The purpose of this study was to create a typology of longitudinal exposure to food environment based on socio-economic context.
Food environment trajectories were modelled using a sequence analysis ...method, followed by a logistic regression to describe those trajectories.
The study took place in Quebec, Canada, using food environment data from 2009, 2011 and 2018 merged with participants' demographic and socio-economic characteristics.
At recruitment, 38 627 participants between the ages of 40 and 69 years from six urban areas in Quebec were included in the CARTaGENE cohort study. The cohort was representative of the Quebec urban population within this age range.
Our study revealed five trajectories of food access over time: (1) limited access to food stores throughout the study period, (2) limited access improving, (3) good access diminishing, (4) good access throughout the period and (5) low access throughout the period. Logistic regression analysis showed that participants who were unable to work (OR = 1·42, CI = 1·08-1·86), lived in households with five or more persons (OR = 1·69, CI = 1·17-2·42) and those living in low-income households (OR = 1·32, CI = 1·03-1·71) had higher odds of experiencing a disadvantaged food environment trajectory. Additionally, the level of education and age of participants were associated with the odds of experiencing a disadvantaged food environment trajectory.
The study demonstrates that people facing socio-economic disadvantage are more likely to experience a disadvantaged food environment trajectory over time.
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. census tracts) depends on a type of distance, a method of aggregation, and a measure of accessibility. The aim of this paper is to compare discrepancies in results for the geographical accessibility of health services computed using six distance types (Euclidean and Manhattan distances; shortest network time on foot, by bicycle, by public transit, and by car), four aggregation methods, and fourteen accessibility measures.
To explore variations in results according to the six types of distance and the aggregation methods, correlation analyses are performed. To measure how the assessment of potential spatial access varies according to three parameters (type of distance, aggregation method, and accessibility measure), sensitivity analysis (SA) and uncertainty analysis (UA) are conducted.
First, independently of the type of distance used except for shortest network time by public transit, the results are globally similar (correlation >0.90). However, important local variations in correlation between Cartesian and the four shortest network time distances are observed, notably in suburban areas where Cartesian distances are less precise. Second, the choice of the aggregation method is also important: compared with the most accurate aggregation method, accessibility measures computed from census tract centroids, though not inaccurate, yield important measurement errors for 10% of census tracts. Third, the SA results show that the evaluation of potential geographic access may vary a great deal depending on the accessibility measure and, to a lesser degree, the type of distance and aggregation method. Fourth, the UA results clearly indicate areas of strong uncertainty in suburban areas, whereas central neighbourhoods show lower levels of uncertainty.
In order to accurately assess potential geographic access to health services in urban areas, it is particularly important to choose a precise type of distance and aggregation method. Then, depending on the research objectives, the choices of the type of network distance (according to the mode of transportation) and of a number of accessibility measures should be carefully considered and adequately justified.
Purpose
There is a growing interest in assessing the benefits of exposure to urban greenspace on mental health due to the increased urbanization of youth and concerns for their mental health. We ...investigated the prospective associations of residential greenspace in childhood and mental health in adolescence. Use of a well-characterized birth cohort permitted adjustment for a range of potential confounding factors including family and neighborhood characteristics in addition to prior mental health problems, and exploration of moderation effects by sex and family socioeconomic status.
Methods
We analyzed longitudinal data collected from 742 urban-dwelling participants of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Children Development. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 250, 500, and 1000 m buffer zones surrounding the home residence was used to indicate childhood exposure to greenspace. Six self-reported mental health problems at 15/17 years were examined using the Mental Health and Social Inadaptation questionnaire: inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, conduct, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.
Results
Childhood urban greenspace was associated with lower inattention problems in both females and males. We observed a 0.14 reduced standard deviation (SD) (
β =
− 0.14, SE = 0.05,
p
< 0.01) in relation to an interquartile range (IQR) increase of NDVI (0.15) at the 250 m buffer zone, and similar results were found in 500 m and 1000 m buffer zones. These associations only slightly attenuated after adjustment for individual (sex, childhood mental health), family (family SES, maternal age at birth, parental mental health, family composition), and neighborhood (material and social deprivation) characteristics (
β =
− 0.13, SE = 0.06,
p
= 0.03). No association was found for other mental health problems, and no moderation associations of sex or family socioeconomic status were observed.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that increasing residential greenspace in cities may be associated with modest benefits in attentional capacities in youth, necessitating further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
significant proportion of secondary school students and young adults in Quebec have experimented with electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Both personal and environmental factors have been ...associated with the use of vaping products by youth. Geographical accessibility to the points of sale of these products may be one of these factors. The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of the spatial distribution of stores specializing in the sale of vaping products (vape shops) in the vicinity of secondary schools, colleges and CEGEPs in the province of Quebec.
We calculated the accessibility of businesses to account for geographical exposure. Analyses were conducted to provide a snapshot of the situation in Quebec and to identify associations between the characteristics of educational institutions and geographical accessibility to vape shops.
A total of 299 vape shops were identified. Colleges are closer to a vape shop (median distance: 1.2 km) than are secondary schools (median distance: 2.3 km). Large private colleges located in urban areas are closer to specialized vape shops. Medium or large private secondary schools located in urban and more advantaged areas are also closer to a specialized vape shop.
This study is a step in developing an understanding of the location of vaping product shops and their geographical accessibility to young people. Important to consider is the geographical accessibility of young people to non-specialized shops that also sell e-cigarettes and then any potential connections between geographical accessibility to such non-specialized shops and the use of vaping products by young people.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND
School environments providing a wide selection of physical activities and sufficient facilities are both essential and formative to ensure young people adopt active lifestyles. We ...describe the association between school opportunities for physical activity and socioeconomic factors measured by low‐income cutoff index, school size (number of students), and neighborhood population density.
METHODS
A cross‐sectional survey using a 2‐stage stratified sampling method built a representative sample of 143 French‐speaking public schools in Quebec, Canada. Self‐administered questionnaires collected data describing the physical activities offered and schools' sports facilities. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed separately for primary and secondary schools.
RESULTS
In primary schools, school size was positively associated with more intramural and extracurricular activities, more diverse interior facilities, and activities promoting active transportation. Low‐income primary schools were more likely to offer a single gym. Low‐income secondary schools offered lower diversity of intramural activities and fewer exterior sporting facilities. High‐income secondary schools with a large school size provided a greater number of opportunities, larger infrastructures, and a wider selection of physical activities than smaller low‐income schools.
CONCLUSIONS
Results reveal an overall positive association between school availability of physical and sport activity and socioeconomic factors.
Researchers and public health officials in Canada, the United States and Australia have for some time noted broader geographic accessibility to gambling establishments, above all in socioeconomically ...underprivileged communities. This increase in availability could lead to more and more gambling problems. This article focuses, in an ecological perspective, in particular on a spatial analysis of the geographic accessibility of sites possessing a VLT permit in the Montréal area, i.e. Montréal Island, the South Shore and Laval, from the standpoint of the development of an indicator of the vulnerability (socioeconomic components and demographic components) to gambling of populations at the level of certain neighbourhood units (dissemination areas). With the recent development of geographic information systems (GIS), it is now possible to ascertain accessibility to services much more accurately, for example by taking into account the configuration of the road network.
The findings of our analysis reveal widespread geographic accessibility to sites possessing a VLT permit in the downtown area and in pericentral districts. In some neighbourhood units, a site possessing a VLT permit may be within a three-minute walk. In the region studied overall, average walking time to a VLT site is nine minutes. Access to this type of service on foot is usually limited in the outskirts. However, a number of groups of sites possessing VLT permits are found along certain axial highways. According to local spatial self-correlation analyses, the findings suggest a significant link between walking accessibility to sites possessing VLT permits and the vulnerability of the communities. In a number of neighbourhood units with ready access to VLT's the populations display high vulnerability.
These findings reveal that accessibility to sites possessing a VLT permit is often linked to the vulnerability (socioeconomic and demographic components) of communities. Reliance in our analyses on neighbourhood units with fairly small areas enabled us to emphasize the rectilinear dimension of the spatial distribution of sites possessing VLT permits. This is a significant link that public health officials must consider when elaborating programs to combat pathological gambling.
Unhealthy eating habits can compromise one’s health and generate significant individual, social, and health services costs. The adoption of healthy eating habits depends on individual and ...environmental determinants related to the characteristics of the physical, economic, political, and socio-cultural environments. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the effect of the physical environment, more precisely the effect of food outlet accessibility, on diet. A subsample of the CARTaGENE survey, composed of 7783 adults aged 40 to 70 years old residing in four cities in Quebec (Canada), was used. Measures of proximity as well as absolute and relative measures of the density of retail food outlets, fast-food outlets, and convenience stores near participants’ residences were used to analyze fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake. Univariate logistic regression showed that the minimal recommended portions of F&V intake (5 or more portions) were significantly associated with all seven measures of the retail food environment (OR between 0.76 and 1.27). However, these relations were mostly non-significant when confounding variables were considered in the analysis except and counterintuitively for proximity to the nearest convenience store and density of convenience stores. Variables most significantly correlated to F&V intake were individual-level confounding variables of sex, income, and education. These results show that more research is needed to understand factors explaining F&V intake in this population.
A school environment that encourages students to opt for food with sound nutritional value is both essential and formative in ensuring that young people adopt healthy eating habits. The present study ...explored the associations between the socio-economic characteristics of the school environment and the school food environment.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2008-2009. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed on data from public primary and secondary schools.
Quebec, Canada. The school food offering was observed directly and systematically by trained research assistants. Interviews were conducted to fully describe food offerings in the schools and schools' child-care services.
A two-stage stratified sampling was used to build a representative sample of 143 French-speaking public schools. The response rate was 66.2%.
The primary and secondary schools in low-density areas were more likely to be located near diners (primary: P=0.018; secondary: P=0.007). The secondary schools in deprived areas were less likely to have a regular food committee (P=0.004), to seek student input on menu choices (P=0.001) or to have a long lunch period (P=0.010). The primary schools in deprived areas were less likely to have a food service (P=0.025) and their meal periods were shorter (P=0.033).
The schools in areas with lower socio-economic status provided an environment less favourable for a healthy diet. From a public health perspective, the results of this analysis could assist policy makers and managers to identify actions to support the creation of favourable school environments.
The Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO) Core Indicators
Work Group standardizes definitions and calculation methods for over 120 public health
indicators to enhance ...accurate and standardized community health status reporting
across public health units in Ontario. The Built Environment Subgroup is a multi-disciplinary
group made up of planners, researchers, policy analysts, registered dietitians,
geographic information systems (GIS) analysts and epidemiologists. The Subgroup
selected and operationalized a suite of objective, standardized indicators intended to
help public health units and regional health authorities assess their community retail
food environments. The Subgroup proposed three indicators that use readily available
data sources and GIS tools to characterize geographic access to various types of retail
food outlets within neighbourhoods in urban settings. This article provides a status
report on the development of these food environment indicators.
The food environment is a promising arena in which to influence people's dietary habits. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive food environment assessment tool for businesses and characterize ...the food environment of a low-tomedium income area of Montréal, Canada.
We developed a tool, Mesure de l'environnement alimentaire du consommateur dans les supermarchés (MEAC-S), and tested it for reliability. We used the MEAC-S to assess the consumer food environment of 17 supermarkets in four neighbourhoods of Montréal. We measured the shelf length, variety, price, display counts and in-store positions of fruits and vegetables (FV) and ultra-processed food products (UPFPs). We also assessed fresh FV for quality. Store size was estimated using the total measured shelf length for all food categories. We conducted Spearman correlations between these indicators of the food environment.
Reliability analyses revealed satisfactory results for most indicators. Characterization of the food environment revealed high variability in shelf length, variety and price of FV between supermarkets and suggested a disproportionate promotion of UPFPs. Display counts of UPFPs outside their normal display location ranged from 7 to 26, and they occupied 8 to 33 strategic in-store positions, whereas the number of display counts of fresh FV outside their normal display location exceeded 1 in only 2 of the 17 stores surveyed, and they occupied a maximum of 2 strategic in-store positions per supermarket. Price of UPFPs was inversely associated with their prominence (p < .005) and promotion (p < .003). Store size was associated with display counts and strategic in-store positioning of UPFPs (p < .001), but not FV, and was inversely associated with the price of soft drinks (p < .003).
This study illustrates the variability of the food environment between supermarkets and underscores the importance of measuring in-store characteristics to adequately picture the consumer food environment.
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