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Geographic and Environmental Perspectives on Population Health

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (9 July 2023) | Viewed by 11328

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kristian Larsen

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Guest Editor

1. CAREX Canada, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
2. Geography & Planning, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
Interests: environment and population health; chronic disease prevention; geographic information science (GIS); cancer prevention; access to health care; quantitative methods to assess environmental influences on health behavior and outcomes

Dr. Richard Sadler

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Guest Editor

Division of Public Health/Department of Family Medicine, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Interests: community-based public health; geographic information science (GIS); food systems; alcohol outlet exposure; crime; blight & disorder; housing; mental health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and asthma have become more prevalent in recent years. Changes in rates are attributable to genetics, health behaviour and both occupational and home-based exposures. Recent research has focused on how changes to the physical and built environment may play a role in health behaviour, if interventions change behavior, potential exposures and health outcomes. Cancer and heart disease are the two most common causes of death in the United States and Canada. Many of these cancers as well as heart disease are preventable through changes to health behaviour, limiting exposure to carcinogens and reducing chronic conditions. These are all important steps to improve one’s overall health. Rollbacks in environmental protections in the US create new cause for concern about environmental exposures via human actions. Obtaining a better understanding of how the environment plays a role is pivotal to curb current trends. From an infectious disease standpoint, the environment also can influence how people are exposed and how illnesses are spread. Recent events such as COVID-19 demonstrate the importance of controlling the spread of infectious diseases. The focus of this special issue is to examine how the environment may be related to population health and highlight challenges or potential policy changes needed to create healthier communities. We are inviting all papers that examine any relationship between the environment and population health to submit for consideration in this special issue.

Dr. Kristian Larsen
Dr. Richard Sadler
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

population health
environment
geographic information science
environmental epidemiology
chronic conditions
infectious diseases
Indigenous health
urban design
spatial epidemiology
public health

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 397 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Health Care Use and Barriers to Care for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (CID) among First and Second Generation South Asian Immigrant Children and Parents in Ontario Canada

by Andrea Rishworth, Tiffany Cao, Ashika Niraula and Kathi Wilson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14608; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114608 - 07 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2210

Abstract

Although immigrants are disproportionately impacted by growing chronic inflammatory disease (CIDs) rates, yet suffer barriers to access health care, little attention has been given to their primary healthcare or specialist healthcare access as it relates to complex, chronic diseases in Canada, a country with universal health care. This study aims to investigate CID health care use and barriers to care among first- and second-generation immigrant South Asian children and parents in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario. Drawing on analysis of 24 in depth interviews with children and parents (14 children, 10 parents), the results reveal that although CIDs disproportionately affects South Asian immigrants, they encounter health system, geographic, interpersonal, and knowledge barriers to access requisite care. These barriers exist despite participants having a GP, and are compounded further by limited familial systems, culturally insensitive care, and structural inequities that in some instances make parents choose between health access or other basic needs. Although all participants recognized the importance of specialized care, only 11 participants regularly accessed specialized care, creating new schisms in CID management. The findings suggest that a multisectoral approach that address individual and structural level socio-structural drivers of health inequities are needed to create more equitable healthcare access. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geographic and Environmental Perspectives on Population Health)

8 pages, 614 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Access to Emergency General Surgical Care in Ontario

by Jordan Nantais, Kristian Larsen, Graham Skelhorne-Gross, Andrew Beckett, Brodie Nolan and David Gomez

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 13730; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113730 - 22 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1084

Abstract

Limited access to timely emergency general surgery (EGS) care is a probable driver of increased mortality and morbidity. Our objective was to estimate the portion of the Ontario population with potential access to 24/7 EGS care. Geographic information system-based network-analysis was used to model 15-, 30-, 45-, 60-, and 90-min land transport catchment areas for hospitals providing EGS care, 24/7 emergency department (ED) access, and/or 24/7 operating room (OR) access. The capabilities of hospitals to provide each service were derived from a prior survey. Population counts were based on 2016 census blocks, and the 2019 road network for Ontario was used to determine speed limits and driving restrictions. Ninety-six percent of the Ontario population (n = 12,933,892) lived within 30-min’s driving time to a hospital that provides any EGS care. The availability of 24/7 EDs was somewhat more limited, with 95% (n = 12,821,747) having potential access at 30-min. Potential access to all factors, including 24/7 ORs, was only possible for 93% (n = 12,471,908) of people at 30-min. Populations with potential access were tightly clustered around metropolitan centers. Supplementation of 24/7 OR capabilities, particularly in centers with existing 24/7 ED infrastructure, is most likely to improve access without the need for new hospitals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geographic and Environmental Perspectives on Population Health)

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13 pages, 550 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Linking the Flint Food Store Survey: Is Objective or Perceived Access to Healthy Foods Associated with Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes?

by Richard Casey Sadler, Amanda Y. Kong, Zachary Buchalski, Erika Renee Chanderraj and Laura A. Carravallah

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10080; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910080 - 25 Sep 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2252

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) remains a significant public health concern, particularly in low-income neighborhoods where healthy foods may be scarcer. Despite the well-known relationship between diet and diabetes, little evidence exists on the connections among the objectively measured community and consumer food environment, perception of food access, and diabetes management or outcomes. This cross-sectional, ecological study represents the first example of combining a GIS-based, objectively measured food store audit considering quality, variety, and price of foods in stores with a clinical survey of patients with DM-2 (n = 126). In this way, we offer evidence on the relationship between healthy food access—measured more robustly than proximity to or density of certain store types—and diabetes management knowledge, medication adherence, and glycemic control. Better glycemic control was not correlated with better overall food store score, meaning that people in neighborhoods with better access to healthy foods are not necessarily more likely to manage their diabetes. While perceived healthy food access was not correlated with glycemic control, it was strongly correlated with objective healthy food access at shorter distances from home. These results have great importance both for clinical understanding of the persistence of poor diabetes management outcomes and for the understanding of the influence of the food environment on health behaviors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geographic and Environmental Perspectives on Population Health)

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Review

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35 pages, 1093 KiB

Open AccessReview

Locations of Physical Activity: Where Are Children, Adolescents, and Adults Physically Active? A Systematic Review

by Anne Kelso, Anne K Reimers, Karim Abu-Omar, Kathrin Wunsch, Claudia Niessner, Hagen Wäsche and Yolanda Demetriou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(3), 1240; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18031240 - 30 Jan 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4514

Abstract

The aim of this systematic review was to examine where physical activity (PA) takes place and how much time children, adolescents and adults spend being physically active within the identified locations. A systematic literature search was carried out in five electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, PsycInfo, Scopus). For inclusion, primary studies had to identify locations of PA using device-based or self-report tools, whereas minutes of PA had to be examined using device-based tools only. Thirty-two studies were included, methodological quality and sex/gender sensitivity of the studies were assessed. The narrative data synthesis revealed that the highest average amount of daily moderate-to-vigorous PA was found in home and recreational locations, followed by school and neighborhood locations. In adults, highest average amount of daily moderate-to-vigorous PA was found in neighborhood and home locations followed by workplace and recreational locations. The majority of studies had a low risk of bias in four out of six domains; eight studies reported significant sex/gender differences in location-based PA. The results indicate that different locations are used for PA to a varying degree across the lifespan. Future research on the promotion of PA should focus on location-specific design features that encourage children, adolescents and adults to be physically active. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geographic and Environmental Perspectives on Population Health)

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