Suchergebnisse

Although a great deal of research work has been done by social scientists on walkability and playability, the focus to a large extent has been on the global north. Research work on the urban built environment and children's play has not engaged Africa in general and Ghana in particular. More importantly, there is limited evidence of policies in terms of community-based practices and governmental policies and programmes for the promotion of play. The limited effort in promoting physical activities have to a large extent focused on walkability, yet evidence to date indicates that walking only constitutes a small proportion of the physical activities of children. This is against the backdrop of growing urbanization and the increasing reported incidence of sedentary lifestyles, less physical activity and obesity among children and the youth. Our main objective in this paper is to contribute to the literature on Ghana, and by extension Sub-Saharan Africa, by examining the extent to which playability features in city and national policies and strategies in urban Ghana. We conclude that while there is dearth of public policies on children's play, with the situation in communities compounded by weak city government capacity to plan, implement and enforce development control to protect open spaces for children's play and recreational purposes. The paper recommends a change in policy and practice on creating spaces in urban built-environments for children's play in urban Ghana.

BackgroundEmerging evidence about the effects of endocrine disruptors on asthma symptoms suggests new opportunities to reduce asthma by changing personal environments. Right-to-know ethics supports returning personal results for these chemicals to participants, so they can make decisions to reduce exposures. Yet researchers and institutional review boards have been reluctant to approve results reports in low-income communities, which are disproportionately affected by asthma. Concerns include limited literacy, lack of resources to reduce exposures, co-occurring stressors, and lack of models for effective reporting. To better understand the ethical and public health implications of returning personal results in low-income communities, we investigated parents' experiences of learning their children's environmental chemical and biomonitoring results in the Green Housing Study of asthma.MethodsThe Green Housing Study measured indoor chemical exposures, allergens, and children's asthma symptoms in "green"-renovated public housing and control sites in metro-Boston and Cincinnati in 2011-2013. We developed reports for parents of children in the study, including results for their child and community. We observed community meetings where results were reported, and metro-Boston residents participated in semi-structured interviews in 2015 about their report-back experience. Interviews were systematically coded and analyzed.ResultsReport-back was positively received, contributed to greater understanding, built trust between researchers and participants, and facilitated action to improve health. Sampling visits and community meetings also contributed to creating a positive study experience for participants. Participants were able to make changes in their homes, such as altering product use and habits that may reduce asthma symptoms, though some faced roadblocks from family members. Participants also gained access to medical resources, though some felt that clinicians were not responsive. Participants wanted larger scale change from government or industry and wanted researchers to leverage study results to achieve change.ConclusionsReport-back on environmental chemical exposures in low-income communities can enhance research benefits by engaging residents with personally relevant information that informs and motivates actions to reduce exposure to asthma triggers. Ethical practices in research should support deliberative report-back in vulnerable communities.

Purpose. To examine behavioral patterns and sociodemographic predictors of diet, inactivity, and tobacco use among a diverse sample of residents from low-income housing developments. Design. In this cross-sectional survey study, households and residents were randomly selected using multistage cluster sampling. Setting. The study was conducted in 20 low-income housing developments in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area. Subjects. Subjects were 828 residents who completed the survey (response rate = 49.3%). Forty-one percent of participants were Hispanic and 38% were non-Hispanic Black. Measures. Outcomes measured were diet, inactivity, and tobacco use. Predictors measured were age, race/ethnicity, gender, education, country in which the subject was born, language spoken, and financial hardship. Analysis. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of three health behaviors with sociodemographic factors. Results. Age, gender, language spoken, and financial hardship showed significant relationships with all three behaviors. For example, those who reported less financial hardship (odds ratio [OR] = 1.75) were more likely to eat healthier. Residents who spoke no English, or at least one language in addition to English, were significantly more likely to report healthier eating (OR = 2.78 and 3.30, respectively) than those who spoke English only. Men were significantly more likely to report less healthy eating (OR = 0.65) than were women. Similar trends emerged for inactivity and tobacco use. Conclusion. Effective health promotion interventions in low-income housing developments that leverage protective factors while addressing risk factors have the potential to reduce income-related health disparities in these concentrated resource-deprived neighborhoods.

Background Emerging evidence about the effects of endocrine disruptors on asthma symptoms suggests new opportunities to reduce asthma by changing personal environments. Right-to-know ethics supports returning personal results for these chemicals to participants, so they can make decisions to reduce exposures. Yet researchers and institutional review boards have been reluctant to approve results reports in low-income communities, which are disproportionately affected by asthma. Concerns include limited literacy, lack of resources to reduce exposures, co-occurring stressors, and lack of models for effective reporting. To better understand the ethical and public health implications of returning personal results in low-income communities, we investigated parents' experiences of learning their children's environmental chemical and biomonitoring results in the Green Housing Study of asthma. Methods The Green Housing Study measured indoor chemical exposures, allergens, and children's asthma symptoms in "green"-renovated public housing and control sites in metro-Boston and Cincinnati in 2011–2013. We developed reports for parents of children in the study, including results for their child and community. We observed community meetings where results were reported, and metro-Boston residents participated in semi-structured interviews in 2015 about their report-back experience. Interviews were systematically coded and analyzed. Results Report-back was positively received, contributed to greater understanding, built trust between researchers and participants, and facilitated action to improve health. Sampling visits and community meetings also contributed to creating a positive study experience for participants. Participants were able to make changes in their homes, such as altering product use and habits that may reduce asthma symptoms, though some faced roadblocks from family members. Participants also gained access to medical resources, though some felt that clinicians were not responsive. Participants wanted larger scale change from government or industry and wanted researchers to leverage study results to achieve change. Conclusions Report-back on environmental chemical exposures in low-income communities can enhance research benefits by engaging residents with personally relevant information that informs and motivates actions to reduce exposure to asthma triggers. Ethical practices in research should support deliberative report-back in vulnerable communities.