Energy insecurity and its ill health effects: A community perspective on the energy-health nexus in New York City

Hernández, Diana; Siegel, Eva Laura

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2018.08.011

Cited by 82 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Across all income levels, Black families still maintained the highest rates of energy insecurity (60). In the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City, energy-insecure households were more likely to be black and Hispanic/Latino, low-income, and have less education (64). In Detroit, a study found that African-American households were twice as likely to be behind on utility payments and three times more likely to suffer from arrearage or shut-offs than white households (65).…”

Section: Racementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gentrifying or newer residents are less likely to experience energy insecurity or have an energy inefficient home compared to longer-term residents who live in older households in the area (97). Long-term residents of Washington Heights in New York City, for example, are Dominican immigrants and African Americans, and they suffer far more energy insecurity than new neighborhood residents (64).…”

Section: Socioeconomic Status Race and Placementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both instances, households may encounter the double burden of housing and energy insecurity (23). As gentrification spreads across US cities, urban housing affordability is unachievable for most low-income families, forcing evictions, moves, overcrowding, and an increase in homelessness, and while newer buildings often enjoy energyefficiency upgrades, older homes and buildings, which are often less efficient and more expensive to operate from an energy cost perspective, do not receive such upgrades (64,130). In short, energy cost burdens can increase housing affordability strains whereas lower energy bills can protect against high housing costs and promote residential stability.…”

Section: Bundled Hardships: Energy and Other Insecuritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy, Poverty, and Health in Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review of an Emerging Literature

Jessel

Sawyer

Hernández

2019

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

228

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Household energy is increasingly vital for maintaining good health. Unaffordable and inadequate household energy presents adverse consequences that are amplified by poverty and a changing climate. To date, the connections between energy, socioeconomic disadvantage, and well-being are generally underappreciated, and household energy connection with climate change is under-researched. Building on the energy insecurity framework, this review explores literature related to household energy, poverty, and health in order to highlight the disproportionate burdens borne by vulnerable populations in adequately meeting household energy needs. This paper is based on a comprehensive review of books, peer-reviewed articles, and reports published between 1990 and 2019, identified via databases including JSTOR and PubMed. A total of 406 publications were selected as having potential for full review, 203 received full review, and 162 were included in this paper on the basis of set inclusion criteria. From the literature review, we created an original heuristic model that describes energy insecurity as either acute or chronic, and we further explore the mediators and pathways that link energy insecurity to health. In the discussion, we posit that the extant literature does not sufficiently consider that vulnerable communities often experience energy insecurity bundled with other hardships. We also discuss energy, poverty, and health through the lens of climate change, making the criticism that most research on household energy does not consider climate change. This evidence is important for enhancing research in this field and developing programmatic and policy interventions as they pertain to energy access, affordability, and health, with special emphasis on vulnerable populations, climate change, and social inequality.

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Section: Racementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socioeconomic Status Race and Placementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bundled Hardships: Energy and Other Insecuritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy, Poverty, and Health in Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review of an Emerging Literature

Jessel

Sawyer

Hernández

2019

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

228

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“…Studies have shown that sustainable development of communities is affected by the well-being of its inhabitants which are often predetermined by the type of energy used [19] and the availability of electrified health facilities [20]. For example, in the studies of Hernández and Siegel [21] and Zhang et al [22], it has been determined that energy poverty and insecurity has negative impact on people's health and community development [23]. In many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, community-based health facilities are either underelectrified or do not have access to electricity [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electricity Access, Community Healthcare Service Delivery, and Rural Development Nexus: Analysis of 3 Solar Electrified CHPS in Off-Grid Communities in Ghana

et al. 2020

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Over 600 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. Modern healthcare services, including vaccine refrigeration, which require electricity are therefore lacking in such energy-deprived communities. In this work, analysis has been conducted on how electricity access can help improve healthcare service delivery and rural development, with a case study on 3 different off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in community-based health planning and services (CHPS) in Ghana. Analysis from this study showed that for the 3.0 kWp solar PV systems installed at the various sites, the in-house electricity consumptions are between 4.30 and 7.58 kWh per day. It was found out that excess electricity generation of 148–304 kWh per month is available and can be used to provide other economic services including phone charging, torchlight battery charging, and small-sized cold storage services to generate income for the maintenance of the systems, which is critical for sustainability of solar PV installations in rural poor communities. The study results also showed that electrified health facilities which are able to provide basic healthcare services have potential impact on community health outcomes and rural development. Assessment conducted at the CHPS compounds revealed that, generally, there is improvement in healthcare service delivery resulting in time savings of 15-43 hours per month for the inhabitants which can potentially be used for productive work. The time savings were more significant in females and children than in males. In many rural agro-based communities in developing countries, female and children are usually the workforce engaged in various farming activities. This paper concludes that access to electricity in CHPS compounds helps to improve community health outcomes and increases time availability for women to engage in productive work that can potentially result in significant socioeconomic activities and rural development.

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“…Further, well-being could probably be maximized at levels of energy consumption much lower than that found in wealthy nations like the USA and Western Europe [9,20,47,48]. Increasingly, research is pointing to energy security as a key variable in the relationship between energy and well-being [24,25]. In this paper, we ask how worries about energy security influence self-rated health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the link between energy security and subjective well-being: a study of 22 nations

Mayer

Smith

2019

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background: Energy has long been recognized as foundational for well-being, and recent work, has documented a link between access to energy services and health. In this analysis, we ask how worries about the energy systemin the form of access, cost, reliability, and sustainability-influence self-rated health. Results: Using data from 22 nations and some 30,000 respondents, we find that worries about energy security reduce self-rated health. Partial proportional odds models suggest that this effect varies across thresholds of selfrated health, wherein individuals highly worried about energy security are significantly less likely to report "Very Good" self-rated health. Conclusions: Worries about energy security reduce subjective well-being, suggesting another avenue through which energy relates to human health.

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Energy insecurity and its ill health effects: A community perspective on the energy-health nexus in New York City

Cited by 82 publications

References 24 publications

Energy, Poverty, and Health in Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review of an Emerging Literature

Energy, Poverty, and Health in Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review of an Emerging Literature

Electricity Access, Community Healthcare Service Delivery, and Rural Development Nexus: Analysis of 3 Solar Electrified CHPS in Off-Grid Communities in Ghana

Exploring the link between energy security and subjective well-being: a study of 22 nations

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