scholarly journals Accessibility and allocation of public parks and gardens during COVID-19 social distancing in England and Wales

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niloofar Shoari ◽  
Majid Ezzati ◽  
Jill Baumgartner ◽  
Diego Malacarne ◽  
Daniela Fecht
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Smartphone Apps ◽  
Public Parks ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Ordnance Survey ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Minute Walk ◽  
Combined Data

Visiting parks and gardens may attenuate the adverse physical and mental health impacts of social distancing implemented to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We quantified access to public parks and gardens in urban areas of England and Wales, and the potential for park crowdedness during periods of high use. We combined data from the Office for National Statistics and Ordnance Survey to quantified (i) the number of parks within 500 and 1,000 metres of urban postcodes (i.e., availability), (ii) the distance of postcodes to the nearest park (i.e., accessibility), and (iii) per-capita space in each park for people living within 1,000m. We examined variability by city and share of flats. Around 25.4 million people can access public parks or gardens within a ten-minute walk, while 3.8 million residents live farther away; of these 21% are children and 13% are elderly. Areas with a higher share of flats on average are closer to a park but people living in these areas are potentially less able to meet social distancing requirements while in parks during periods of high use. Cities in England and Wales can provide residents with access to green space that enables outdoor exercise and play during social distancing. Keeping public parks and gardens open, might require measures such as dedicated park times for different age groups or entry allocation systems that, combined with smartphone apps or drones, can monitor and manage the total number of people using the park.

scholarly journals Accessibility and allocation of public parks and gardens in England and Wales: A COVID-19 social distancing perspective

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. e0241102
Author(s):  
Niloofar Shoari ◽  
Majid Ezzati ◽  
Jill Baumgartner ◽  
Diego Malacarne ◽  
Daniela Fecht
Keyword(s):  
Public Parks ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Social Distancing

scholarly journals The Geography of a rapid rise in mortality in England and Wales, 2014-15

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Alan Green
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Population Level ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Human Longevity ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban

Since at least the early 1900s almost all affluent nations in the world have continually experienced improvements in human longevity. These were driven by falling mortality rates across all age groups, but initially mostly amongst the young. Using ONS mid-year population and deaths estimates for Local Authorities for England and Wales, we show that these improvements have recently reversed. There have been especially high increases in mortality rates within the elderly, a group which we choose to focus our analyses on. In England and Wales, we estimate that there were 39,074 more deaths in the year to July 2015 as compared to the year to July 2014 (32,208 of these additional deaths were of individuals aged 80+). Exploring changes in mortality rates by 5 year age band and sex, we demonstrate that these increases have been felt everywhere geographically; in poor and affluent areas, in rural and urban areas. We explore some possible explanations for the increases and find that few individual factors on their own appear able to explain the patterns we observe. The implications of our findings are profound given what has come before them, combined with the current political climate of austerity. The size, scale and lack of spatial pattern in these changes in 2015 (particularly in comparison to previous years) suggests that something wider is occurring at the population level than simply a one-off event. Are the elderly today merely the 'canaries in a coal mine'?

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 social distancing measures on future incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in England and Wales: a mathematical modelling study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. e045380
Author(s):  
Yoon Hong Choi ◽  
Elizabeth Miller
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Invasive Pneumococcal Disease ◽  
Pneumococcal Disease ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Population Mixing ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Pneumococcal Carriage ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

ObjectivesIn January 2020, the UK moved to a 1+1 schedule for the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) with a single priming dose at 3-month and a 12-month booster. We modelled the impact on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) out to 2030/2031 of reductions in PCV13 coverage and population mixing associated with restrictions on non-essential healthcare visits and social distancing measures introduced in 2020/2021 to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.DesignUsing an existing model of pneumococcal transmission in England and Wales, we simulated the impact of a 40% reduction in coverage and a 40% reduction in mixing between and within age groups during two lockdowns in spring 2020 and autumn/winter 2020/2021. More and less extreme reductions in coverage and mixing were explored in a sensitivity analysis.Main outcome measuresPredicted annual numbers of IPD cases under different coverage and mixing reduction scenarios with uncertainty intervals (UIs) generated from minimum and maximum values of the model predictions using 500 parameter sets.ResultsThe model predicted that any increase in IPD cases resulting from a reduction in PCV13 coverage would be more than offset by a reduction in pneumococcal transmission due to social distancing measures and that overall reductions in IPD cases will persist for a few years after resumption of normal mixing. The net reduction in cumulative IPD cases over the five epidemiological years from July 2019 was predicted to be 13 494 (UI 12 211, 14 676) all ages. Similar results were obtained in the sensitivity analysis.ConclusionCOVID-19 lockdowns are predicted to have had a profound effect on pneumococcal transmission resulting in a reduction in pneumococcal carriage prevalence and IPD incidence for up to 5 years after the end of the lockdown period. Carriage studies will be informative in confirming the predicted impact of the lockdown measures after they have been lifted.

scholarly journals Potential impact of Covid-19 response measures on invasive pneumococcal disease in England and Wales

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon Hong Choi ◽  
Elizabeth Miller
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Invasive Pneumococcal Disease ◽  
Pneumococcal Disease ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Pneumococcal Carriage ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjectivesIn January 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) removed one of the two infant doses of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), leaving a single priming dose at 3 months and a 12 month booster. We modelled the potential impact on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) of a drop in PCV13 coverage associated with the restrictions on non-essential health care visits introduced to combat COVID-19 in the UK on 23 March 2020.DesignUsing a previously published model of pneumococcal transmission in England and Wales we simulated the impact of reducing PCV13 coverage by 50% for 3 months from 23 March without subsequent catch-up vaccination. To implement social distancing, we reduced mixing between and within age-groups by either 10% or 50%. In a sensitivity analysis we explored the effect of complete cessation of PCV13 vaccination during the “lockdown” and of extending its duration to 6 months.Main outcome measuresAnnual numbers of IPD cases predicted by the model under different vaccination and “lockdown” scenarios with uncertainty intervals (UI) generated from the minimum and maximum values of the model predictions using 500 parameter sets with values within a pre-specified range of the maximum likelihood set.ResultsThe model predicted that any increase in IPD cases from a reduction in PCV13 coverage would be more than offset by a reduction in pneumococcal transmission due to social distancing, with a net reduction in cumulative IPD cases (UI –1,479, –1,061, all ages) over the next five years. Similar results were obtained in the sensitivity analysis, though with a greater reduction with a 6 month “lockdown”.ConclusionCOVID-19 social distancing measures are predicted to have had a profound effect on pneumococcal transmission resulting in a reduction in pneumococcal carriage prevalence and IPD incidence over the first two years after the “lockdown”. Carriage studies will be informative in confirming the predicted impact of the social distancing measures after they have been lifted.

scholarly journals Nowhere to Play: Available Open and Green Space in Greater London Schools

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niloofar Shoari ◽  
Majid Ezzati ◽  
Yvonne G Doyle ◽  
Ingrid Wolfe ◽  
Michael Brauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Space ◽  
Green Space ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Public Parks ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Level Indicator ◽  
Ordnance Survey ◽  
Outdoor Space

AbstractExperiencing outdoor space, especially natural space, during childhood and adolescence has beneficial physical and mental health effects, including improved cognitive and motor skills and a lower risk of obesity. Since school-age children typically spend 35–40 hours per week at schools, we quantified their access to open (non-built-up) space and green space at schools in Greater London. We linked land use information from the UK Ordnance Survey with school characteristics from the Department for Education (DfE) for schools in Greater London. We estimated open space by isolating land and water features within school boundaries and, as a subset of open space, green space defined as open space covered by vegetation. We examined the relationship of both school open and green space with distance to Central London, whether the school was fee-paying, and the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (as a school-level indicator of socioeconomic status). Almost 400,000 pupils (30% of all pupils in London) attended schools with less than ten square metre per pupil of open space—the minimum recommended area by DfE—and 800,000 pupils attended schools with less than ten square metre per pupil of green space. Of the latter, 70% did not have any public parks in the immediate vicinity of their schools. School green space increased with distance from Central London. There was a weak association between the school-level socioeconomic indicator and the amount of open and green space. Fee-paying schools provided less open space compared to non-fee-paying schools in central parts of London, but the provision became comparable in suburban London. Many London schools do not provide enough open and green space. There is a need to ensure regular contact with green space through safeguarding school grounds from sales, financially supporting disadvantaged schools to increase their outdoor space and providing access to off-site facilities such as sharing outdoor space with other schools.

An Epidemiological, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Study of Giardia lamblia in Anbar Province – Iraq

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (01) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Suad Shallal Shahatha
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Giardia Lamblia ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Stool Samples ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Teucrium Polium L ◽  
Therapeutic Study

This study was carried out to investigate the epidemiology of Giardia lamblia parasites in patients who visited some of the hospitals in Anbar province, which included (Fallujah Teaching Hospital, Ramadi Teaching Hospital, Ramadi Teaching Hospital for Women and Children and Hit Hospital) during by examining 864 stool samples in a direct examination method, The results revealed the infection rate was 41.7 % and the percentage of infection among males 47.8% is higher than that of females 35.4% with significant differences (p≤0.05). The age groups (1-9) years recorded the highest rates 55.4% and the lowest rate 13.6% in the age group (40-49) years. The highest rate of infection was 62.5% during the month of June, while the month of October was the lowest rate 5% and significant differences. The incidence rate in rural areas was 50.6% higher than in the urban areas 32.5%. The study also included the effect of Teucrium polium L. on the parasite in the culture media HSP-1, the concentrations of 0.5-3 mg / mL significantly affected Giardia, it was noted whenever the greater the concentration, the greater the effect during different treatment periods (1-4) days, as the highest concentration 3 mg/ml killed all Giardia parasites on the fourth day of treatment.

Corona Virus (COVID-19) Awareness Assessment - A Survey Study Amongst the Indian Population

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Indian Population ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Corona Virus ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Amount Of Knowledge

Aim: The aim of this survey study was to assess the level of awareness amongst Indian population regarding the COVID-19. Method: A survey was conducted amongst 745 individuals to assess their level of awareness regarding COVID-19 and steps to be taken for its prevention. Result: The results revealed that a considerable percentage of individuals learned about the pandemic through social media and news and were aware of the mode of spread of the virus and also steps to be taken to prevent it from spreading. But considerable percentage of people was also not fully aware regarding the age groups this virus will be affecting. Conclusion: Upon understanding the percentage of people not aware about the age groups this virus will be affecting, keeping in mind good amount of knowledge amongst individuals about maintaining hygiene and social distancing, this survey would help the health care workers to create awareness regarding the effect of this virus on different age groups to help prevent carelessness amongst youth in following the regime.

High Parasitic Contamination of Soil Samples in the North of Iran: a Potential Risk of Parasitic Infection for Tourists

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beheshteh Haghparast-kenari ◽  
Tooran Nayeri ◽  
Shahabeddin Sarvi ◽  
Mohammad Taghi Rahimi ◽  
Ehsan Ahmadpour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Contaminated Soil ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Intestinal Parasites ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Public Parks ◽  
The North ◽  
North Of Iran

Background: Soil-transmitted parasites (STPs) are significant intestinal parasites that infect humans and animals and impose considerable burdens on human society and animal husbandry industries. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of parasitic elements of soil samples collected from the north of Iran. Methods: A total of 256 soil samples were collected from public parks, public places, vegetable gardens, sand heaps, and shadow areas near houses in the north of Iran and examined using the sucrose flotation method. Results: Out of 256 examined samples, 131 (51.2%) ones showed parasitic contamination including larvae (43%), oocysts (14.1%), and different eggs (6.6%). According to the results, the most and least common parasites observed in the samples were larvae (43%), as well as Toxascaris leonina, and Trichuris trichiura (0.4%), respectively. Moreover, the most and least contaminated locations were sand heaps (62.5%) and shadow areas near houses (45.6%), respectively. Regarding cities, Behshahr (68.3%) and Sari (67.5%) had the highest contaminated soil samples, whereas Chalus (37.5%) showed the lowest contamination. On the other hand, rural samples showed more contamination, compared to urban areas (P< 0.05). Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicate that the overall prevalence of STPs in examined areas and highly contaminated soil samples can be considered as a potential source of human contamination particularly tourists with STPs.

Aging of rural population in Yugoslavia

Stanovnistvo ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 73-92
Author(s):  
Jelena Antonovic
Keyword(s):  
Age Structure ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Demographic Ageing ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Mass Migration ◽  
Rural And Urban

Mass migration to urban areas constitutes the basic direct factor of the decline in rural population of Yugoslavia in the second half of the 20th century. Due to the characteristic migration patterns by age and sex, they have had a substantial impact on the change in age structure of rural population towards rapid demographic ageing. By inducing decline in fertility and an increase in mortality, the newly formed age structure is increasingly becoming one of the basic factors to further decline in population, or even the major factor to rural depopulation in the majority of regions. The paper analyzes changes in age structure of rural population in the FR of Yugoslavia and across its republics and provinces during the period from 1961 to 1991. The conditions prevailing during the last census (1991) are particularly highlighted. The author points to distinct differences in ageing of urban versus rural populations, and considerable regional differences at the achieved level of demographic age. Based on the main demographic age indicators (the share of five-year and larger age groups, average age, ageing index and movement in major age-specific contingents), the author concludes that the process of population ageing had taken place in both rural and urban populations, but was more intensive in villages (higher share of the aged, higher index of ageing and higher average age) during the period under review. The author points to distinct ageing of rural population in all republics and provinces. It was most prominent in central Serbia and Vojvodina, while being quite slow in Kosovo and Metohia and recorded mainly in between the last two censuses (1981-1991). Likewise, Kosovo and Metohia constitute the only major region of Yugoslavia in which rural population in 1991 is still demographically younger than the population in urban settlements. Rural versus urban population ageing was much more intensive in other major regions of the country, both from the base and from the apex of the age pyramid. In view of the minimal differences in fertility and mortality levels by type of settlement (particularly in central Serbia and Vojvodina), the author argues that the inherited age structure constitutes the main cause of rapid acceleration in rural population ageing in low fertility regions.

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