Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
-
Comparative Study
Improved Street Walkability, Incivilities, and Esthetics Are Associated with Greater Park Use in Two Low-Income Neighborhoods.
Parks may provide opportunities for people to increase their physical activity and improve health. Yet, parks are generally less plentiful and underutilized in low-income urban neighborhoods compared with more advantaged neighborhoods. Renovations within and around parks may improve park utilization but the empirical evidence supporting this relationship is scarce. ⋯ We used difference-in-differences to test whether park use and street characteristics surrounding the parks improved more in the intervention neighborhood than in the comparison neighborhood. We also used zero-inflated negative binomial regression with interactions by time to test whether changes in street characteristics were associated with changes in park use over time. We found that improved walkability, incivilities, and esthetics surrounding parks in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods were associated with greater park use and may help increase visits to underutilized parks.
-
Geographic momentary assessments (GMA) collect real-time behavioral data in one's natural environment using a smartphone and could potentially increase the ecological validity of behavioral data. Several studies have evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of GMA among persons who use drugs (PWUD) and men who have sex with men (MSM), but fewer have discussed privacy, confidentiality, and safety concerns, particularly when illegal or stigmatized behavioral data were collected. This study explores perceptions regarding privacy, confidentiality, and safety of GMA research among PWUD and MSM recruited in three different settings (rural Appalachia, a mid-sized city in the South, and a mid-Atlantic city). ⋯ While locations considered to be sensitive varied by setting, participants in all settings said they would take measures to prevent sensitive information from being collected (i.e., intentionally disable devices, leave phones at home, alter response times). Privacy, confidentiality, and safety concerns may limit the accuracy of risk location information, study compliance, and participation. As concerns were often greatest among those engaging in illegal behaviors and with the highest risk behaviors, selection bias and non-response bias could negatively influence the representativeness and validity of study findings.
-
Comparative Study
The Role of Social Support in Moderating the Relationship between Race and Hypertension in a Low-Income, Urban, Racially Integrated Community.
In the US, African Americans have a higher prevalence of hypertension than Whites. Previous studies show that social support contributes to the racial differences in hypertension but are limited in accounting for the social and environmental effects of racial residential segregation. We examined whether the association between race and hypertension varies by the level of social support among African Americans and Whites living in similar social and environmental conditions, specifically an urban, low-income, racially integrated community. ⋯ After adjusting for demographics and health-related characteristics, we found no interaction between social support and race (DUFSS score, prevalence ratio 1.00; 95% confidence interval 0.99, 1.01; marital status, prevalence ratio 1.02; 95% confidence interval 0.86, 1.21); thus the hypothesis was not supported. A plausible explanation is that the buffering factor of social support cannot overcome the social and environmental conditions which the participants live in. Further, these findings emphasize social and environmental conditions of participants in EHDIC-SWB may equally impact race and hypertension.
-
Comparative Study
Sitting or Walking? Analyzing the Neural Emotional Indicators of Urban Green Space Behavior with Mobile EEG.
There is a close relationship between urban green space and the physical and mental health of individuals. Most previous studies have discussed the impact of the structure of green space and its elements. This study focused on the emotional changes caused by common behaviors in urban green space (walking and sitting). ⋯ The results of the comparison of the two behaviors showed that the "valence" and "meditation" values of the walking group were higher than those of the sitting group, which suggests that walking in urban green space is more favorable for stress reduction. The sitting group had a higher "focus" value than did the walking group, which suggests that sitting in urban green space is better for attention restoration. The results of this study can provide guidance for urban green space planning and design as well as health guidance for urban residents.