News by Subject Social & Behavior

A pair of studies conducted at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health found reasons and possible solutions to improve low-income residents' access to fresh, local produce at farmers markets.

Making the buildings in neighbourhoods more diverse through mixed residential and commercial developments also makes it too expensive for many people to live in.

When families don't have stable housing, their risk of struggling with poor health outcomes and material hardships, such as food insecurity, increases, according to a new study from Children's HealthWatch. Researchers surveyed over 22,000 families and found that one third of low-income renters were housing unstable, which was associated with negative impacts on their health.

Pawning family valuables or paying one bill while letting another bill slide may be warning signs that someone is at risk for being food insecure. A new University of Illinois study uses data collected from people who visit food pantries to show that these financial coping strategies can help identify people who are very food insecure or at risk for becoming food insecure.

Food bank use is becoming more prevalent in the UK but headline figures may have overstated the scale of its growth, according to a case study of one food bank published in the open-access journal BMC Public Health.

Policymakers, law enforcement and advocates can now better identify and target modern slavery thanks to the work of human rights experts and researchers whose application of unique statistical methods yields more precise figures on its existence and extent. The groundbreaking work appears in the October issue of CHANCE, which features a series of articles written by authority figures on the subject of modern slavery.

By investing in housing, hospitals can help build healthier communities and save money by stemming the tide of emergency room visits and costly health interventions.

Women in provincial prisons require health care to address trauma, addiction and chronic diseases in order to lower reincarceration rates, according to a new study that of women leaving a B.C. correctional centre.

New research from the University of Missouri establishes that alcohol and drug use, difficulty adjusting to civilian life, and economic disadvantages are main contributors to criminal justice involvement for veterans. Information from this research could help policymakers reduce arrests and prevent incarcerations.

A recent study of homeless adults finds that women are at a significant disadvantage compared to men when it comes to accessing disability benefits. The study also finds that medical records are key to accessing disability benefits, which poses a problem for many homeless adults.