Research
IGNITE
This trial tests a suite of environmental and economic interventions to determine the impact of concentrated investment on health, wellbeing, and safety for residents of Black neighborhoods.
SPARROw
The City of Philadelphia has the second highest opioid overdose death rate in the United States. This study evaluates two unique overdose prevention efforts developed by the City of Philadelphia, including an alternative ambulance unit that can connect patients who have overdosed directly to treatment and neighborhood environment interventions that address the blighted conditions where most overdoses occur.
Green GeoBirth
Green GeoBirth evaluates the impact of neighborhood greenspace on cardiovascular pregnancy and post-pregnancy outcomes. This study leverages both electronic health record data collected through a large birth cohort and administrative environmental data related to nature.
Nature and
Wellbeing Project
Living near and spending time in nature is associated with a host of mental and physical health benefits, but there is limited evidence on how to nudge people to spend more time outside. The goal of this study is to increase the amount of time people spend outside in nature and determine the impact on mental health and wellbeing.
Publications
Eugenia C. South, John MacDonald, Vincent Reina. Association Between Structural Housing Repairs for Low-Income Homeowners and Neighborhood Crime. JAMA Network Open. Jul 2021.
Aditi Vasan, Hannah K. Mitchell, Joel A. Fein, David G. Buckler, Douglas J. Wiebe, Eugenia C. South. Association of Neighborhood Gun Violence With Mental Health-Related Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization. JAMA Pediatrics. Sept 2021 Notes: Published online September 20, 2021.
Eugenia C. South, Kaytlena Stillman, David G. Bucker, Douglas Wiebe. Association of gun violence with emergency department visits for stress-responsive complaints. Annals of Emergency Medicine 77(5): 469-478. May 2021.
Charles C. Branas, Eugenia C. South, Michelle C. Kondo, Bernadette C. Hohl, Philippe Bourgois, Douglas J. Wiebe, John M. MacDonald. Citywide cluster randomized trial to restore blighted vacant land and its effects on violence, crime, and fear. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 15(12): 2946-2951. Mar 2018.
Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, Clare McCarthy, Zachary F. Meisel, Michael A. Elovitz, Heather H. Burris, Eugenia C. South. Association Between Low Urban Neighborhood Greenness and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. American Journal of Perinatology. Aug 2021.
Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, Eugenia South, Megan M. Shannon, Clare McCarthy, Zachary F. Meisel, Michael A. Elovitz, Heather H. Burris. Urban residential tree canopy and perceived stress among pregnant women. Environmental Research. Jul 2021.
Eugenia C. South, Kathleen Lee, Kehinde Oyekanmi, David Buckler, Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, Tyler Martin, Sara L. Kornfield, Sindhu Srinivas. Nurtured in Nature: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase Time in Greenspace Among Urban Dwelling Postpartum Women. Journal of Urban Health. May 2021.
Eugenia C. South, Bernadette C. Hohl, Michelle C. Kondo, John M. MacDonald, Charles C. Branas. Effect of Greening Vacant Land on Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Adults: A Cluster Randomized Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open 1(3). July 2018.
Michelle C. Kondo, Sara F. Jacoby, Eugenia C. South. Does spending time outdoors reduce stress? A review of real-time stress response to outdoor environments. Health Place 51: 136-150, May 2018.
Michelle C. Kondo, Eugenia C. South, Charles C. Branas, Therese S. Richmond, Douglas J. Wiebe. The association between urban tree cover and gun assault: a case-control and case-crossover study. American Journal of Epidemiology. May 2017.