STAMFORD – Behavioral health and access to healthcare remain the top two priorities for Stamford’s largest medical care provider, but for the first time housing was also on the list.
Stamford Health publishes a Community Health Needs Assessment report every three years, as required by the federal Affordable Care Act, and for each, it lists the top priorities to work on.
The latest report, from 2018, placed nutrition as the third priority.
But housing knocked it out of the top three in the 2021 assessment – which has just been released – perhaps unsurprisingly due to Connecticut’s housing crisis.
Housing advocates across the state have argued that the cost of housing is weighing on potential tenants and homeowners, forcing many to move out because they are no longer able to afford their homes.
The Stamford Health study supports this perspective.
The report, which compiled data from interviews with residents and survey responses, states: “Individuals cite the exorbitant cost of housing in the area, which drives some families and individuals to seek out units living standards. In some cases, families live in illegal units without any windows, significant rodent problems and other safety issues. All of these factors contribute to poor outcomes, which most often manifest by respiratory problems, such as asthma.
More than 40% of Stamford households have “insecure housing” as family members spend more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the city’s recently completed housing affordability plan.
Housing insecurity is an umbrella term that basically describes the difficulties an individual or family has in maintaining housing, whether due to high cost of housing, poor housing quality, or overcrowding, among other reasons. .
“People don’t think of housing as health care,” said Ben Wade, senior vice president of strategy and marketing at Stamford Health. “This very pressing vital need can overshadow the actual health needs someone might have.”
Wade said residents facing housing insecurity can often postpone other needs in order to maintain shelter. The rising cost of housing in Stamford only exacerbates the problem. The median home value in Stamford is $532,700, nearly double the state’s figure of $275,400.
“There is a very high percentage of people in Stamford whose housing is quite expensive,” Wade said.
The housing problem in Stamford appears to be most acute among Hispanic residents, according to the report, as one in five said they “did not have enough funds to provide adequate housing for themselves and their family.”
“A contributing factor is likely the lower median household income observed among Hispanic residents of Stamford,” the report said.
The Health Assessment Report includes information for Stamford and Darien, the two communities where Stamford Health acts as the primary provider of inpatient health care. In Darien, residents reported an increase in mental health issues.
Other findings at Stamford include the rising rate of obesity among residents. According to the assessment, the percentage of obese Stamford residents rose from 22% in 2018 to 28% in 2021. In the Hispanic community, the rate soared from 18% three years prior to 44% in 2021. .
One of the positive developments was the steep drop in excessive alcohol consumption in the city, according to the report. This had been identified as a major concern in the 2018 report, when almost 30% of residents said they had consumed alcohol at least once in the previous 30 days. This rate fell to 17% in 2021.
The top priority identified in the latest report remains behavioral health, which was also ranked number one in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the problem as many Stamford residents have reported health issues mentally over the past three years.
A primary or secondary diagnosis of a mental health problem was one of the most common diagnoses among visitors to Stamford Hospital.
The survey also revealed an increase in the number of adults who reported feeling depressed or hopeless.
“What we’ve seen is a pretty generalized increase in people reporting feeling depressed or hopeless, lacking joy and enjoyment in their lives,” Wade said. “Compared to 2018, it’s hard not to think that COVID was a major driver of this increase.”
#Stamford #obesity #rise #excessive #drinking #housing #major #health #issue #report