Vulnerable Populations

This is a topic I am extremely interested in studying. It is fascinating to me that your health, vulnerability to disease, and overall health outcome can come from your zip code. In Austin, health equity is a major issue. In the early 1950s, Austin passed a city wide ordinance that cut funding to the east side of the city. This geographical area of the city was primarily Latino and African American. As the years passed, the east side of Austin did not develop like the west side. Fast forward to present day, the east side now has a 20 year health gap compared to the west side of Austin. The east side of Austin has more pollution, crime, rates of obesity and disease, and lack of access to healthcare. It is incredible how your location can determine your livelihood and health.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 13, 2018 at 11:04 PM

    Wow! 20 year health gap in east side Austin compared to the west side. It's certainly incredible that your location will determine your health outcomes. Thats a scary thought and something to be mindful. People with privilege can move and change locations. Those that do not have that privilege are more at risk for environmental exposures. Thanks for sharing,.

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2018 at 9:49 PM

    Thanks for sharing! I totally agree and have experienced something similar. I feel like this is becoming the new norm in so many cities and neighborhoods. If you look at SF, we know that gentrification has grown to be a huge issue and it's scary to know that the health of those on one block can be drastically different than those living on the next block! We definately need new policies in place to tackle this issue.

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