Displaying all 6 publications

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  1. Clark EM, Quigg R, Wong JE, Richards R, Black KE, Skidmore PM
    Health Place, 2014 Nov;30:78-85.
    PMID: 25218636 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.08.008
    Using a sample of adolescents from schools in Otago, New Zealand, associations between food outlets around schools and dietary quality were investigated. Food outlet environment data were derived using GIS data. Multivariate regression analysis results showed that outlet density, in an 800m buffer around schools, of cafes and restaurants, supermarkets and takeaways was associated with higher Diet Quality Index scores in boys, and distance to nearest outlet for convenience stores, cafes and restaurants and supermarkets with lower scores for girls. Effect sizes were small, suggesting that the food environment around schools plays a minor role in adolescent diet quality.
  2. Gibson BA, Ghosh D, Morano JP, Altice FL
    Health Place, 2014 Jul;28:153-66.
    PMID: 24853039 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.04.008
    We mapped mobile medical clinic (MMC) clients for spatial distribution of their self-reported locations and travel behaviors to better understand health-seeking and utilization patterns of medically vulnerable populations in Connecticut. Contrary to distance decay literature, we found that a small but significant proportion of clients was traveling substantial distances to receive repeat care at the MMC. Of 8404 total clients, 90.2% lived within 5 miles of a MMC site, yet mean utilization was highest (5.3 visits per client) among those living 11-20 miles of MMCs, primarily for those with substance use disorders. Of clients making >20 visits, 15.0% traveled >10 miles, suggesting that a significant minority of clients traveled to MMC sites because of their need-specific healthcare services, which are not only free but available at an acceptable and accommodating environment. The findings of this study contribute to the important research on healthcare utilization among vulnerable population by focusing on broader dimensions of accessibility in a setting where both mobile and fixed healthcare services coexist.
  3. Mulligan K, Elliott SJ, Schuster-Wallace C
    Health Place, 2012 May;18(3):613-20.
    PMID: 22310527 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.01.001
    This case study investigates the connections among urban planning, governance and dengue fever in an emerging market context in the Global South. Key informant interviews were conducted with leading figures in public health, urban planning and governance in the planned city of Putrajaya, Malaysia. Drawing on theories of urban political ecology and ecosocial epidemiology, the qualitative study found the health of place - expressed as dengue-bearing mosquitoes and dengue fever in human bodies in the urban environment - was influenced by the place of health in a hierarchy of urban priorities.
  4. Loh VH, Rachele JN, Brown WJ, Ghani F, Washington S, Turrell G
    Health Place, 2019 03;56:99-105.
    PMID: 30716668 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.01.020
    Residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods have poorer physical function than their advantaged counterparts, although the reasons for this remain largely unknown. We examined the moderating effects of walkability in the relationship between neighbourhood disadvantage and physical function using 2013 cross-sectional data from 5115 individuals aged 46-72 living in 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia. The relationship between neighbourhood disadvantage and physical function differed by levels of walkability: positive associations as levels of walkability increased for those living in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and no difference for those living in more advantaged neighbourhoods. Further work is required to better understand the underlying mechanisms.
  5. Luo W, Zhou Y, Liu Z, Kang W, He S, Zhu R, et al.
    Health Place, 2023 Mar 13;81:103000.
    PMID: 37011444 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103000
    BACKGROUND: In response to COVID-19, Southeast Asian (SEA) countries had imposed stringent lockdowns and restrictions to mitigate the pandemic ever since 2019. Because of a gradually boosting vaccination rate along with a strong demand for economic recovery, many governments have shifted the intervention strategy from restrictions to "Living with COVID-19" where people gradually resumed their normal activities since the second half of the year 2021. Noticeably, timelines for enacting the loosened strategy varied across Southeast Asian countries, which resulted in different patterns of human mobility across space and time. This thus presents an opportunity to study the relationship between mobility and the number of infection cases across regions, which could provide support for ongoing interventions in terms of effectiveness.

    OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between human mobility and COVID-19 infections across space and time during the transition period of shifting strategies from restrictions to normal living in Southeast Asia. Our research results have significant implications for evidence-based policymaking at the present of the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health issues.

    METHODS: We aggregated weekly average human mobility data derived from the Facebook origin and destination Movement dataset. and weekly average new cases of COVID-19 at the district level from 01-Jun-2021 to 26-Dec-2021 (a total of 30 weeks). We mapped the spatiotemporal dynamics of human mobility and COVID-19 cases across countries in SEA. We further adopted the Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression model to identify the spatiotemporal variations of the association between human mobility and COVID-19 infections over 30 weeks. Our model also controls for socioeconomic status, vaccination, and stringency of intervention to better identify the impact of human mobility on COVID-19 spread.

    RESULTS: The percentage of districts that presented a statistically significant association between human mobility and COVID-19 infections generally decreased from 96.15% in week 1 to 90.38% in week 30, indicating a gradual disconnection between human mobility and COVID-19 spread. Over the study period, the average coefficients in 7 SEA countries increased, decreased, and finally kept stable. The association between human mobility and COVID-19 spread also presents spatial heterogeneity where higher coefficients were mainly concentrated in districts of Indonesia from week 1 to week 10 (ranging from 0.336 to 0.826), while lower coefficients were mainly located in districts of Vietnam (ranging from 0.044 to 0.130). From week 10 to week 25, higher coefficients were mainly observed in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, north Indonesia, and several districts of the Philippines. Despite the association showing a general weakening trend over time, significant positive coefficients were observed in Singapore, Malaysia, western Indonesia, and the Philippines, with the relatively highest coefficients observed in the Philippines in week 30 (ranging from 0.101 to 0.139).

    CONCLUSIONS: The loosening interventions in response to COVID-19 in SEA countries during the second half of 2021 led to diverse changes in human mobility over time, which may result in the COVID-19 infection dynamics. This study investigated the association between mobility and infections at the regional level during the special transitional period. Our study has important implications for public policy interventions, especially at the later stage of a public health crisis.

  6. Wang L, Md Sani N
    Health Place, 2024 Jan;85:103168.
    PMID: 38211359 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103168
    Research on natural health has identified the potential benefit of outdoor blue spaces for human health and wellbeing. However, the existing evidence has relatively limited attention to the elderly. This study aims to review the available evidence on outdoor blue spaces and health outcomes among older individuals and identify knowledge gaps. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, specific keywords were used to search for articles published in English from inception to October 2023. Five databases (Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) were searched, and 22 studies were identified in this review. We classified articles based on elderly health as general health (e.g., self-reported, perceived health and wellbeing), physical health (e.g., physical activity, physical function index), and mental health and wellbeing (e.g., depression). The findings indicated a positive correlation between outdoor blue space and the health of the elderly. In terms of the characteristics of exposure to outdoor blue spaces, direct contact (e.g., sensory-based) has not been well documented compared to indirect contact (e.g., distance, percentage, region-based). Although encouraging, the available body of evidence is limited and lacks consistency. Future research is needed to provide complementary evidence between outdoor blue spaces and elderly health.
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