Civic Engagement, Positive Organizational Sentiment, and Health in Baltimore, Maryland

Jul 12, 2026

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Neighborhood organizations have been studied for their links to public health, yet most research overlooks whether residents’ affective sentiment toward these organizations relates to health outcomes. A 2023 Baltimore Area Survey of 1,135,389 weighted adults examined whether positive views of nearby businesses, nonprofits, and local government were associated with better physical and mental health. Measures included self-rated health, depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), anxiety symptoms (GAD-2), and civic engagement. Results showed positive sentiment toward government, nonprofits, and businesses related to improved physical health and fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

Abstract

Study measures and outcomes

Statistical approach

Key findings and implications

J Urban Health [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-026-01107-w](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-026-01107-w) Civic Engagement, Positive Organizational Sentiment, and Health in Baltimore, Maryland Jennifer J. Lee · Amienne Spencer‑Blume · Sara B. Johnson · Eliana M. Perrin · Andrew J. Perrin · Adam D. Sheingate · Michael D. M. Bader © The Author(s), under the exclusive licence to New York Academy of Medicine 2026 Abstract While the presence of organizations in neighborhoods has been widely studied, studies have generally not considered whether sentiment toward neighborhood organizations might be associated with public health. Neglecting this affective dimension of organizations limits our grasp on the influence of organizations on processes that mitigate or exacerbate health disparities. We used the 2023 Baltimore Area Survey (weighted n = 1,135,389 adults) Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at [https://doi](https://doi). org/10.1007/s11524-026-01107-w. J. J. Lee (*) · S. B. Johnson · E. M. Perrin Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 200 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA e-mail: [Jlee694@jh.edu](Jlee694@jh.edu) A. Spencer-Blume · A. J. Perrin · M. D. M. Bader Department of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Baltimore, MD, USA E. M. Perrin Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA A. J. Perrin SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA A. D. Sheingate Department of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Baltimore, MD, USA to assess whether respondents viewed nearby businesses, nearby nonprofits, and local government positively and whether "positive organization sentiment"was associated with better self-reported physical and mental health. Respondents rated their physical and mental health, depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), and anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2) . We also assessed civic engagement as a complementary but distinct measure from positive organizational sentiment. Population-weighted multivariable linear regression models estimated the relationship between civic and health variables. Positive business sentiment, nonprofit sentiment, local government sentiment, and civic engagement were positively associated with self-rated physical and mental health and negatively associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. The largest associations were seen for government sentiment and anxiety (β = -0.31; 95% CI = -0.48, -0.13), government sentiment and depression (β = -0.28; 95% CI = -0.42, -0.13), and business sentiment and anxiety (β = -0.28; 95% CI = -0.45, -0.11) . Civic engagement and anxiety were not significantly related. Our results support the hypothesis that civic engagement and organizational sentiment are related to better physical and mental health. The results of this study suggest that fostering citizens’ trust in neighborhood civic organizations and ensuring these organizations are perceived as trustworthy may enhance public health and well-being and vice versa. Keywords Civic engagement · Community health · Health promotion · Urban health Local context matters for public health [5, 31] . Nearby organizations, as components of the local context, influence how the local context affects public health outcomes. Studies have found relationships between a lack of community organizations and nearby shops with poor health [38] . Furthermore, research on local food environments has linked neighborhood disparities to decreased access to healthy food sources and greater access to food sources that promote unhealthy eating [26, 40, 41] . The effect of the local context on health behaviorsand outcomes has often been studied in terms of the presence, absence, and diversity of organizations that surround people [16, 38, 40, 41] . Sentiment towar

FAQs

How was positive organizational sentiment measured in the study?

Participants rated whether nearby businesses, nonprofits, and local government were viewed positively.

Which health outcomes were analyzed?

The study used self-rated physical and mental health, depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), and anxiety symptoms (GAD-2).

What did the study find about the relationship between civic engagement and health?

Civic engagement showed no significant association with anxiety, while positive organizational sentiment related to better physical health and lower depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Jul 12, 2026

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