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

Background: 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 whether this association is mediated by transport-related physical activity (TPA). Methods: Longitudinal data of 271 Dutch community-dwelling adults aged 65years and older participating in the Elderly And their Neighbourhood (ELANE) study in 2011-2013 were used. Associations between objectively measured aesthetics (range 0-22), functional features (range 0-14), safety (range 0-16), and destinations (range 0-15) within road network buffers surrounding participants' residences, and self-reported disabilities in instrumental activities of daily living (range 0-8; measured twice over a 9months period) were investigated by using longitudinal tobit regression analyses. Furthermore, it was investigated whether self-reported TPA mediated associations between area characteristics and disabilities. Results: A one unit increase in aesthetics within the 400m buffer was associated with 0.86 less disabilities (95% CI -1.47 to -0.25; p<0.05), but other area characteristics were not related to disabilities. An increase in area aesthetics was associated with more TPA, and more minutes of TPA were associated with less disabilities. TPA however, only partly mediated the associated between area aesthetics and disabilities. Conclusions: Improving aesthetic features in the close by area around older persons' residences may help to prevent disability. © 2016 The Author(s)

An Improvement of Davidson&apos;s Iteration Method: Applications to MRCI and MRCEPA Calculations

ABSTRAC

Электромагнитная обстановка в компьютерных классах, ее контроль и методы нормализации

Приведены результаты экспериментального исследования электромагнитной обстановки (ЭМО), создаваемой компьютерами в учебных помещениях. Показано, что в зависимости от места расположения компьютера меняются размеры, создаваемой им зоны опасного излучения, даны рекомендации по контролю ЭМО и методам ее нормализации

Deliverable 6.1 - Demonstration prototype of the EuroMix model toolbox

This document describes in short the new features in a demonstration prototype of the EuroMix toolbox, developed as MCRA 8.2. An important aim of the EuroMix project is to develop and implement a web-based platform (the EuroMix toolbox) including data and models accessible to all key-actors in risk assessment and risk management. In the EuroMix project the development of a mixture selection module based on exposure was prioritised, because the choice of chemicals for the experiments depended on this. A mixture selection module was therefore developed, based on a method called sparse non-negative matrix under-approximation (SNMU). The mixture selection module was then applied to French and Dutch data, leading to a list of suggested chemicals for each adverse outcome pathway in the project

Health effects of holistic housing renovation in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the Netherlands:a qualitative exploration among residents and professionals

Background: Holistic housing renovations combine physical housing improvements with social and socioeconomic interventions (e.g. referral to social services, debt counselling, involvement in decision-making, promoting social cohesion). In a deprived neighbourhood in Utrecht, the Netherlands, this paper examined residents’ and professionals’ experiences, ideas, and perceptions regarding holistic housing renovation, its health effects, and underlying mechanisms explaining those effects. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 social housing residents exposed to holistic housing renovation, and 12 professionals involved in either the physical renovation or social interventions implemented. Residents were interviewed in various renovation stages (before, during, after renovation). Transcripts were deductively and inductively coded using qualitative software. Results: Residents experienced and professionals acknowledged renovation stress caused by nuisance from construction work (noise, dust), having to move stuff around, and temporary moving; lack of information and control; and perceived violation of privacy. Involvement in design choices was appreciated, and mental health improvement was expected on the long term due to improved housing quality and visual amenity benefits. Social contact between residents increased as the renovation became topic for small talk. Few comments were made regarding physical health effects. The interviews revealed a certain amount of distrust in and dissatisfaction with the housing corporation, construction company, and other authorities. Conclusions: Renovation stress, aggravated by lack of information and poor accessibility of housing corporation and construction company, negatively affects mental health and sense of control. Potential stress relievers are practical help with packing and moving furniture, and increased predictability by good and targeted communication. Social interventions can best be offered after renovation, when residents live in their renovated apartment and the nuisance and stress from the renovation is behind them. Social partners can use the period leading up to the renovation to show their faces, offer practical help to reduce renovation stress, and increase residents’ trust in their organization and authorities in general. This might also contribute to residents’ willingness to accept help with problems in the social domain after renovation.</p

Exploring why residents of socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods have less favourable perceptions of their neighbourhood environment than residents of wealthy neighbourhoods.

Residents of socioeconomically deprived areas perceive their neighbourhood as less conducive to healthy behaviours than residents of more affluent areas. Whether these unfavourable perceptions are based on objective neighbourhood features or other factors is poorly understood. We examined individual and contextual correlates of socioeconomic inequalities in neighbourhood perceptions across five urban regions in Europe. Data were analysed from 5205 participants of the SPOTLIGHT survey. Participants reported perceptions of their neighbourhood environment with regard to aesthetics, safety, the presence of destinations and functionality of the neighbourhood, which were summed into an overall neighbourhood perceptions score. Multivariable multilevel regression analyses were conducted to investigate whether the following factors were associated with socioeconomic inequalities in neighbourhood perceptions: objectively observed neighbourhood features, neighbourhood social capital, exposure to the neighbourhood, self-rated health and lifestyle behaviours. Objectively observed traffic safety, aesthetics and the presence of destinations in the neighbourhood explained around 15% of differences in neighbourhood perceptions between residents of high and low neighbourhoods; levels of neighbourhood social cohesion explained around 52%. Exposure to the neighbourhood, self-rated health and lifestyle behaviours were significant correlates of neighbourhood perceptions but did not contribute to socioeconomic differences. This cross-European study provided evidence that socioeconomic differences in neighbourhood perceptions are not only associated with objective neighbourhood features but also with social cohesion. Levels of physical activity, sleep duration, self-rated health, happiness and neighbourhood preference were also associated with neighbourhood perceptions

Neighbourhood social capital: measurement issues and associations with health outcomes.

We compared ecometric neighbourhood scores of social capital (contextual variation) to mean neighbourhood scores (individual and contextual variation), using several health-related outcomes (i.e. self-rated health, weight status and obesity-related behaviours). Data were analysed from 5,900 participants in the European SPOTLIGHT survey. Factor analysis of the 13-item social capital scale revealed two social capital constructs: social networks and social cohesion. The associations of ecometric and mean neighbourhood-level scores of these constructs with self-rated health, weight status and obesity-related behaviours were analysed using multilevel regression analyses, adjusted for key covariates. Analyses using ecometric and mean neighbourhood scores, but not mean neighbourhood scores adjusted for individual scores, yielded similar regression coefficients. Higher levels of social network and social cohesion were not only associated with better self-rated health, lower odds of obesity and higher fruit consumption, but also with prolonged sitting and less transport-related physical activity. Only associations with transport-related physical activity and sedentary behaviours were associated with mean neighbourhood scores adjusted for individual scores. As analyses using ecometric scores generated the same results as using mean neighbourhood scores, but different results when using mean neighbourhood scores adjusted for individual scores, this suggests that the theoretical advantage of the ecometric approach (i.e. teasing out individual and contextual variation) may not be achieved in practice. The different operationalisations of social network and social cohesion were associated with several health outcomes, but the constructs that appeared to represent the contextual variation best were only associated with two of the outcomes

Exploring why residents of socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods have less favourable perceptions of their neighbourhood environment than residents of wealthy neighbourhoods

Residents of socioeconomically deprived areas perceive their neighbourhood as less conducive to healthy behaviours than residents of more affluent areas. Whether these unfavourable perceptions are based on objective neighbourhood features or other factors is poorly understood. We examined individual and contextual correlates of socioeconomic inequalities in neighbourhood perceptions across five urban regions in Europe. Data were analysed from 5205 participants of the SPOTLIGHT survey. Participants reported perceptions of their neighbourhood environment with regard to aesthetics, safety, the presence of destinations and functionality of the neighbourhood, which were summed into an overall neighbourhood perceptions score. Multivariable multilevel regression analyses were conducted to investigate whether the following factors were associated with socioeconomic inequalities in neighbourhood perceptions: objectively observed neighbourhood features, neighbourhood social capital, exposure to the neighbourhood, self-rated health and lifestyle behaviours. Objectively observed traffic safety, aesthetics and the presence of destinations in the neighbourhood explained around 15% of differences in neighbourhood perceptions between residents of high and low neighbourhoods; levels of neighbourhood social cohesion explained around 52%. Exposure to the neighbourhood, self-rated health and lifestyle behaviours were significant correlates of neighbourhood perceptions but did not contribute to socioeconomic differences. This cross-European study provided evidence that socioeconomic differences in neighbourhood perceptions are not only associated with objective neighbourhood features but also with social cohesion. Levels of physical activity, sleep duration, self-rated health, happiness and neighbourhood preference were also associated with neighbourhood perceptions