not african americans (aor = 0.95, 0.79–1.13; βc: 0.46, − 0.48–1.39, respectively; pinteraction = 0.08 and 0.06). among both whites and african americans, higher nsc scores were associated with increases in self-reported physical activity (βc: 0.12; 0.08–0.16; pinteraction = 0.40). conclusions community engagement and neighborhood social cohesion may be important targets for promotion of healthy behaviors and cardiovascular disease prevention. more research is needed to understand the different associations of nsc and healthy behaviors by race.