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Drapeau HF, Singh P, Benyaminov F, Wright K, Spence JC, Nuzhat S, Walsh A, Islam K, Azarm Z, Lee KK. Meteorological gaps in audits of pedestrian environments: a scoping review. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:2010. [PMID: 39068394 PMCID: PMC11282675 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19441-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Weather and season are determinants of physical activity. Therefore, it is important to ensure built environments are designed to mitigate negative impacts of weather and season on pedestrians to prevent these losses. This scoping review aims to identify built environment audits of pedestrian environments developed for use during a specific weather condition or season. Secondly, this review aims to investigate gaps in the inclusion of relevant weather mitigating built environment features in pedestrian environment audit tools. METHODS Following a standard protocol, a systematic search was executed in CINAHL, Medline and Web of Science to identify built environment audit tools of pedestrian spaces. These databases were chosen since they are well-known to comprehensively cover health as well as multi-disciplinary research publications relevant to health. Studies were screened, and data were extracted from selected documents by two independent reviewers (e.g., psychometric properties and audit items included). Audit items were screened for the inclusion of weather mitigating built environment features, and the tool's capacity to measure temperature, precipitation, seasonal and sustainability impacts on pedestrians was calculated. RESULTS The search returned 2823 documents. After screening and full text review, 27 articles were included. No tool was found that was developed specifically for use during a specific weather condition or season. Additionally, gaps in the inclusion of weather mitigating items were found for all review dimensions (thermal comfort, precipitation, seasonal, and sustainability items). Poorly covered items were: (1) thermal comfort related (arctic entry presence, materials, textures, and colours of buildings, roads, sidewalk and furniture, and green design features); (2) precipitation related (drain presence, ditch presence, hazards, and snow removal features); (3) seasonal features (amenities, pedestrian scale lighting, and winter destinations and aesthetics); and (4) sustainability features (electric vehicle charging stations, renewable energy, car share, and bike share facilities). CONCLUSIONS Current built environment audit tools do not adequately include weather / season mitigating items. This is a limitation as it is important to investigate if the inclusion of these items in pedestrian spaces can promote physical activity during adverse weather conditions. Because climate change is causing increased extreme weather events, a need exists for the development of a new built environment audit tool that includes relevant weather mitigating features.
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Affiliation(s)
- H F Drapeau
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - P Singh
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - F Benyaminov
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - K Wright
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - J C Spence
- Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - S Nuzhat
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - A Walsh
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - K Islam
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Z Azarm
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - K K Lee
- Housing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
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Gocer O, Wei Y, Ozbil Torun A, Alvanides S, Candido C. Multidimensional attributes of neighbourhood quality: A systematic review. Heliyon 2023; 9:e22636. [PMID: 38034601 PMCID: PMC10687291 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ozgur Gocer
- School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Yuan Wei
- School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ayse Ozbil Torun
- Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Seraphim Alvanides
- Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Christhina Candido
- Melbourne School of Design, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Otegbayo BE, Omar N, Danaee M, Mohajer S, Aghamohamadi N. Impact of individual and environmental factors on academic performance of pregnant adolescent. BMC Womens Health 2023; 23:383. [PMID: 37480050 PMCID: PMC10362692 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-023-02520-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Teenage pregnancies continue to disrupt teenage girls' academic development. As a result, teenage mothers are at risk of unemployment, maternal death, and poverty. Previous research, however, has shown that both individual and environmental factors can have a significant impact on the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy. However, there has been little rigorous research on the impact of these factors on pregnant students' academic performance. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between environmental (neighbourhood) and individuals (sexual attitudes, peer attachment) factors. It also examined the influence of individual factors on the academic performance of pregnant teens. METHODS The study included a cross-sectional study of 400 pregnant adolescent students aged 15-19 years. The target groups were drawn from three major cities in Nigeria. Respondents were identified through targeted snowballing. Pregnant participants were a combination of married and unmarried girls attending school from home. Data were collected using a structured and self-completed questionnaire. Thus, frequency, mean and standard deviation were used for descriptive analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to show the relationship between variables. RESULTS The study found that neighbourhood (r=-.125, p = .12) had a negative and significant relationship with peer attachment. However, there was no significant evidence of a relationship between sexual attitudes and neighbourhood (r=-.040, p = .422). There was, however, a significant relationship between sexual attitudes and academic performance (r = .236, p = .000). There was also a relationship between peer attachment and academic performance (r=-.401, p = < 0.001). CONCLUSION This study suggests that the academic performance of pregnant teenagers necessitates a combination of approaches, which includes changes in personal and prosocial behaviour, and environmental reforms. This can be achieved through, peer education, school day-care, subsidised or free contraceptives, free or subsidized education, and community programmes that positively influence young adults in the neighbourhood. These approaches can indirectly boost self-efficacy, motivation, and confidence to achieve higher academic feat, while reducing school dropout rate among the target groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bolajoko Elizabeth Otegbayo
- Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
- Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
| | - Noralina Omar
- Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Social Administration and Justice, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
| | - Mahmoud Danaee
- Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
| | - Samira Mohajer
- Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Nasrin Aghamohamadi
- Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
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Chen S, Sleipness O, Christensen K, Yang B, Wang H. Developing and testing a protocol to systematically assess social interaction with urban outdoor environment. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 88:102008. [PMID: 37065612 PMCID: PMC10082984 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Social interaction is significant for individuals' mental and psychological well-being in communities. With the growing demand for outdoor activities in urban settings under the COVID‑19 pandemic, urban parks have become important public resources for human social activities. Researchers have developed numerous instruments to measure park use behaviors, but most are designed for assessing physical activity while ignoring social interactive behaviors. Despite the importance, no single protocol objectively assesses the range of social interactions in urban outdoor environments. To bridge the research gap, we have developed a social interaction scale (SIS) based on Parten's scheme. The innovative protocol, named Systematically Observing Social Interaction in Parks (SOSIP) was developed based on the SIS, allowing systematic evaluation of human's interactive behaviors in outdoor environment both from their levels of social interaction and group size. The psychometric properties of SOSIP were established through the verification of content validity and reliability tests. Additionally, we applied SOSIP to explore relationships between park features and social interaction via hierarchical linear models (HLMs). Statistical comparisons between SOSIP and other forms of social interaction were discussed and indicated strong reliability of applying SOSIP. The results indicated SOSIP is a valid and reliable protocol for objectively assessing social interactive behaviors within urban outdoor environments and informing better understanding of individuals' mental and psychological health benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuolei Chen
- College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, China
| | - Ole Sleipness
- Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University, USA
| | - Keith Christensen
- Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University, USA
| | - Bo Yang
- College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, The University of Arizona, USA
| | - Hao Wang
- College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, China
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Besser LM, Meyer OL, Streitz M, Farias ST, Olichney J, Mitsova D, Galvin JE. Perceptions of greenspace and social determinants of health across the life course: The Life Course Sociodemographics and Neighborhood Questionnaire (LSNEQ). Health Place 2023; 81:103008. [PMID: 37003018 PMCID: PMC10176197 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
We developed the Life Course Sociodemographics and Neighborhood Questionnaire (LSNEQ) to query older adults about perceived neighborhood greenspaces across the life course (i.e., distance to park, number of neighborhood parks/playgrounds, and neighborhood greenness) and about characteristics hypothesized to confound or moderate/mediate greenspace-health associations. Six perceived life course indices are derived from the LSNEQ: neighborhood socioeconomic status, neighborhood walking/biking, urbanicity, neighborhood amenities, neighborhood park access, and neighborhood greenness. Older adults from St. Louis, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, completed the LSNEQ in 2020-2021. The indices demonstrated borderline acceptable to good internal consistency (alpha = 0.60-0.79) and good to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.71-0.96) and detected different patterns of park access and neighborhood greenness by racialized group and location. Individuals with index scores indicating more neighborhood walking/biking and greater presence of neighborhood amenities over their life course were more likely to report neighborhood-based walking in older age. Overall, the LSNEQ is a reliable instrument to assess perceptions of life course social determinants of health including neighborhood greenspaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilah M Besser
- Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 7700 W Camino Real, Suite 200, Boca Raton, FL, 33433, USA.
| | - Oanh L Meyer
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, 4860 Y Street, Suite 3900, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
| | - Marissa Streitz
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, 4488 Forest Park, Suite 101, Saint Louis, MO, 63108, USA.
| | - Sarah T Farias
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, 4860 Y Street, Suite 3900, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
| | - John Olichney
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, 4860 Y Street, Suite 3900, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
| | - Diana Mitsova
- Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, SO 284, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA.
| | - James E Galvin
- Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 7700 W Camino Real, Suite 200, Boca Raton, FL, 33433, USA.
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Kleopa D, Panayiotou A, Kouta C, Kaiafa C, Middleton N. Profiling the variability and inequity in the residential environment in Cyprus according to citizens' ratings: a cross-sectional internet-based "Place Standard" survey. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:267. [PMID: 35139845 PMCID: PMC8830016 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-12706-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The “Place Standard Tool” (PST) offers a practical framework for structuring conversations about physical and social dimensions of Place which impact on health and well-being. The aim of this study was to survey citizens’ perceptions of Place across diverse settings in Cyprus. While the PST has been extensively used in the context of community engagement, its properties as a measurement tool haven’t been explored. Methods An open call was addressed to citizens to rate their neighbourhood environment across the 14 PST items (1: large to 7: little room for improvement). Exploratory factor, cluster and regression analyses were used to explore the dimensionality of the scale, depict neighbourhood profiles and explore differences in ratings according to socio-demographic characteristics, area-level census indicators and residents’ assessment of neighbourhood social position (10-step ladder). Results With the exception of safety (M = 4.4, SD = 1.7), 492 participants (mean age 42, 50% residents for > 10 years) from 254 postcodes (21.7% islandwide) did not rate other features favourably, with lowest scores for “influence and sense of control” and “public transport”. A stepwise pattern of dissatisfaction was observed along the social position continuum both for features rated less as well as more favourably (e.g. social contact). For instance, among participants who placed their neighbourhood at the three top steps of the ladder, 48.8% gave a low rating for “influence and sense of control”, while the equivalent figure was 81.0% at the bottom three steps (OR = 4.5, 95% CI 2.3, 8.6). A clear dimensionality of Built (6 items, Cronbach’s α = 0.798), Physical (3 items, α = 0.765), Social (2 items, α = 0.749) and Service (3 items, α = 0.58) environment was identified. A social gradient was evident according to census measures of socio-economic disadvantage (e.g. pre-1980 housing, single-parent households) with larger differences in terms of the built than the social environment. Conclusions The study profiled the variability and documented the inequity in the health-related neighbourhood environment across Cypriot communities. The readily interpretable dimensionality of the scale supports its construct validity, allowing calculation of composite scores. The PST can be used as measurement tool in research as well as public health practice to advocate for neighbourhood initiatives which support and enhance citizens’ participation. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-12706-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daphne Kleopa
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus.,Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, School of Health Sciences, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Andrie Panayiotou
- Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, School of Health Sciences, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Christiana Kouta
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Chrystalla Kaiafa
- WHO Healthy Cities Cyprus Network Coordinating Office, Cyprus Ministry of Health, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Nicos Middleton
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus.
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Rodgers SE, Bailey R, Johnson R, Poortinga W, Smith R, Berridge D, Anderson P, Phillips C, Lannon S, Jones N, Dunstan FD, Morgan J, Evans SY, Every P, Lyons RA. Health impact, and economic value, of meeting housing quality standards: a retrospective longitudinal data linkage study. PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH 2018. [DOI: 10.3310/phr06080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundPoor-quality housing adversely affects residents’ health but there is a paucity of high-quality evidence to support this.ObjectiveThis research investigated the health impact of bringing housing to a national quality standard.DesignA natural experiment of improvements to housing quality analysed using repeated measures of health-care utilisation and economic outcomes at an individual person level.SettingCarmarthenshire, UK.ParticipantsA total of 32,009 residents registered for a minimum of 60 days at 8558 social homes that received housing improvements between January 2005 and March 2015.InterventionsMultiple internal and external housing improvements, including wall and loft insulation, windows and doors, heating system upgrades, new kitchens and bathrooms, garden path safety improvements and electrical system upgrades (adding power sockets, and extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms).Main outcome measuresEmergency hospital admissions for cardiorespiratory conditions and injuries. Primary health-care utilisation for respiratory and common mental health disorders, emergency department injury attendances and health-care utilisation costs.Data sourcesCarmarthenshire County Council home address and intervention records were anonymously linked within the Secure Anonymous Information Linkage databank to demographic information from the Welsh Demographic Service data set; hospital admission data from the Patient Episode Dataset for Wales; primary care contacts and prescribed medications from general practice data; emergency department attendances from the Emergency Department Data Set; and deaths from the Office for National Statistics mortality register.MethodsThe study used a longitudinal panel design to examine changes in standard of eight housing cointervention from intervention records, and linked to individuals registered at intervention homes. Health outcomes were obtained retrospectively for each individual in a dynamic cohort and were captured for up to 123 consecutive months. An additional local authority region could not be utilised as a comparator owing to different reporting pressures resulting in the recording of a different intervention. The exposure group for each cointervention was compared with an internal reference group of people living in homes that did not receive the cointervention during their tenancy. A multilevel modelling approach was used to account for repeated observations for individuals living in intervention homes. Counts of health outcomes were analysed using negative binomial regression models to determine the effect of each cointervention that reached housing quality standards during an individual’s period of tenancy, compared with those living in properties that did not. We adjusted for potential confounding factors and for background trends in the regional general population. A cost–consequences analysis was conducted as part of the health economic evaluation.ResultsResidents aged ≥ 60 years living in homes in which electrical systems were upgraded were associated with 39% fewer admissions than those living in homes in which they were not [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53 to 0.72;p < 0.01]. Reduced admissions were also associated with windows and doors (IRR 0.71, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.81;p < 0.01), wall insulation (IRR 0.75, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.84;p < 0.01) and gardens and estates (IRR 0.73, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.83;p < 0.01) for those living in homes in which these cointervention were upgraded. There were no associations of change in emergency admissions with upgrading heating (IRR 0.91, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.01;p = 0.072), loft insulation (IRR 0.98, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.11;p = 0.695), kitchens (IRR 0.98, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.17;p = 0.843) or bathrooms (IRR 0.93, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.06;p = 0.287).LimitationsThere was no randomisation, there were incomplete data on the scale of the intervention for individual households and there were no estimates for the impact of the whole programme.ConclusionsThis complex interdisciplinary study found that hospital admissions could be avoided through improving housing quality standards.Future workAt their initiation, future non-health projects should have a built-in evaluation to allow intervention exposures to be randomly allocated to residents, with the simultaneous analysis of multiple health outcomes in one statistical model.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Rodgers
- Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Rowena Bailey
- Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Rhodri Johnson
- Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | | | - Robert Smith
- School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Damon Berridge
- Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Pippa Anderson
- Swansea Centre for Health Economics, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Ceri Phillips
- Swansea Centre for Health Economics, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Simon Lannon
- Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Nikki Jones
- Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Frank D Dunstan
- Cochrane Institute of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | | | - Pam Every
- Tenant Participation Advisory Services of Wales (TPAS Cymru), Cardiff, UK
| | - Ronan A Lyons
- Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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