Articles

Univariate and multivariate spatial models of health facility utilisation for childhood fevers in an area on the coast of Kenya

Precise quantification of health service utilisation is important for the estimation of disease burden and allocation of health resources. Current approaches to mapping health facility utilisation rely on spat...

Authors: Paul O. Ouma, Nathan O. Agutu, Robert W. Snow and Abdisalan M. Noor

Does exposure to the food environment differ by socioeconomic position? Comparing area-based and person-centred metrics in the Fenland Study, UK

Retail food environments (foodscapes) are a recognised determinant of eating behaviours and may contribute to inequalities in diet. However, findings from studies measuring socioeconomic inequality in the food...

Authors: Eva R. Maguire, Thomas Burgoine, Tarra L. Penney, Nita G. Forouhi and Pablo Monsivais

The approaches to measuring the potential spatial access to urban health services revisited: distance types and aggregation-error issues

The potential spatial access to urban health services is an important issue in health geography, spatial epidemiology and public health. Computing geographical accessibility measures for residential areas (e.g...

Authors: Philippe Apparicio, Jérémy Gelb, Anne-Sophie Dubé, Simon Kingham, Lise Gauvin and Éric Robitaille

Relative risk estimation of dengue disease at small spatial scale

Dengue is a high incidence arboviral disease in tropical countries around the world. Colombia is an endemic country due to the favourable environmental conditions for vector survival and spread. Dengue surveil...

Authors: Daniel Adyro Martínez-Bello, Antonio López-Quílez and Alexander Torres Prieto

Mobility assessment of a rural population in the Netherlands using GPS measurements

The home address is a common spatial proxy for exposure assessment in epidemiological studies but mobility may introduce exposure misclassification. Mobility can be assessed using self-reports or objectively m...

Authors: Gijs Klous, Lidwien A. M. Smit, Floor Borlée, Roel A. Coutinho, Mirjam E. E. Kretzschmar, Dick J. J. Heederik and Anke Huss

Transforming geographic scale: a comparison of combined population and areal weighting to other interpolation methods

Transforming spatial data from one scale to another is a challenge in geographic analysis. As part of a larger, primary study to determine a possible association between travel barriers to pediatric cancer fac...

Authors: Elaine Hallisey, Eric Tai, Andrew Berens, Grete Wilt, Lucy Peipins, Brian Lewis, Shannon Graham, Barry Flanagan and Natasha Buchanan Lunsford

Ecological niche modeling to determine potential niche of Vaccinia virus: a case only study

Emerging and understudied pathogens often lack information that most commonly used analytical tools require, such as negative controls or baseline data; thus, new analytical strategies are needed to analyze tr...

Authors: Claire A. Quiner and Yoshinori Nakazawa

Online versus in-person comparison of Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) assessments: reliability of alternate methods

An online version of the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (Abbreviated) tool was adapted to virtually audit built environment features supportive of physical activity. The current study assessed int...

Authors: Christine B. Phillips, Jessa K. Engelberg, Carrie M. Geremia, Wenfei Zhu, Jonathan M. Kurka, Kelli L. Cain, James F. Sallis, Terry L. Conway and Marc A. Adams

Spatial variability of excess mortality during prolonged dust events in a high-density city: a time-stratified spatial regression approach

Dust events have long been recognized to be associated with a higher mortality risk. However, no study has investigated how prolonged dust events affect the spatial variability of mortality across districts in...

Authors: Man Sing Wong, Hung Chak Ho, Lin Yang, Wenzhong Shi, Jinxin Yang and Ta-Chien Chan

GridSample: an R package to generate household survey primary sampling units (PSUs) from gridded population data

Household survey data are collected by governments, international organizations, and companies to prioritize policies and allocate billions of dollars. Surveys are typically selected from recent census data; h...

Authors: Dana R. Thomson, Forrest R. Stevens, Nick W. Ruktanonchai, Andrew J. Tatem and Marcia C. Castro

Is gentrification all bad? Positive association between gentrification and individual’s perceived neighborhood collective efficacy in Montreal, Canada

Collective efficacy has been associated with many health benefits at the neighborhood level. Therefore, understanding why some communities have greater collective efficacy than others is important from a publi...

Authors: Madeleine Steinmetz-Wood, Rania Wasfi, George Parker, Lisa Bornstein, Jean Caron and Yan Kestens

Estimating the prevalence of 26 health-related indicators at neighbourhood level in the Netherlands using structured additive regression

Local policy makers increasingly need information on health-related indicators at smaller geographic levels like districts or neighbourhoods. Although more large data sources have become available, direct esti...

Authors: Jan van de Kassteele, Laurens Zwakhals, Oscar Breugelmans, Caroline Ameling and Carolien van den Brink

Developing a data-driven spatial approach to assessment of neighbourhood influences on the spatial distribution of myocardial infarction

There is a growing understanding of the role played by ‘neighbourhood’ in influencing health status. Various neighbourhood characteristics—such as socioeconomic environment, availability of amenities, and soc...

Authors: Wahida Kihal-Talantikite, Christiane Weber, Gaelle Pedrono, Claire Segala, Dominique Arveiler, Clive E. Sabel, Séverine Deguen and Denis Bard

Intersection of neighborhood dynamics and socioeconomic status in small-area walkability: the Heart Healthy Hoods project

Previous studies found a complex relationship between area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and walkability. These studies did not include neighborhood dynamics. Our aim was to study the association between ar...

Authors: Pedro Gullón, Usama Bilal, Alba Cebrecos, Hannah M. Badland, Iñaki Galán and Manuel Franco

Systematic literature review of reproductive outcome associated with residential proximity to polluted sites

This study aims to assess the evidence on adverse pregnancy outcome associated with living close to polluted industrial sites, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of published epidemiological studies. A...

Authors: Wahida Kihal-Talantikite, Denis Zmirou-Navier, Cindy Padilla and Séverine Deguen

Visualizing statistical significance of disease clusters using cartograms

Health officials and epidemiological researchers often use maps of disease rates to identify potential disease clusters. Because these maps exaggerate the prominence of low-density districts and hide potential...

Authors: Barry J. Kronenfeld and David W. S. Wong

Contextual influences affecting patterns of overweight and obesity among university students: a 50 universities population-based study in China

Many studies have examined childhood and adolescent obesity, but few have examined young adults and the effect of their home and current living environments on prevalence rates. The present study explores cont...

Authors: Tingzhong Yang, Lingwei Yu, Ross Barnett, Shuhan Jiang, Sihui Peng, Yafeng Fan and Lu Li

Erratum to: Influence of Pokémon Go on physical activity levels of university players: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Fiona Y. Wong

Characterisation of the natural environment: quantitative indicators across Europe

The World Health Organization recognises the importance of natural environments for human health. Evidence for natural environment-health associations comes largely from single countries or regions, with varie...

Authors: Graham Smith, Marta Cirach, Wim Swart, Audrius Dėdelė, Christopher Gidlow, Elise van Kempen, Hanneke Kruize, Regina Gražulevičienė and Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen

Optimising spatial accessibility to inform rationalisation of specialist health services

In an era of budget constraints for healthcare services, strategies for provision of services that improve quality whilst saving costs are highly valued. A proposed means to achieve this is consolidation of se...

Authors: Catherine M. Smith, Hannah Fry, Charlotte Anderson, Helen Maguire and Andrew C. Hayward

Development of a spatial sampling protocol using GIS to measure health disparities in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, a medium-sized African city

Many cities in developing countries experience an unplanned and rapid growth. Several studies have shown that the irregular urbanization and equipment of cities produce different health risks and uneven exposu...

Authors: Daouda Kassié, Anna Roudot, Nadine Dessay, Jean-Luc Piermay, Gérard Salem and Florence Fournet

Interactive, open source, travel time scenario modelling: tools to facilitate participation in health service access analysis

Modelling travel time to services has become a common public health tool for planning service provision but the usefulness of these analyses is constrained by the availability of accurate input data and limita...

Authors: Rohan Fisher and Jonatan Lassa

The relationship between ethnic composition of the residential environment and self-reported health among Turks and Moroccans in Amsterdam

Previous studies from the US and UK suggest that neighbourhood ethnic composition is associated with health, positive or negative, depending on the health outcome and ethnic group. We examined the association ...

Authors: Eleonore M. Veldhuizen, Umar Z. Ikram, Sjoerd de Vos and Anton E. Kunst

A modification to geographically weighted regression

Geographically weighted regression (GWR) is a modelling technique designed to deal with spatial non-stationarity, e.g., the mean values vary by locations. It has been widely used as a visualization tool to exp...

Authors: Yin-Yee Leong and Jack C. Yue

The role of the built environment in explaining educational inequalities in walking and cycling among adults in the Netherlands

This study examined whether characteristics of the residential built environment (i.e. population density, level of mixed land use, connectivity, accessibility of facilities, accessibility of green) contribute...

Authors: Daniël C. van Wijk, Joost Oude Groeniger, Frank J. van Lenthe and Carlijn B. M. Kamphuis

Where do people purchase food? A novel approach to investigating food purchasing locations

Studies exploring associations between food environments and food purchasing behaviours have been limited by the absence of data on where food purchases occur. Determining where food purchases occur relative t...

Authors: Lukar E. Thornton, David A. Crawford, Karen E. Lamb and Kylie Ball

Influence of Pokémon Go on physical activity levels of university players: a cross-sectional study

The prevalence of overweight is increasing and the effectiveness of various weight management and exercise programs varied. An augmented reality smartphone game, Pokémon Go, appears to increase activity levels...

Authors: Fiona Y. Wong

From urban planning and emergency training to Pokémon Go: applications of virtual reality GIS (VRGIS) and augmented reality GIS (ARGIS) in personal, public and environmental health

The latest generation of virtual and mixed reality hardware has rekindled interest in virtual reality GIS (VRGIS) and augmented reality GIS (ARGIS) applications in health, and opened up new and exciting opport...

Authors: Maged N. Kamel Boulos, Zhihan Lu, Paul Guerrero, Charlene Jennett and Anthony Steed

A direct observation method for auditing large urban centers using stratified sampling, mobile GIS technology and virtual environments

With the expansion and growth of research on neighbourhood characteristics, there is an increased need for direct observational field audits. Herein, we introduce a novel direct observational audit method and ...

Authors: Sean J. V. Lafontaine, M. Sawada and Elizabeth Kristjansson

Spatial identification of potential health hazards: a systematic areal search approach

Large metropolitan areas often exhibit multiple morbidity hotspots. However, the identification of specific health hazards, associated with the observed morbidity patterns, is not always straightforward. In th...

Authors: Alina Svechkina, Marina Zusman, Natalya Rybnikova and Boris A. Portnov

International comparison of observation-specific spatial buffers: maximizing the ability to estimate physical activity

Advancements in geographic information systems over the past two decades have increased the specificity by which an individual’s neighborhood environment may be spatially defined for physical activity and heal...

Authors: Lawrence D. Frank, Eric H. Fox, Jared M. Ulmer, James E. Chapman, Suzanne E. Kershaw, James F. Sallis, Terry L. Conway, Ester Cerin, Kelli L. Cain, Marc A. Adams, Graham R. Smith, Erica Hinckson, Suzanne Mavoa, Lars B. Christiansen, Adriano Akira F. Hino, Adalberto A. S. Lopes…

Ovarian cancer: density equalizing mapping of the global research architecture

Despite its impact on female health worldwide, no efforts have been made to depict the global architecture of ovarian cancer research and to understand the trends in the related literature. Hence, it was the o...

Authors: Dörthe Brüggmann, Katharina Pulch, Doris Klingelhöfer, Celeste Leigh Pearce and David A. Groneberg

Identifying youth-friendly service practices associated with adolescents’ use of reproductive healthcare services in post-conflict Burundi: a cross-sectional study

Very little is known about reproductive health service (RHS) availability and adolescents’ use of these services in post-conflict settings. Such information is crucial for targeted community interventions that...

Authors: Imelda K. Moise, Jaclyn F. Verity and Joseph Kangmennaang

Seasonal variation in geographical access to maternal health services in regions of southern Mozambique

Geographic proximity to health facilities is a known determinant of access to maternal care. Methods of quantifying geographical access to care have largely ignored the impact of precipitation and flooding. Fu...

Authors: Prestige Tatenda Makanga, Nadine Schuurman, Charfudin Sacoor, Helena Edith Boene, Faustino Vilanculo, Marianne Vidler, Laura Magee, Peter von Dadelszen, Esperança Sevene, Khátia Munguambe and Tabassum Firoz

Confidence intervals for rate ratios between geographic units

Ratios of age-adjusted rates between a set of geographic units and the overall area are of interest to the general public and to policy stakeholders. These ratios are correlated due to two reasons—the first be...

Authors: Li Zhu, Linda W. Pickle and James B. Pearson Jr.

Online platform for applying space–time scan statistics for prospectively detecting emerging hot spots of dengue fever

Cases of dengue fever have increased in areas of Southeast Asia in recent years. Taiwan hit a record-high 42,856 cases in 2015, with the majority in southern Tainan and Kaohsiung Cities. Leveraging spatial sta...

Authors: Chien-Chou Chen, Yung-Chu Teng, Bo-Cheng Lin, I-Chun Fan and Ta-Chien Chan

Residential area characteristics and disabilities among Dutch community-dwelling older adults

Living longer independently may be facilitated by an attractive and safe residential area, which stimulates physical activity. We studied the association between area characteristics and disabilities and wheth...

Authors: Astrid Etman, Carlijn B. M. Kamphuis, Frank H. Pierik, Alex Burdorf and Frank J. Van Lenthe

Using an audit tool (MAPS Global) to assess the characteristics of the physical environment related to walking for transport in youth: reliability of Belgian data

The aim was to examine inter-rater and alternate-form reliability of the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) Global tool to assess the physical environment along likely walking routes in Belgium.

Authors: Griet Vanwolleghem, Ariane Ghekiere, Greet Cardon, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Sara D’Haese, Carrie M. Geremia, Matthieu Lenoir, James F. Sallis, Hannah Verhoeven and Delfien Van Dyck

Using expert decision-making to establish indicators of urban friendliness for walking environments: a multidisciplinary assessment

Numerous studies have suggested that friendly walking environments positively affect physical activity and health. Creating friendly walking environments in urban areas is a complex and wide-ranging topic, and...

Authors: Yen-Cheng Chiang and Han-Yu Lei

Determining the spatial heterogeneity underlying racial and ethnic differences in timely mammography screening

The leading cause of cancer death for women worldwide continues to be breast cancer. Early detection through timely mammography has been recognized to increase the probability of survival. While mammography ra...

Authors: Joseph Gibbons and Melody K. Schiaffino

Do the risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus vary by location? A spatial analysis of health insurance claims in Northeastern Germany using kernel density estimation and geographically weighted regression

The provision of general practitioners (GPs) in Germany still relies mainly on the ratio of inhabitants to GPs at relatively large scales and barely accounts for an increased prevalence of chronic diseases amo...

Authors: Boris Kauhl, Jürgen Schweikart, Thomas Krafft, Andrea Keste and Marita Moskwyn

Optimal health and disease management using spatial uncertainty: a geographic characterization of emergent artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum distributions in Southeast Asia

Artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites are now present across much of mainland Southeast Asia, where ongoing surveys are measuring and mapping their spatial distribution. These efforts requ...

Authors: Eric P. M. Grist, Jennifer A. Flegg, Georgina Humphreys, Ignacio Suay Mas, Tim J. C. Anderson, Elizabeth A. Ashley, Nicholas P. J. Day, Mehul Dhorda, Arjen M. Dondorp, M. Abul Faiz, Peter W. Gething, Tran T. Hien, Tin M. Hlaing, Mallika Imwong, Jean-Marie Kindermans, Richard J. Maude…

smokeSALUD: exploring the effect of demographic change on the smoking prevalence at municipality level in Austria

Reducing the smoking population is still high on the policy agenda, as smoking leads to many preventable diseases, such as lung cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more. In Austria, data on smoking prevalence...

Authors: Melanie Tomintz, Bernhard Kosar and Graham Clarke

Characterizing physical activity and food urban environments: a GIS-based multicomponent proposal

Healthier urban environments influence the distribution of cardiovascular risk factors. Our aim was to design and implement a multicomponent method based on Geographic Information Systems to characterize and e...

Authors: Alba Cebrecos, Julia Díez, Pedro Gullón, Usama Bilal, Manuel Franco and Francisco Escobar

Geographic dimensions of a health network dedicated to occupational and work related diseases

Although introduced nearly 40 years ago, Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have never been used to study Occupational Health information regarding the different types, scale or sources of data. The geograp...

Authors: Marie Delaunay, Vincent Godard, Mélina Le Barbier, Annabelle Gilg Soit Ilg, Cédric Aubert, Anne Maître, Damien Barbeau and Vincent Bonneterre

Comparison of methods to estimate water access: a pilot study of a GPS-based approach in low resource settings

Most water access studies involve self-reported measures such as time spent or simple spatial measures such as Euclidean distance from home to source. GPS-based measures of access are often considered actual acce...

Authors: Amber L. Pearson

Effects of health intervention programs and arsenic exposure on child mortality from acute lower respiratory infections in rural Bangladesh

Respiratory infections continue to be a public health threat, particularly to young children in developing countries. Understanding the geographic patterns of diseases and the role of potential risk factors ca...

Authors: Warren C. Jochem, Abdur Razzaque and Elisabeth Dowling Root

Which environmental factors most strongly influence a street’s appeal for bicycle transport among adults? A conjoint study using manipulated photographs

Micro-environmental factors (specific features within a streetscape), instead of macro-environmental factors (urban planning features), are more feasible to modify in existing neighborhoods and thus more pract...

Authors: Lieze Mertens, Delfien Van Dyck, Ariane Ghekiere, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Benedicte Deforche, Nico Van de Weghe and Jelle Van Cauwenberg

The spatial structure of chronic morbidity: evidence from UK census returns

Disease prevalence models have been widely used to estimate health, lifestyle and disability characteristics for small geographical units when other data are not available. Yet, knowledge is often lacking abou...

Authors: Peter F. Dutey-Magni and Graham Moon

Do marginalized neighbourhoods have less healthy retail food environments? An analysis using Bayesian spatial latent factor and hurdle models

Findings of whether marginalized neighbourhoods have less healthy retail food environments (RFE) are mixed across countries, in part because inconsistent approaches have been used to characterize RFE ‘healthfu...

Authors: Hui Luan, Leia M. Minaker and Jane Law