Description

Project Overview and Goals: The Project for Sanitation Justice (PSJ) aims to address and prevent health inequities that people experiencing homelessness face every day due to reliance on public restrooms and other sanitation-related resources (e.g., showers) to meet. PSJ is conducting research to communicate with those most opposed to increasing public restrooms and sanitation-related resources in the region, as well as how to garner and sustain support from those in favor of increasing access. Methods: Concept mapping involves several steps, each of which build on the prior step to understand the problem at hand. Concept mapping is driven by a key “focal question” that shapes the direction and purpose of the inquiry. We worked closely with our community partners, including Think Dignity, to identify the following focal question: “What is one reason, for or against, having more and better public restrooms in San Diego?”. We have recruited participants across San Diego to brainstorm responses (n~75 participants, n~174 responses). Next, we will invite our participants to sort and rate the salience and level of priority for each brainstormed response/concept. Data will be used to create multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis to map the relationship between sorted and rated concepts. We will collaborate with our community partners to interpret the findings and identify opportunities for action using our results. Preliminary Findings: Our preliminary analysis of the brainstormed responses to the focal question suggest that out of approximately 174 responses from the sample population, a majority of participants wanted better access to public bathrooms (n = 38) and better sanitation (n = 36). The analysis thus far indicates that public bathrooms are lacking in quality, quantity, and resources; further needing better city planning to encourage better sanitation and access for the public. Conclusion: Our study is focused on gathering community perspectives to understand both support and resistance to public restroom access in San Diego. By understanding these divergent viewpoints, PSJ can overcome opposition and rally communities in support of public restrooms as an imperative public health issue.