A pilot study exploring the relationship between urban greenspace accessibility and mental health prevalence in the City of San Diego in the context of socioeconomic and demographic factors

Abstract The connection between urban greenspace and mental health is a robust but unsettled area of research in the public health and urban planning literatures. Inconsistent findings in prior studies are mostly due to differences in greenspace measurements and interrelations with socio-demographic factors. This study examines the relationships of mental health prevalence (MHP) with health prevention, socioeconomic and race-ethnicity factors, and proximity to greenspace at the census-tract level in the City of San Diego, California, using data from the CDC 500 Cities Project and US Census Bureau. We considered three greenspace proximity measures: distances to specified vegetation types, parks, and tree cover. Spear-man’s rank correlation showed that MHP was significantly correlated to distances to greenspace (rho = 0.480), parks (rho = 0.234), and tree cover (rho = 0.342), and greenspace proximity plus crime occurrence explained 37.8% of the variance in MHP in regression analysis. Further analysis revealed that socioeconomic status, race-ethnicity, and health prevention explained more than 93% of the variance in MHP, while greenspace proximity did not enter the regression model with statistical significance. We discovered that certain socioeconomic and race-ethnicity variables, such as proportion of Hispanic population, poverty, and regular checkup, may fully represent the effects of greenspace on MHP in the City of San Diego. Regression analysis for three subsections of the city suggested that different predictors of MHP should be considered in formulating intervention measures. Our results indicate the need to improve mental health conditions through a range of interventions that address the disparities experienced by racial-ethnic minorities and those in lower-socioeconomic classes.

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Do Income, Race and Ethnicity, and Sprawl Influence the Greenspace-Human Health Link in City-Level Analyses? Findings from 496 Cities in the United States

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15071541 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (7) ◽

pp. 1541 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Matthew Browning ◽

Alessandro Rigolon

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Human Health ◽

Race And Ethnicity ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Total Population ◽

The United States ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Spatial Average ◽

Four Dimensions ◽

The City

Examination of the greenspace—human health relationship operates in at least four dimensions: what is considered greenspace? which moderators and mediators are included? what outcomes are measured? and which units of analysis (e.g., individuals, cities) are studied? We examined three of these four dimensions in a cross-sectional study of 496 of the 500 most populated US cities (total population size = 97,574,613, average population per city = 197,920). Spatial average models tested the effect of two greenspace measures (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index greenness and tree cover) on two outcomes (obesity and mental health), while adjusting for income, race and ethnicity, sprawl, age, sex, physical inactivity, median age of housing, and total population. We conducted analyses at the city scale, which is an understudied unit of analysis, and compared findings to individual- and neighborhood-level studies. In two of four models, greenspace was associated with better health. We found race and ethnicity moderated this relationship with varying results. In full sample analyses, cities with greater percentages of non-Hispanic Whites showed links between higher tree cover and lower obesity but marginal relationships between higher greenness and lower obesity. In subsample analyses with majority-non-Hispanic Black cities, higher tree cover was associated with lower obesity and better mental health. These findings advance previous research by showing that race and ethnicity moderate the greenspace—health link at the city level.

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The Effects of Social and Demographic Factors on Cardiovascular Disease

Emerging Applications, Perspectives, and Discoveries in Cardiovascular Research - Advances in Medical Diagnosis, Treatment, and Care ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-2092-4.ch017 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 310-321

Author(s):

Hosik Min

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Related Factors ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

The Social ◽

Health Related ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Policies And Programs

The chapter investigates the effects of social and demographic factors on cardiovascular disease (CVD) controlling health related factors. The data used in this study is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, and are merged the three waves, 2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2013-2014. The logit regression analysis is used as a statistical model, and the results of this study confirm the significant associations with CVD in age, race/ethnicity, marital status, and educational attainment as expected ways. Health behaviors also show significant and strong relationships with CVD, which support the current prevention and intervention programs' strategy that focuses on changing lifestyles on an individual and a community level. The results of the social and demographic factors on CVD confirm that having CVD is not only a medical or biological process but also a social outcome. Thus, a better understanding of the social and demographic factors on CVD helps us to not only reduce the mortality rate, but also develop more effective policies and programs.

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The Effects of Social and Demographic Factors on Cardiovascular Disease

Healthcare Policy and Reform ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-6915-2.ch068 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1510-1521

Author(s):

Hosik Min

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Nutrition Examination Survey ◽

Related Factors ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

The Social ◽

Health Related ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Policies And Programs

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Effects of Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors on Consumption of Selected Food Nutrients

Agricultural and Resource Economics Review ◽

10.1017/s1068280500002288 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 171-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Rodolfo M. Nayga

Keyword(s):

Vitamin A ◽

Vitamin C ◽

Low Income ◽

Employment Status ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Income Levels ◽

Income Elasticities ◽

Calcium Phosphorus ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Socioeconomic And Demographic Factors

The effects of socioeconomic and demographic factors on the consumption of food energy, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and iron are examined. Socioeconomic and demographic factors analyzed are urbanization, region, race, ethnicity, sex, employment status, food stamp participation, household size, weight, height, age, and income. Several of these factors significantly affect consumption of certain nutrients. Income is an important factor affecting the consumption of vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium. Income elasticities are relatively small at low income levels. For example, income elasticities range from 0.016 for calcium to 0.123 for vitamin C at an income level of $20,000.

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"Are we doing enough": An evaluation of the utilization of employee assistance programs to support the mental health needs of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic

Journal of Insurance Regulation ◽

10.52227/23478.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

C. Darren Brooks ◽

Jeff Ling

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Health Needs ◽

Employee Assistance Programs ◽

Employee Assistance ◽

Mental Health Needs ◽

Assistance Programs ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Employee Mental Health

The purpose of this study was to examine EAP utilization as a result of the pandemic. Specifically, it looked at whether the EAP utilization has increased in a post-pandemic environment, whether demographic factors age, gender, or race/ethnicity influence EAP utilization, and how employers promote EAP benefits to support employee mental health needs during the pandemic.

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