Is it better to invest in place or people to maximize population health? Evaluation of the general health impact of urban regeneration in Dutch deprived neighbourhoods

Aim: To study the general health impact of urban regeneration programmes in deprived Dutch districts. We compared initiatives that focused on the improvement of place with initiatives that mainly invested in people. Method: A quasi-experimental design compared the trend in good perceived general health in the target districts with comparison districts. Generalized general mixed models assessed the rate of change in prevalence of good health per half year during a prolonged period before and after the start of the interventions. Results: Neither the target districts that invested mainly in place nor the ones with interventions focused on people showed trends in general health different than comparison districts (p > 0.05). However, only districts with interventions focused on place showed no deterioration in general health during the intervention period. The trend change in these districts differed significantly from the change in the districts that invested mainly in people (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Urban regeneration programmes that focus on place may be effective in promoting general health. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.