鄰里特徵對個人健康的影響
近年來，越來越多的研究指出，家戶周圍的鄰里環境會影響到一個人的健康。
無論是住家周圍菸酒的販賣，治安的狀況或是環境是否整潔，都會直接或間 接影響個人的行為和健康。本研究的目的主要是探討 2000 年台灣地區鄰里特 徵和個人健康之間的關係。
研究資料來自台灣地區社會變遷基本調查第四期第一次調查計畫，將其 20 歲 以上的受訪者的家戶地址相連到八十九年台閩地區戶口及住宅普查資料以提 供鄰里的資訊。研究對象為台灣地區 20 歲以上成人。本研究以卡方檢定分析 在不同的個人因子和鄰里因子中，其個人健康差異的情形，並使用多層次分 析 (multi-level analysis) 探討鄰里因子對個人健康的影響。
研究結果發現在控制個人因子之後，住在老人活動障礙比率越高的鄰里，居 民發生日常生活功能障礙的機會越高且自評健康越差。但是與我們預期不同 的是鄰里因子對於個人慢性病的發生沒有關係。
本研究結果部分印證了我們之前的研究假設，即加入個人因子之後，有些鄰 里因子仍然和個人健康是有相關的，且台灣地區鄰里之間有環境差異的情況。
在政策方面，本研究建議若要增加個人的健康，則鄰里環境的改善是很重要 的，特別是針對最弱勢的老人族群的社區，其社區組織和醫療服務都需要重 整並加以改善。
Effects of Neighborhood Characteristics on Individual Health
A growing number of studies indicated that individual health can be directly or indirectly affected by their neighborhood characteristics, such as neighborhood socioeconomic status an d services. However, the influence of neighborhood characteristics on health remains unknow n in Taiwan. This study examined whether neighborhood characteristics influence individual h ealth in Taiwan.
The data came from the first wave of 2000 Social Change Study, which is a nationally represe ntative study examining social issues in Taiwan. Participants’ residential addresses were geoc oded with the 2000 census for measuring neighborhood characteristics (i.e., neighborhood per centage of people under 15 years of education). We used multi-level models to examine the as sociations between neighborhood-level characteristics and individual-level health.
Results indicated that there were significant neighborhood effects on self-rated health or functi onal limitations, but not on chronic condition, after adjusting for individual-level characteristic s. Results showed that neighborhoods with a higher percentage of elderly and a higher percent age of people with functional limitation were associated with individual poorer self-rated healt h and individual functional limitations. These relationships existed after taking into account in dividual characteristics.
