“We’re scared every month that we don’t know if we’re going to have a roof over our head the following month.”
-resident of Adams County
Every three years, Adams County performs a Community Health Needs Assessment to identify areas that are in need of increased attention. In the 2015 assessment, lack of affordable housing was identified as one of the top priorities for the county. According to the data, approximately 1 in 5 people are stressed or worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage.
For policy makers, it’s not enough to know that people struggle to pay their rent or mortgage. They also need to understand that housing insecurity may be associated with important (and costly) health impacts.
That’s where health sciences Prof. Amy Dailey comes in. Dailey, a social epidemiologist and Adams County resident, has spent the majority of her 15-year career investigating public health concerns, including disparities in food, cancer screenings, and now, housing. She utilizes community-based participatory research (CBPR) – a partnership approach to researching with the community during all phases of the research process.
“Working with the Center for Public Service, I was welcomed into long-standing community partnerships that have embraced this approach to local research,” said Dailey.
Dailey was asked to serve as a data analyst for the Community Health Needs Assessment by Kathy Gaskin, Executive Director of Healthy Adams County. Healthy Adams County is an organization that is committed to bringing together key stakeholders from across the community to unite them in efforts to better Adams County.
“It is one thing for us to speculate on what we think is the right direction and another to let the data show us that we are indeed focused in the right area and that we understand the true effects of poor housing on health,” said Gaskin.
Dailey jumped on the chance to be part of the research — and she has resources.
To get started, Dailey’s epidemiology class analyzed variables in the data with a statistical analysis program. The class spent time organizing their findings into specific areas to investigate: general health indicators, health behavior indicators, health condition indicators, and mental health indicators. According to the research, Adams County residents who worry about rent or mortgage are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
The research continued throughout the summer as Alyce Norcross ’17, a health sciences major, worked with Dailey on qualitative research as to why housing matters for health.
As a Mellon Scholar, Norcross interviewed members of the community to learn about their every day experience. Through the interviews, she reframed her research to focus on why over half the housing vouchers issued have not been successfully used.
“We identified several barriers, including lack of affordable and quality housing in the area, transportation issues, and even misconceptions about who uses the voucher program,” said Norcross. She presented a poster on this topic at the American Public Health Association’s conference in November and won the Undergraduate Poster Competition. Norcross is continuing to focus on this research as part of her senior year capstone project.
“Numbers alone may not motivate the change that is necessary to guarantee the right to housing. I hope my work will allow those who often do not have a voice in the decisions of their community to finally have a powerful voice,” said Norcross.
The findings are already being put to good use. There have been several Town Hall meetings on the topic and a committee has formed to develop a strategic plan. In July, Dailey and Gaskin were one of twelve teams selected from across the nation to attend the CBPR Partnership Academy in Detroit. As a result of this academy, they received a small grant to continue their partnership development and research.
Dailey explained that Adams County has a large population of people who are working in the service or agricultural industries. Typically, these occupations are low-wage and their paychecks can’t cover all of their basic necessities.
“Many of the same broad determinants that are leading to food insecurity are also associated with access to affordable housing, health care, transportation, and child care, which have significant consequences for health, education, and economic development. We’re looking to pull together our community partners to address these concerns holistically,” she said.
Dailey, Gaskin, and Gretchen Natter, from the Center for Public Service, organized a retreat in November for local community partners and interested faculty to establish a community-wide research agenda, including how they can make use of existing data in a more cohesive way.
“Organizations were enthusiastic about exploring opportunities to share data, collaborate on research and evaluation, and document progress on community-wide outcomes,” Dailey said. She is hopeful that this initiative will provide ample opportunities for Gettysburg College faculty, staff, and students to engage in sustained community-based learning and research that is connected to a partnership-driven agenda.
