· Identify a policy that is not usually intended to be a health policy but that you think may have important health implications.
· Describe why an evaluation of that policy is informative (e.g., determining effects of the policy, or primarily a test of hypothesized mediators).
· Specify the outcomes and populations you think most affected or least affected by the policy.
· Propose a study design to evaluate the policy.
· Describe biggest challenge to implementing and drawing inferences about the impact of the policy on health.
There are a number of restrictive growth policies across the country that limit development. These have an impact on the available housing units, leading people to have to move to areas away from those of their primary interest. It would be worthwhile to review the potential impact of these kinds of policies to see what potential economic and health repercussions there might be. There may be a change in commute times, for example, that has implications for increased cost of transportation, decreased walking and exercise, decreased parent-child interactions – all of which have their own potential outcomes. Restrictive housing policies are most likely to affect those of lower income status who cannot afford to find a home within a tight market, thus leading them to move to areas with potentially fewer resources (including public transportation). Those with higher income status are more likely to be less impacted as they may be able to afford housing in these more expensive areas. Health outcomes related to weight and activity are most likely to be affected by increased commute times.
One way to study this would be to combine census data that looks at commute times with CHIS data. This also could be combined with maps that review housing costs. We could look at the correlation between commute times and various health outcomes and diseases. It would be difficult to identify causation in this type of model, and there also could be a number of confounders that make it more difficult to study (i.e. people who need to drive instead of walk or take public transit because of health issues are choosing to live in areas where they are able to have a vehicle more comfortably). In addition, socioeconomic status may have a significantly larger role than restrictive housing policies, but it would be difficult to separate that.