Energy and Health
Research projects under this theme relate to understanding how community conditions, such as levels of deprivation and inequality, urban-rural location, and housing conditions, influence peoples’ health and well-being.
Bridgewater Energy Security (BridgES)
Following a preliminary survey done by prof Riva's lab in 2022, it was found that 38% of participants (in the town of Bridgewater) are living in households whose ratio of energy cost to household income is more than twice the national Canadian median share (Riva et al., 2022). This is why initiatives such as Energize Bridgewater are so important. Energize aims to make home energy retrofits and upgrades more accessible to homeowners.
The overall goal of BridgES is to provide a thorough assessment of the health and well-being impacts of Energize Bridgewater, both at the individual and community levels, and to assess the scalability of the program to other communities.
As such, the BridgES study is driven by three questions:
- What is the extent of energy poverty (EP) before and after the implementation of Energize in Bridgewater and surrounding areas? Emphasis on the lived experiences of EP and its impacts on health;
- What is the efficacy of Energize? Discoverable through associated improvements in housing conditions, health and well-being. For whom, and under what conditions?;
- What is the potential for Energize to be scaled up within Bridgewater and/or implemented in other communities?
This study will be conducted in multiple phases, including pursuit of qualitative and qualitative data collection to provide a holistic picture of each research question.
Reports & Communications
