Off-campus WSU users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your WSU access ID and password, then click the "Off-campus Download" button below.
Non-WSU users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Economics
First Advisor
Shooshan Danagoulian
Abstract
The health consequences of air pollution represent a contemporary epidemic that affects poor communities disproportionately. The impact of air pollution on respiratory health as well as cardiovascular diseases, the primary cause of mortality in US and the rest of the world (CDC 2023), is a matter of policy concern. Previous research has established a robust correlation between air pollution and health. Less is known about whether air pollution has a compounding effect on health outcomes in medically underserved and socioeconomically vulnerable communities. This study utilizes the 2019 shutdown of the Detroit incinerator, a significant local pollution source, to evaluate its impact on respiratory and cardiovascular health of the neighboring residential population. We use a classic two-way fixed-effect design to evaluate the effects of air pollution on cardiovascular health of nearby population. We look at cardiovascular health related emergency department visits of vulnerable population living within a certain distance to the Detroit incinerator before and after its shutdown. To delve deeper, we stratify this population based on age, gender, and race, aiming to explore how air pollution impacts cardiovascular and respiratory health across demographic variations. Distance effect is also studied in this paper by creating 2 miles bands to evaluate the proximity to the incinerator. The closure of the Detroit incinerator resulted in a reduction of emergency department visits among the socioeconomically vulnerable and medically underserved population.
Recommended Citation
Syeda, Sara, "The Effects Of Air Pollution On Health Of Underserved Populations: A Case Study Of Detroit." (2024). Wayne State University Dissertations. 4006.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/4006
