F3. IGNITE: Innovative Public Health Solutions: Community-Driven Testing, Harm Reduction, and Aging During Crisis
F3.03 - IGNITE: A Wrinkle in Time: Aging Across the Lifespan and the Jackson Water Crisis
Thursday, April 17, 2025
3:14 PM – 3:21 PM PST
Location: Gallerie II/III, 1st Floor
Area of Responsibility: Area V: Advocacy Subcompetencies: 4.4.5 Identify implications for practice., 5.4.2 Use the results of the evaluation to inform next steps. Research or Practice: Practice
Instructional Assistant Professor University of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi, United States
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Identify three social determinants of health which impacted the aging population's lived experience regarding the Jackson Water Crisis.
Develop policy solutions to ameliorate the environmental infrastructure of the aging population in communities experiencing population decline.
Illustrate inequities in predominantly Black cities that lead to detrimental health outcomes.
Brief Abstract Summary: We examine the effects of ongoing water infrastructure issues in Jackson, MS and its effect on aging in place. Considerations for a social ecological approach to making Jackson, MS a more age friendly city are provided. Encouraging healthy aging by optimizing resources to improve the water infrastructure, safety, and inclusion of older people in the community has long-lasting benefits for the citizens of Jackson, MS.
Detailed abstract description:
Background: In February 2021, Jackson, Mississippi was affected by a winter storm which led to its water infrastructure being affected due to pipes freezing and bursting. To compound this issue, there was an electrical fire at the city’s main water treatment facility, leading to a series of boil water notices until the water was deemed drinkable. Media attention was diverted to Texas which saw much of the state go off the grid due to the same winter storm. Unfortunately, the city saw a similar water crisis in 2022, which gained more national media attention than the previous crisis and led to more concerted efforts to address the water crisis more systemically. While the water crises may have gained worthy attention, boil water notices are not unfamiliar to lifelong residents of Jackson. There are major health outcomes implications across the lifespan for those living and aging through environmental hazards related to poor water infrastructure.
Purpose: Our research examines the relationship between consistent exposure to poor water infrastructure and aging.
Methods: We examine factors such as resiliency and systemic racism and how they mediate the relationship between water quality and chronic health conditions. This research is completed by examining historical and contextual factors while using the Community Readiness Model to determine resiliency in aging Jackson residents.
Results: Findings from this analysis provide insight on how the life-course perspective suggest that traditional lifestyle factors—diet and physical activity, socioeconomic determinants, income, education, and social support; physical environments, such as availability of green spaces and air quality influences healthy and successful aging. Water quality should also be considered as an influential factor in successful aging. Aging along with an aging infrastructure poses significant risks that must be addressed for the wellbeing and future of our cities. Ecological approaches considerate of the social determinants of health are necessary to understand the context and improve outcomes in which this population lives, works, and plays.
