Dataset Information

Study Protocol for the Evaluation of the Health Effects of Superblocks in Barcelona: The "Salut Als Carrers" (Health in the Streets) Project.

ABSTRACT: Superblocks are currently being introduced in Barcelona to respond to the city's scarcity of green spaces and high levels of air pollution, traffic injuries, and sedentariness. The aim is to calm the streets by reducing the number of square meters dedicated to private vehicles and to reclaim part of this public space for people. Salut als Carrers (Health in the Streets) is a project to evaluate the potential environmental and health effects of the superblock model with an equity perspective in Barcelona. This study aims to explain the various interventions implemented in different neighborhoods in Barcelona and the methods that will be used to evaluate them in a quasi-experimental and health impact assessment (HIA) approaches. Given the complexity of the intervention evaluated, the project employs mixed methodologies. Quantitative methods include: (a) a pre-post health survey of 1200 people randomly selected from the municipal register asked about self-perceived health and quality of life, social support, mental health, mobility, physical activity, neighborhood characteristics, and housing; (b) pre-post environmental measurements, mainly of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter of less than 10 µm (PM10), and particulate matter of less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and black carbon; (c) pre-post environmental walkability measures using the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) tool; (d) use of public space and physical activity levels using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC), a validated observation tool; (e) pre-post traffic injury measures with a comparison group; and (f) the comparison and integration of pre-post assessment with previous HIAs and the improvement of future HIAs. Qualitative studies will be performed to analyze residents' perception of these effects by using: (a) various focus groups according to different participant characteristics who are more or less likely to use the superblocks; and (b) a guerrilla ethnography, which is a method that combines ethnographic observation and semi-structured interviews. This study, which evaluates the impact of an ambitious urban-renewal program on health, will help to assess the effectiveness of public policy in terms of health and health inequalities.

SUBMITTER: Palencia L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7215938 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Study Protocol for the Evaluation of the Health Effects of Superblocks in Barcelona: The "Salut Als Carrers" (Health in the Streets) Project.

Palència Laia L León-Gómez Brenda Biaani BB Bartoll Xavier X Carrere Juli J Díez Elia E Font-Ribera Laia L Gómez Anna A López María José MJ Marí-Dell'Olmo Marc M Mehdipanah Roshanak R Olabarría Marta M Pérez Glòria G Puig-Ribera Anna A Rico Marc M Rojas-Rueda David D Vásquez-Vera Hugo H Pérez Katherine K

International journal of environmental research and public health 20200424 8

Superblocks are currently being introduced in Barcelona to respond to the city's scarcity of green spaces and high levels of air pollution, traffic injuries, and sedentariness. The aim is to calm the streets by reducing the number of square meters dedicated to private vehicles and to reclaim part of this public space for people. Salut als Carrers (Health in the Streets) is a project to evaluate the potential environmental and health effects of the superblock model with an equity perspective in B ...[more]

PMID: 32344630

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Project description:BackgroundThe onset of puberty and menarche is a specifically vulnerable time for girls, during which they begin to show interest in the opposite sex, while becoming exposed to a myriad of external pressures, including sexual coercion or harassment from boys and men, expectations to marry from their families, and the need to perform well in primary school in order to qualify for secondary school. According to several qualitative studies in Africa, such pressures are exacerbated by girls' lack of knowledge of their bodies, their rights, and the implications of their decisions, and by their inability to manage puberty and adolescence safely and comfortably with appropriate menstrual health and hygiene management (MHM) products. The evaluation of the Nia Project is one of the first to analyze the individual and combined contributions of sanitary pads and provision of comprehensive reproductive health education on girls' education and reproductive health outcomes.MethodsThe design for the evaluation of the Nia Project is a longitudinal, cluster-randomized controlled trial consisting of a baseline survey with a cohort of Class 7 girls, a school quality survey, qualitative data collection, school attendance tracking, and an endline survey at the completion of the 18-month intervention period with the same cohort. The study involves 140 public primary schools in three rural sub-counties (Magarini, Kaloleni and Ganze) of Kilifi County in the Coastal area of Kenya. The research sample includes 3489 girls, with about 25 girls per school on average. Before program implementation, the schools were stratified by sub-county and randomized to one of four study arms (35 schools per arm): 1) control, 2) disposable sanitary pads distribution, 2) reproductive health education, and 4) sanitary pad distribution and reproductive health education.DiscussionThe evidence provided will inform program investment and design, and contribute to the literature on the effect of menstrual health-based interventions on girls' agency, safety and life outcomes.Trial registrationISRCTN10894523 . Trial Registration Date: August 22, 2017.

Project description:BackgroundOsteoporosis, obesity, and fatty liver are increasingly common chronic diseases that seriously threaten people's health. Low-dose chest computed tomography (LDCT) scan is frequently used for lung cancer screening in health screenings and checkups. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) enables the accurate measurement of volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD), liver fat content, and abdominal fat area using the existing LDCT data without extra radiation. We initiated a new project, the China Health Big Data (China Biobank), which combines the LDCT scan images from lung cancer screening of participants in health checkup with QCT to investigate the added value of QCT to LDCT, in order to establish the normative reference database and diagnosis criteria for the three aforementioned conditions.MethodsThe China Biobank project is a prospective nationwide multicenter cohort study that will combine QCT technology with LDCT scans to measure bone mineral density (BMD), intra-abdominal fat distribution, and liver fat content of the generally healthy checkup participants. Mindways QCT calibration phantom (Mindways Software Inc., Austin, TX, USA) and analysis software QCT PRO v6.0 will be used for all centers. Before data collection begins, the European Spine Phantom (ESP) will be used for quality control analysis at each collaborating center. The inclusion criteria are a healthy checkup participant aged 30-90 years, with LDCT as a part of his/her health checkup protocol. Exclusion criteria are pregnant women or participants with a metal implant in the CT scan area. The LDCT images will be transferred to the Mindways workstation for analysis, and vBMD in the L1 and L2 vertebrae, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and liver fat content will be measured. As part of the health checkup, the demographic, anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, and a routine blood laboratory test will be collected. The estimated sample size will be about 30,000.ResultsThe combination of QCT with LDCT of the chest was validated in this project. The vBMD of spine, visceral fat and liver fat can be measured with a LDCT chest scan.ConclusionsThe China Biobank project will assess the added value of QCT to LDCT, and enable accurate evaluation of the prevalence of osteoporosis, obesity, and fatty liver disease in a very large Chinese cohort.

Project description:IntroductionThe European Environment Agency estimates that 75% of the European population lives in cities. Despite the many advantages of city life, the risks and challenges to health arising from urbanisation need to be addressed in order to tackle the growing burden of disease and health inequalities in cities. This study, Urban environment and health: a cross-sectional multiregional project based on population health surveys in Spain (DAS-EP project), aims to investigate the complex association between the urban environmental exposures (UrbEEs) and health.Methods and analysisDAS-EP is a Spanish multiregional cross-sectional project that combines population health surveys (PHS) and geographical information systems (GIS) allowing to collect rich individual-level data from 17 000 adult citizens participating in the PHS conducted in the autonomous regions of the Basque Country, Andalusia, and the Valencian Community, and the city of Barcelona in the years 2021-2023. This study focuses on the population living in cities or metropolitan areas with more than 100 000 inhabitants. UrbEEs are described by objective estimates at participants' home addresses by GIS, and subjective indicators present in PHS. The health outcomes included in the PHS and selected for this study are self-perceived health (general and mental), prevalence of chronic mental disorders, health-related quality of life, consumption of medication for common mental disorders and sleep quality. We aim to further understand the direct and indirect effects between UrbEEs and health, as well as to estimate the impact at the population level, taking respondents' sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and lifestyle into consideration.Ethics and disseminationThe study was approved by the regional Research Ethics Committee of the Basque Country (Ethics Committee for Research Involving Medicinal Products in the Basque Country; PI2022138), Andalusia (Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the Province of Granada; 2078-N-22), Barcelona (CEIC-PSMar; 2022/10667) and the Valencian Community (Ethics Committee for Clinical Research of the Directorate General of Public Health and Center for Advanced Research in Public Health; 20221125/04). The results will be communicated to the general population, health professionals, and institutions through conferences, reports and scientific articles.

Project description:BACKGROUND:A considerable proportion of outdoor physical activity (PA) is done on sidewalks and streets, necessitating the development of a reliable measure of PA performed in these settings. The Block Walk Method (BWM) is one of the more common approaches for this purpose. Although it utilizes reliable observation techniques and displays criterion validity, it remains relatively unchanged since its introduction in 2006. It is a nontechnical, labor-intensive, first generation method. Advancing the BWM would contribute significantly to our understanding of PA behavior. OBJECTIVE:This study will develop and test a new BWM that utilizes a wearable video device (WVD) and computer video analysis to assess PAs performed on sidewalks and streets. The specific aims are to improve the BWM by incorporating a WVD (eyeglasses with a high-definition video camera in the frame) into the methodology and advance this WVD-enhanced BWM by applying machine learning and recognition software to automatically extract information on PAs occurring on the sidewalks and streets from the videos. METHODS:Trained observers (1 wearing and 1 not wearing the WVD) will walk together at a set pace along predetermined 1000 ft sidewalk and street observation routes representing low, medium, and high walkable areas. During the walks, the non-WVD observer will use the traditional BWM to record the numbers of individuals standing, sitting, walking, biking, and running in observation fields along the routes. The WVD observer will continuously video the observation fields. Later, 2 investigators will view the videos to determine the number of individuals performing PAs in the observation fields. The video data will then be analyzed automatically using multiple deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to determine the number of humans in the observation fields and the type of PAs performed. Bland Altman methods and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) will be used to assess agreement. Potential sources of error such as occlusions (eg, trees) will be assessed using moderator analyses. RESULTS:Outcomes from this study are pending; however, preliminary studies supporting the research protocol indicate that the BWM is reliable for determining the PA mode (Cramer V=.89; P<.001), the address where the PA occurred (Cohen kappa=.85; P<.001), and the number engaged in an observed PA (ICC=.85; P<.001). The number of individuals seen walking along routes was correlated with several environmental characteristics such as sidewalk quality (r=.39; P=.02) and neighborhood aesthetics (r=.49; P<.001). Furthermore, we have used CNNs to detect cars, bikes, and pedestrians as well as individuals using park facilities. CONCLUSIONS:We expect the new approach will enhance measurement accuracy while reducing the burden of data collection. In the future, the capabilities of the WVD-CNN system will be expanded to allow for the determination of other characteristics captured in videos such as caloric expenditure and environmental conditions. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID):PRR1-10.2196/12976.

Project description:INTRODUCTION:Mental health issues appear as a growing problem in modern societies and tend to be more frequent in big cities. Where increased evidence exists for positive links between nature and mental health, associations between urban environment characteristics and mental health are still not well understood. These associations are highly complex and require an interdisciplinary and integrated research approach to cover the broad range of mitigating factors. This article presents the study protocol of a project called Nature Impact on Mental Health Distribution that aims to generate a comprehensive understanding of associations between mental health and the urban residential environment. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:Following a mixed-method approach, this project combines quantitative and qualitative research. In the quantitative part, we analyse among the Brussels urban population associations between the urban residential environment and mental health, taking respondents' socioeconomic status and physical health into account. Mental health is determined by the mental health indicators in the national Health Interview Survey (HIS). The urban residential environment is described by subjective indicators for the participant's dwelling and neighbourhood present in the HIS and objective indicators for buildings, network infrastructure and green environment developed for the purpose of this project. We assess the mediating role of physical activity, social life, noise and air pollution. In the qualitative part, we conduct walking interviews with Brussels residents to record their subjective well-being in association with their neighbourhood. In the validation part, results from these two approaches are triangulated and evaluated through interviews and focus groups with stakeholders of healthcare and urban planning sectors. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:The Privacy Commission of Belgium and ethical committee from University Hospital of Antwerp respectively approved quantitative database merging and qualitative interviewing. We will share project results with a wide audience including the scientific community, policy authorities and civil society through scientific and non-expert communication.

Project description:BackgroundColorectal cancers are one of the most common forms of malignancy worldwide. But two significant areas of research less studied deserve attention: health services use and development of patient stratification risk tools for these patients.MethodsDesigna prospective multicenter cohort study with a follow up period of up to 5 years after surgical intervention. Participant centers: 22 hospitals representing six autonomous communities of Spain. Participants/Study population: Patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer that have undergone surgical intervention and have consented to participate in the study between June 2010 and December 2012. Variables collected include pre-intervention background, sociodemographic parameters, hospital admission records, biological and clinical parameters, treatment information, and outcomes up to 5 years after surgical intervention. Patients completed the following questionnaires prior to surgery and in the follow up period: EuroQol-5D, EORTC QLQ-C30 (The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire) and QLQ-CR29 (module for colorectal cancer), the Duke Functional Social Support Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Barthel Index. The main endpoints of the study are mortality, tumor recurrence, major complications, readmissions, and changes in health-related quality of life at 30 days and at 1, 2, 3 and 5 years after surgical intervention.Statistical analysisIn relation to the different endpoints, predictive models will be used by means of multivariate logistic models, Cox or linear mixed-effects regression models. Simulation models for the prediction of discrete events in the long term will also be used, and an economic evaluation of different treatment strategies will be performed through the use of generalized linear models.DiscussionThe identification of potential risk factors for adverse events may help clinicians in the clinical decision making process. Also, the follow up by 5 years of this large cohort of patients may provide useful information to answer different health services research questions.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02488161 . Registration date: June 16, 2015.

Project description:INTRODUCTION:Traditionally, research and practice addressing mental health has been conducted within a unidimensional model, explaining mental health as the presence/absence of psychological problems (distress or psychopathological symptoms). More recently, accumulative evidence has supported a bi-dimensional model, which conceptualises psychological problems and psychological strengths (well-being) as related-yet-distinct continua that, when considered together, yields a more comprehensive understanding of individuals. The DetectaWeb Project is a web-based early detection assessment of the mental health continuum (MHC) for children and adolescents and aims to: develop a web-based platform for screening of the MHC, including both psychological problems (anxiety, depression and suicidality) and personal strengths (emotional, cognitive/psychological and social aspects); examine the prevalence of the MHC among children and adolescents; and analyse key determinants (risk and protective factors) of the MHC. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:We will conduct an ongoing, multicentre observational, cross-sectional study of Spanish children and adolescents. Participants will be assessed through a web-based platform. In order to validate the web-based screening system, a clinical reappraisal will be completed among a subsample of respondents. To elucidate youth's levels of subjective distress and well-being, we will include measures of anxiety, depression, suicidality, well-being, externalising problems and socio-demographic variables. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethical approval has been obtained at all sites. All participants will sign a free and informed consent form before the assessment. Results of the study will be communicated during national and international meetings in the field of clinical and health psychology with children and adolescents. Publications will be sought in journals usually read by psychologists or psychiatrists involved in the development of epidemiological studies and interventions for mental health promotion based on resilience building for children and adolescents.

Project description:BackgroundGreen spaces have been associated with improved mental health in children; however, available epidemiological evidence on their impact on child behavioral development is scarce.ObjectivesWe investigated the impact of contact with green spaces and blue spaces (beaches) on indicators of behavioral development and symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in schoolchildren.MethodsThis study was based on a sample of 2,111 schoolchildren (7-10 years of age) from 36 schools in Barcelona in 2012. We obtained data on time spent in green spaces and beaches and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) from parents, and ADHD/DSM-IV questionnaires from teachers. Surrounding greenness was abstracted as the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in buffers of 100 m, 250 m, and 500 m around each home address. Proximity to green spaces was defined as living within 300 m of a major green space (? 0.05 km2). We applied quasi-Poisson mixed-effects models (with school random effect) to separately estimate associations between indicators of contact with green spaces and SDQ and ADHD total and subscale scores.ResultsWe generally estimated beneficial associations between behavioral indicators and longer time spent in green spaces and beaches, and with residential surrounding greenness. Specifically, we found statistically significant inverse associations between green space playing time and SDQ total difficulties, emotional symptoms, and peer relationship problems; between residential surrounding greenness and SDQ total difficulties and hyperactivity/inattention and ADHD/DSM-IV total and inattention scores; and between annual beach attendance and SDQ total difficulties, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior. For proximity to major green spaces, the results were not conclusive.ConclusionOur findings support beneficial impacts of contact with green and blue spaces on behavioral development in schoolchildren.

Dataset Information

Study Protocol for the Evaluation of the Health Effects of Superblocks in Barcelona: The "Salut Als Carrers" (Health in the Streets) Project.

Publications

Study Protocol for the Evaluation of the Health Effects of Superblocks in Barcelona: The "Salut Als Carrers" (Health in the Streets) Project.

Similar Datasets

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