scholarly journals Effect of COVID-19 response policies on walking behavior in US cities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth F. Hunter ◽  
Leandro Garcia ◽  
Thiago Herick de Sa ◽  
Belen Zapata-Diomedi ◽  
Christopher Millet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Walking Behavior ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Response Measures ◽  
Spatio Temporal

ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused mass disruption to our daily lives. Mobility restrictions implemented to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have impacted walking behavior, but the magnitude and spatio-temporal aspects of these changes have yet to be explored. Walking is the most common form of physical activity and non-motorized transport, and so has an important role in our health and economy. Understanding how COVID-19 response measures have affected walking behavior of populations and distinct subgroups is paramount to help devise strategies to prevent the potential health and societal impacts of declining walking levels. In this study, we integrated mobility data from mobile devices and area-level data to study the walking patterns of 1.62 million anonymous users in 10 metropolitan areas in the United States (US). The data covers the period from mid-February 2020 (pre-lockdown) to late June 2020 (easing of lockdown restrictions). We detected when users were walking, measured distance walked and time of the walk, and classified each walk as recreational or utilitarian. Our results revealed dramatic declines in walking, especially utilitarian walking, while recreational walking has recovered and even surpassed the levels before the pandemic. However, our findings demonstrated important social patterns, widening existing inequalities in walking behavior across socio-demographic groups. COVID-19 response measures had a larger impact on walking behavior for those from low-income areas, of low education, and high use of public transportation. Provision of equal opportunities to support walking could be key to opening up our society and the economy.

scholarly journals Effect of COVID-19 response policies on walking behavior in US cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth F. Hunter ◽  
Leandro Garcia ◽  
Thiago Herick de Sa ◽  
Belen Zapata-Diomedi ◽  
Christopher Millett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Walking Behavior ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Recreational Walking

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic is causing mass disruption to our daily lives. We integrate mobility data from mobile devices and area-level data to study the walking patterns of 1.62 million anonymous users in 10 metropolitan areas in the United States. The data covers the period from mid-February 2020 (pre-lockdown) to late June 2020 (easing of lockdown restrictions). We detect when users were walking, distance walked and time of the walk, and classify each walk as recreational or utilitarian. Our results reveal dramatic declines in walking, particularly utilitarian walking, while recreational walking has recovered and even surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Our findings also demonstrate important social patterns, widening existing inequalities in walking behavior. COVID-19 response measures have a larger impact on walking behavior for those from low-income areas and high use of public transportation. Provision of equal opportunities to support walking is key to opening up our society and economy.

scholarly journals California’s COVID-19 economic shutdown reveals the fingerprint of systemic environmental racism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bluhm ◽  
Pascal Polonik ◽  
Kyle Hemes ◽  
Luke Sanford ◽  
Susanne Benz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Environmental Racism ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Respirable Particulate

Racial and ethnic minorities in the United States often experience higher-than-average exposures to air pollution. However, the relative contribution of embedded institutional biases to these disparities can be difficult to disentangle from physical environmental drivers, socioeconomic status, and cultural or other factors that are correlated with exposures under status quo conditions. Over the spring and summer of 2020, rapid and sweeping COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders around the world created large perturbations to local and regional economic activity that resulted in observable changes in air pollution concentrations, compositions, and distributions. Here, we use the pandemic-related emergency order and subsequent economic slowdown to causally estimate pollution exposure disparities in California. Using both public ground-based sensor data and a citizen-science network of monitors for respirable particulate matter (PM2.5), along with satellite records of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), we show that the initial sheltering-in-place period produced disproportionate air pollution reduction benefits for Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, and low- income communities. By linking these pollution data with weather, geographic, socioeconomic, and mobility data in difference-in-differences models, we demonstrate that these disparate pollution reductions cannot be explained by environmental conditions, geography, income, or local economic activity and are instead driven by non-local activity. This study thus provides causally-identified evidence of systemic racial and ethnic bias in pollution control under business-as-usual conditions.

A 10-Year Review of Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Firearm Injury in a Rural Setting

2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482110545
Author(s):  
Tiffany Lasky ◽  
Bryan K Richmond ◽  
Damayanti Samanta ◽  
Frank Annie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Firearm Injury ◽  
Firearm Injuries ◽  
Situational Variables ◽  
Lower Education Level ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Introduction West Virginia (WV) had the ninth highest rate of firearm mortality of all states in the United States according to the CDC in 2018. Gun violence in WV has been a steady problem over the last decade. The rural population is more vulnerable to unintentional firearm injuries and suicides. Previously published literature from urban settings has demonstrated a link between firearm injuries and modifiable situational variables such as crime, unemployment, low income, and low education. There are very few studies that have utilized geospatial analytic techniques as a tool for injury mapping, surveillance, and primary prevention in rural and frontier zones of the United States. Methods We performed a 10-year retrospective single-institution review of firearm injuries at a rural WV level 1 trauma center between January 2010 and December 2019. The AIS World Geocoding Service was then used to identify specific areas of emerging firearm-related injuries within the service area. Results Specific hot spots of emerging firearm injury were identified in both intentional and unintentional populations. These were located in geographically distinct areas of the WV unincorporated rural and frontier population. These rural WV hotspots were associated with the modifiable variables of crime, unemployment, lower income, and lower education level. Conclusions Emerging hot spots of firearm injury in rural and frontier locations were associated with modifiable social determinants. These areas represent an opportunity for targeted injury prevention efforts addressing these disparities. Further prospective study of these findings is warranted.

scholarly journals Active subjects of passive monitoring: responses to a passive monitoring system in low-income independent living

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLARA BERRIDGE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Low Income ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Passive Monitoring ◽  
Daily Lives

ABSTRACTPassive monitoring technology is beginning to be reimbursed by third-party payers in the United States of America. Given the low voluntary uptake of these technologies on the market, it is important to understand the concerns and perspectives of users, former users and non-users. In this paper, the range of ways older adults relate to passive monitoring in low-income independent-living residences is presented. This includes experiences of adoption, non-adoption, discontinuation and creative ‘misuse’. The analysis of interviews reveals three key insights. First, assumptions built into the technology about how older adults live present a problem for many users who experience unwanted disruptions and threats to their behavioural autonomy. Second, resident response is varied and challenges the dominant image of residents as passive subjects of a passive monitoring system. Third, the priorities of older adults (e.g. safety, autonomy, privacy, control, contact) are more diverse and multi-faceted than those of the housing organisation staff and family members (e.g. safety, efficiency) who drive the passive monitoring intervention. The tension between needs, desires and the daily lives of older adults and the technological solutions offered to them is made visible by their active responses, including resistance to them. This exposes the active and meaningful qualities of older adults’ decisions and practices.

Screening mammography in southeastern Kentucky: Is it a predictor of ongoing health disparities?

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (27_suppl) ◽  
pp. 28-28
Author(s):  
Raymond Elsoueidi ◽  
Elias Hanna ◽  
Mark Dignan
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Screening Mammography ◽  
The State ◽  
Behavioral Risk ◽  
Dramatic Improvement ◽  
Southeastern Part

28 Background: Studies have shown that women living in rural areas have a significantly lower rate of screening mammography than women living in urban areas. Despite the dramatic improvement in the use of screening mammography in the United States, disparities are still present. Southeastern Kentucky is a rural area with a low income population and barriers such as distance and lack of public transportation to access health care. We reviewed the use of screening mammography in this population. Methods: Data for women age 50 and older who did not have a screening mammography within the past 2 years were obtained from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system for the years 2000 through 2008. Results: The rates of screening mammography in the state of Kentucky for women age 50 and older ranged from 77% in 2000 to77.6% in 2008. The rates for urban areas in Kentucky ranged from 79.5% in 2000 to 79.4% in 2008 and those for the rural southeastern part of the state ranged from 62.6 % in 2000 to 63.7 in 2008. On average, the rates of screening mammography in southeastern Kentucky were 23% lower than state rates from 2000-2008, a difference that is statistically significant (p<.05). Additionally, from 2000 to 2008 there was no statistically significant improvement in the rates of screening mammography in southeastern Kentucky. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the rates of participation in screening mammography are substantially lower in rural southeastern Kentucky. Continued efforts are needed to improve understanding the factors that contribute to these low rates and to help develop interventions to overcome the obstacles for obtaining screening mammography in rural populations.

Demonstrating Nutrient Cost Gradients: A Brooklyn Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 84 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 244-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Karp ◽  
Gary Wong ◽  
Marguerite Orsi
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Caloric Density ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Introduction: Foods dense in micronutrients are generally more expensive than those with higher energy content. These cost-differentials may put low-income families at risk of diminished micronutrient intake. Objectives: We sought to determine differences in the cost for iron, folate, and choline in foods available for purchase in a low-income community when assessed for energy content and serving size. Methods: Sixty-nine foods listed in the menu plans provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for low-income families were considered, in 10 domains. The cost and micronutrient content for-energy and per-serving of these foods were determined for the three micronutrients. Exact Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparisons of energy costs; Spearman rho tests for comparisons of micronutrient content. Ninety families were interviewed in a pediatric clinic to assess the impact of food cost on food selection. Results: Significant differences between domains were shown for energy density with both cost-for-energy (p < 0.001) and cost-per-serving (p < 0.05) comparisons. All three micronutrient contents were significantly correlated with cost-for-energy (p < 0.01). Both iron and choline contents were significantly correlated with cost-per-serving (p < 0.05). Of the 90 families, 38 (42 %) worried about food costs; 40 (44 %) had chosen foods of high caloric density in response to that fear, and 29 of 40 families experiencing both worry and making such food selection. Conclusion: Adjustments to USDA meal plans using cost-for-energy analysis showed differentials for both energy and micronutrients. These differentials were reduced using cost-per-serving analysis, but were not eliminated. A substantial proportion of low-income families are vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies.

scholarly journals Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
William Straka ◽  
Shobha Kondragunta ◽  
Zigang Wei ◽  
Hai Zhang ◽  
Steven D. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Earth Observation ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Earth Observation Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected almost 73 million people and is responsible for over 1.63 million fatalities worldwide since early December 2019, when it was first reported in Wuhan, China. In the early stages of the pandemic, social distancing measures, such as lockdown restrictions, were applied in a non-uniform way across the world to reduce the spread of the virus. While such restrictions contributed to flattening the curve in places like Italy, Germany, and South Korea, it plunged the economy in the United States to a level of recession not seen since WWII, while also improving air quality due to the reduced mobility. Using daily Earth observation data (Day/Night Band (DNB) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Suomi-NPP and NO2 measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument TROPOMI) along with monthly averaged cell phone derived mobility data, we examined the economic and environmental impacts of lockdowns in Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Washington DC from February to April 2020—encompassing the most profound shutdown measures taken in the U.S. The preliminary analysis revealed that the reduction in mobility involved two major observable impacts: (i) improved air quality (a reduction in NO2 and PM2.5 concentration), but (ii) reduced economic activity (a decrease in energy consumption as measured by the radiance from the DNB data) that impacted on gross domestic product, poverty levels, and the unemployment rate. With the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases and declining economic conditions, such knowledge can be combined with unemployment and demographic data to develop policies and strategies for the safe reopening of the economy while preserving our environment and protecting vulnerable populations susceptible to COVID-19 infection.

Nobody’s Perfect: Making sense of a parenting skills workshop through ethnographic research in a low-income neighbourhood in Santiago de Chile

2021 ◽  
pp. 026101832098398
Author(s):  
Marjorie Murray ◽  
Daniela Tapia
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Parenting Skills ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Santiago De Chile ◽  
One Year ◽  
Everyday Problems

Nadie es Perfecto (Nobody’s Perfect, or NEP) is a parenting skills workshop aimed at ‘sharing experiences and receiving guidance on everyday problems to strengthen child development’. This article explores this workshop in terms of its relationship with the daily lives of participants, based on one year of fieldwork focused on families with young children in a low-income neighbourhood in Santiago. While caregivers frame their parenting efforts as aiming to ‘hacer lo mejor posible’ (do their best) under difficult circumstances, our study found that facilitators take an anachronistic and homogenizing view of participants. Embracing a universalistic perspective of child development, they discourage participation and debate, focusing instead on providing concrete advice that limits the potential of the workshops. This article argues that by ignoring the different living situations of families in this socioeconomic context, NEP reproduces a prejudiced view of poor subjects that sees them as deficient and incapable of change.

scholarly journals Increasing Awareness and Knowledge among Adult Latinos regarding Sexually Transmitted Infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ijeoma S. Eze ◽  
Margaret Brady ◽  
Beth Keely
Keyword(s):  
Condom Use ◽  
Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Outpatient Clinic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consistent Condom ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Consistent Condom Use ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Post Test

AbstractLatinos in the United States are disproportionately affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). They account for about 24 % of newly diagnosed AIDS cases each year and are two to three times more likely to develop STIs when compared with non-Latino whites. Limited knowledge of STIs has remained one of the contributing factors to the disparity. The purpose of this study was to implement an educational bundle and evaluate its effectiveness in increasing STI knowledge and consistent condom use among adult Latinos seen in an outpatient clinic that serves low income patients. A pre- and post-test design was used to evaluate changes in STI knowledge and consistency of condom use. The educational bundle consisted of YouTube STI-related videos, a pre-designed one to one educational session, provision of condoms and STI-related educational materials. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data at baseline and one week post implementation of the educational bundle. Forty-six Latinos (18 females and 28 males) ranging in ages 19 to 60 years participated in the project. The total mean STI knowledge and condom use frequency improved from pre-test (M = 1.67, M = 3.09) to post-test (M = 3.80, M = 5.33). Results of paired samples t-tests demonstrated statistically significant differences between total mean STI knowledge (t(45) = –15.48, p < 0.001) and condom use frequency (t(45) = –7.09, p < 0.001) at pre-test and post-testing. The educational bundle was effective in increasing STI knowledge and consistent condom use among adult Latinos in an outpatient clinic. Further study needs to be done to determine the long-term effect of this mode of education for this population.

scholarly journals The Arab region’s contribution to global COVID-19 research: Bibliometric and visualization analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sa’ed H. Zyoud
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Arab World ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Global Research

Abstract Background At the global level and in the Arab world, particularly in low-income countries, COVID-19 remains a major public health issue. As demonstrated by an incredible number of COVID-19-related publications, the research science community responded rapidly. Therefore, this study was intended to assess the growing contribution of the Arab world to global research on COVID-19. Methods For the period between December 2019 and March 2021, the search for publications was conducted via the Scopus database using terms linked to COVID-19. VOSviewer 1.6.16 software was applied to generate a network map to assess hot topics in this area and determine the collaboration patterns between different countries. Furthermore, the research output of Arab countries was adjusted in relation to population size and gross domestic product (GDP). Results A total of 143,975 publications reflecting the global overall COVID-19 research output were retrieved. By restricting analysis to the publications published by the Arab countries, the research production was 6131 documents, representing 4.26% of the global research output regarding COVID-19. Of all these publications, 3990 (65.08%) were original journal articles, 980 (15.98%) were review articles, 514 (8.38%) were letters and 647 (10.55%) were others, such as editorials or notes. The highest number of COVID-19 publications was published by Saudi Arabia (n = 2186, 35.65%), followed by Egypt (n = 1281, 20.78%) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), (n = 719, 11.73%). After standardization by population size and GDP, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon had the highest publication productivity. The collaborations were mostly with researchers from the United States (n = 968), followed by the United Kingdom (n = 661). The main research lines identified in COVID-19 from the Arab world are related to: public health and epidemiology; immunological and pharmaceutical research; signs, symptoms and clinical diagnosis; and virus detection. Conclusions A novel analysis of the latest Arab COVID-19-related studies is discussed in the current study and how these findings are connected to global production. Continuing and improving future collaboration between developing and developed countries will also help to facilitate the sharing of responsibilities for COVID-19 in research results and the implementation of policies for COVID-19.

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