Children's perceptions of environment and health in two Scottish neighbourhoods

This article explores children's understanding of the role that neighbourhood plays in their health and well-being. Whilst evidence exists on the relationship between the environment and children's health, we have little knowledge of this from the perspective of children themselves. Children's experiences are all too frequently researched through the eyes of adults. Following a Rights of the Child framework, respecting children's views and giving them due weight, this paper reports from a project that worked with children from two relatively deprived urban neighbourhoods in Scotland. Using this framework, the children themselves were the researchers who designed the themes, decided upon the methods, conducted the research and analysed the resulting data. Using focus groups, visual mapping and community walks the children explored their local neighbourhoods and the findings reveal features of the environment that the children perceive as important for their health and well-being. The children selected three themes to explore in the research: safety, littering, and family and friends, through which they elicit their experiences, feelings and attitudes towards the environment and their well-being. The paper reveals that not only do the children have a deep understanding of the link between environment and health, but that they also understand how aspects of disadvantage, including place-based stigma, can limit their social participation and inclusion in society. We conclude with recommendations made by the children themselves, ranging from access to affordable activities, improved open spaces, ‘support not stigma’ and the need to be heard in local decision making

Tobacco Retail Environment and Smoking: A Systematic Review of Geographic Exposure Measures and Implications for Future Studies

Introduction: To review the geographic exposure measures used to characterize the tobacco environment in terms of density of tobacco outlets and proximity to tobacco outlets, and its association with smoking-related outcomes. Methods: We used PubMed and Google Scholar to find articles published until December 2019. The search was restricted to studies that (1) measured the density of and/or proximity to tobacco outlets and (2) included associations with smoking outcomes. The extraction was coordinated by several observers. We gathered data on the place of exposure, methodological approaches, and smoking outcomes. Results: Forty articles were eligible out of 3002 screened papers. Different density and proximity measures were described. 47.4% density calculations were based on simple counts (number of outlets within an area). Kernel density estimations and other measures weighted by the size of the area (outlets per square kilometer), population, and road length were identified. 81.3% of the articles which assessed proximity to tobacco outlets used length distances estimated through the street network. Higher density values were mostly associated with higher smoking prevalence (76.2%), greater tobacco use and smoking initiation (64.3%), and lower cessation outcomes (84.6%). Proximity measures were not associated with any smoking outcome except with cessation (62.5%). Conclusion: Associations between the density of tobacco outlets and smoking outcomes were found regardless of the exposure measure applied. Further research is warranted to better understand how proximity to tobacco outlets may influence the smoking outcomes. This systematic review discusses methodological gaps in the literature and provides insights for future studies exploring the tobacco environment. Implications: Our findings pose some methodological lessons to improve the exposure measures on the tobacco outlet environment. Solving these methodological gaps is crucial to understand the influence of the tobacco environment on the smoking outcomes. Activity spaces should be considered in further analyses because individuals are exposed to tobacco beyond their residence or school neighborhood. Further studies in this research area demand density estimations weighted by the size of the area, population, or road length, or measured using Kernel density estimations. Proximity calculations should be measured through the street network and should consider travel times apart from the length distance

Evidence-based selection of environmental factors and datasets for measuring multiple environmental deprivation in epidemiological research

This Environment and Human Health project aims to develop a health-based summary measure of multiple physical environmental deprivation for the UK, akin to the measures of multiple socioeconomic deprivation that are widely used in epidemiology. Here we describe the first stage of the project, in which we aimed to identify health-relevant dimensions of physical environmental deprivation and acquire suitable environmental datasets to represent population exposure to these dimensions at the small-area level. We present the results of this process: an evidence-based list of environmental dimensions with population health relevance for the UK, and the spatial datasets we obtained and processed to represent these dimensions. This stage laid the foundations for the rest of the project, which will be reported elsewhere

Elasticity and viscosity of ice measured in the experiment on wave propagation below the ice in HSVA ice tank

An experiment on the propagation of flexural-gravity waves was performed in the HSVA ice tank in 2018. Physical characteristics of the water-ice system were measured in different locations in the tank during the tests, with several sensors deployed in the water, on the ice and in the air. Periodical waves with frequencies of 0.5-1.5 Hz were generated by HSVA wave maker during 10 min in each test. The phase speeds and wave damping associated with anelastic deformations of ice were analyzed in the paper. Elastic modulus of ice was calculated for each wave period from the dispersion equation of flexural gravity waves where measured values of wave frequencies and wave speeds were substituted. Viscous coefficient of ice was calculated after the analysis of wave damping. Obtained values have relatively big dispersion which can be explained by natural variability of ice properties

Laboratory Investigations of the Bending Rheology of Floating Saline Ice and Physical Mechanisms of Wave Damping In the HSVA Hamburg Ship Model Basin Ice Tank

An experimental investigation of flexural-gravity waves was performed in the Hamburg Ship Model Basin HSVA ice tank. Physical characteristics of the water-ice system were measured in several locations of the tank with a few sensors deployed in the water and on the ice during the tests. The three-dimensional motion of ice was measured with the optical system Qualisys; water pressure was measured by several pressure sensors mounted on the tank wall, in-plane deformations of the ice and the temperatures of the ice and water were measured by fiber optic sensors; and acoustic emissions were recorded with compressional crystal sensors. The experimental setup and selected results of the tests are discussed in this paper. Viscous-elastic model (Burgers material) is adopted to describe the dispersion and attenuation of waves propagating below the ice. The elastic modulus and the coefficient of viscosity are calculated using the experimental data. The results of the measurements demonstrated the dependence of wave characteristics from the variability of ice properties during the experiment caused by the brine drainage. We showed that the cyclic motion of the ice along the tank, imitating ice drift, and the generation of under ice turbulence cause an increase of wave damping. Recorded acoustic emissions demonstrated cyclic microcracking occurring with wave frequencies and accompanying bending deformations of the ice. This explains the viscous and anelastic rheology of the model ice

“Availability is the poor cousin of marketing and pricing”: qualitative study of stakeholders’ views on policy priorities around tobacco and alcohol availability

Background: Reducing alcohol and tobacco availability is one potential way to reduce harm from these unhealthy commodities. This study explores key stakeholders’ views in relation to policy priorities and considerations for both alcohol and tobacco availability. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 stakeholders from alcohol and/or tobacco third sector organizations, government, public health and licensing in Scotland. Interviews explored their views on alcohol/tobacco availability, including its place in the policy landscape and experiences in gaining support for policies. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Stakeholders believed that alcohol and tobacco availability have not received as much policy attention as pricing and marketing. Stakeholders highlighted the importance of public support and having sufficient evidence to inform policy. Key considerations for future policies include: drawing on lessons from tobacco control policies to address alcohol availability, considering different aspects of availability (especially online availability), ensuring policies reflect their local context, considering the impact of policies on children, and managing retailers’ involvement in the policy process. Conclusion: This study highlights key considerations for policies to address alcohol and tobacco availability. There is a need for more research to consider retailers’ views and provide greater detail on specific policy suggestions.</p

Have regional inequalities in life expectancy widened within the European Union between 1991 and 2008?

&lt;b&gt;BACKGROUND:&lt;/b&gt; Health inequalities have widened within and between many European countries over recent decades, but Europe-wide sub-national trends have been largely overlooked. For regions across the European Union (EU), we assess how geographical inequalities (i.e., between regions) and sociospatial inequalities (i.e., between regions grouped by an area-level measure of average household income) in male and female life expectancy have changed between 1991 and 2008.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;METHODS:&lt;/b&gt; Household income, life expectancy at birth and population count data were obtained for 129 regions (level 2 Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units, 'NUTS') in 13 European countries with 1991-2008 data (2008 population = 272 million). We assessed temporal changes in the range of life expectancies, for all regions and for Western and Eastern European regions separately.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;RESULTS:&lt;/b&gt; Between 1991 and 2008, the geographical range of life expectancies found among European regions remained relatively constant, with the exception of life expectancy among male Eastern Europeans, for whom the range widened by 2.8 years. Sociospatial inequalities in life expectancy (1999-2008 data only) remained constant for all regions combined and for Western Europe, but more than doubled in size for male Eastern Europeans. For female Eastern Europeans, life expectancy was unrelated to regional household income.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;CONCLUSIONS:&lt;/b&gt;Regional life-expectancy inequalities in the EU have not narrowed over 2 decades, despite efforts to reduce them. Household income differences across European regions may partly explain these inequalities. As inequalities transcend national borders, reduction efforts may require EU-wide coordination in addition to national efforts.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

Inequalities in children’s exposure to alcohol outlets in Scotland: a GPS study

Background: Alcohol use is a leading cause of harm in young people and increases the risk of alcohol dependence in adulthood. Alcohol use is also a key driver of rising health inequalities. Quantifying inequalities in exposure to alcohol outlets within the activity spaces of pre-adolescent children—a vulnerable, formative development stage—may help understand alcohol use in later life. Methods: GPS data were collected from a nationally representative sample of 10-and-11-year-old children (n = 688, 55% female). The proportion of children, and the proportion of each child’s GPS, exposed to alcohol outlets was compared across area-level income-deprivation quintiles, along with the relative proportion of exposure occurring within 500 m of each child’s home and school. Results: Off-sales alcohol outlets accounted for 47% of children’s exposure, which was higher than expected given their availability (31% of alcohol outlets). The proportion of children exposed to alcohol outlets did not differ by area deprivation. However, the proportion of time children were exposed showed stark inequalities. Children living in the most deprived areas were almost five times more likely to be exposed to off-sales alcohol outlets than children in the least deprived areas (OR 4.83, 3.04–7.66; P &lt; 0.001), and almost three times more likely to be exposed to on-sales alcohol outlets (OR 2.86, 1.11–7.43; P = 0.03). Children in deprived areas experienced 31% of their exposure to off-sales outlets within 500 m of their homes compared to 7% for children from less deprived areas. Children from all areas received 22—32% of their exposure within 500 m of schools, but the proportion of this from off-sales outlets increased with area deprivation. Conclusions: Children have little control over what they are exposed to, so policies that reduce inequities in alcohol availability should be prioritised to ensure that all children have the opportunity to lead healthy lives

Taking health geography out of the academy:Measuring academic impact

In recent years the academic landscape has been shifting and significantly affected by the introduction of an ‘impact agenda’. Academics are increasingly expected to demonstrate their broader engagement with the world and evidence related outcomes. Whilst different countries are at various stages along this impact journey, the UK is the first country to link impact to funding outcomes; here impact now accounts for 20% of an academic unit of assessment’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) result. This concept of ‘research impact’ implies that our work can effect change through one or more identifiable events in a direct, preferably linear and certainly measurable manner. In this paper, focusing on impact in social science, and policy-related impact in particular, we argue that such a cause and effect model is inappropriate. Furthermore that impact is not immediate or indeed linear within social science research. Drawing on recent work on alcohol and tobacco environments in Scotland we present a case study of impact, reflect on the process and respond to the challenges of moving beyond ‘business as usual’ public participation towards the measurement of outcomes. In doing so we critique the way in which ‘impact’ is currently measured and suggest a move towards an enlightenment model with greater recognition of process