Analysis: Research on Irish neighbourhoods show positive perceptions of safety, service provision, and cleanliness are associated with better mental health
By Gretta Mohan, ESRI
The COVID-19 pandemic saw residential neighbourhoods become more of a focal point in our lives, and changes since then, for example a greater degree of remote working, have also meant that people are spending greater amounts of time in their residential locality for living, working, and leisure. Given these changes, we wanted to understand whether, and which features, of our local residential areas in Ireland affect our mental health and wellbeing. This information can then be used by local planning authorities, public services, and healthcare providers to promote better mental health outcomes across our population.
To study these issues, we examined data from the Healthy Ireland survey, which is a nationally representative survey of adults in Ireland collected every year. The questionnaire inquires as to people's health and wellbeing, their health behaviours (e.g., alcohol consumption, smoking habits, levels of physical activity), as well as one-off themes of interest (e.g., the use of sun protection, sleep habits, menstrual health etc.). One survey, rolled-out in 2016, included a one-off section about people’s perceptions of their neighbourhood, as well as their level of social connectedness. Information was captured on these themes for a sample of almost 7,500 individuals.
Three different indicators of mental health were gathered in the survey, providing a multi-faceted view of the state of mental health in Ireland. The first, poor mental health, was captured by the Mental Health Inventory index (MHI-5), where almost 1 in 5 adults (18.5%) surveyed met the criteria for poor mental health. A second indicator concerning positive mental wellbeing, was derived from the Energy and Vitality Index (EVI) instrument, where two-thirds of the respondents (66.8%) reported good positive wellbeing. The third indicator relates to a question concerning whether an individual had suffered with depression in the previous 12 months, where 6.5% had reported experiencing this in 2016.
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In relation to their neighbourhood, respondents were asked to rate the degree to which their local area had problems in terms of public drunkenness, racism, and house break-ins, which for the purposes of the study could be grouped as a measure of 'area-level safety’. They were also asked to rate whether there were issues with graffiti, rubbish, and vandalism, providing a measure of ‘area-level cleanliness’. Participants also provided information on ‘area-level service provision’ where they rated the provision of public transport, open spaces, and food shops in their neighbourhood. We also looked at an objective measure of area-level deprivation, the Haase-Pratschke index, which summarises Census information on the demographic profile, social class composition, and labour market conditions of an area. For the 2016 Census, this index ranked almost 18,500 neighbourhoods in Ireland, from most deprived to most affluent.
Statistical methods were employed to explore the association between living in areas of various levels of deprivation, and ratings of neighbourhood factors, on the three mental health measures. Importantly, the analysis accounted for the respondent’s sex, age, socio-economic and health status, as well as entitlements to publicly-financed GP care i.e., holding a medical card or GP visit card, having private health insurance, and whether the respondent reported membership of a social group or club.
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Interestingly, the modelling revealed that the deprivation ranking of a person’s community did not in itself have a discernible impact on mental health status (according to the measures of poor mental health and positive mental wellbeing), or likelihood of having suffered depression in the previous 12 months. Though, importantly, positive perceptions of area safety, service provision, and area cleanliness were associated with better mental health, as was involvement in local social groups.
The findings of our investigation suggest that residing in an area characterised by area-level deprivation does not have a statistically significant association with the mental health of adult residents of Ireland across three different measures of mental state. However, social connectedness, as measured by membership of social groups or clubs, is associated with beneficial mental health outcomes. The results also reveal that area safety, cleanliness, and service provision can influence mental health. These findings could be used to support broad ranging policies and investments in communities, for example in social groups, crime prevention, safety measures, the provision of open spaces, and public transport which have benefits for mental health and wellbeing for the Irish population.
Dr Gretta Mohan is a Research Officer in Economic Analysis with the ESRI and affiliated with Trinity College Dublin. Her current research areas span electronic communications, health, education and energy policy.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
