scholarly journals Data Collection Instruments for Obesogenic Environments in Adults: A Scoping Review

Author(s):  
Martínez-García ◽  
Trescastro-López ◽  
Galiana-Sánchez ◽  
Pereyra-Zamora

The rise in obesity prevalence has increased research interest in the obesogenic environment and its influence on excess weight. The aim of the present study was to review and map data collection instruments for obesogenic environments in adults in order to provide an overview of the existing evidence and enable comparisons. Through the scoping review method, different databases and webpages were searched between January 1997 and May 2018. Instruments were included if they targeted adults. The documents were categorised as food environment or built environment. In terms of results, 92 instruments were found: 46 instruments measuring the food environment, 42 measuring the built environment, and 4 that characterised both environments. Numerous diverse instruments have been developed to characterise the obesogenic environment, and some of them have been developed based on existing ones; however, most of them have not been validated and there is very little similarity between them, hindering comparison of the results obtained. In addition, most of them were developed and used in the United States and were written in English. In conclusion, there is a need for a robust instrument, improving or combining existing ones, for use within and across countries, and more sophisticated study designs where the environment is contemplated in an interdisciplinary approach.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Cesare ◽  
Pallavi Dwivedi ◽  
Quynh C. Nguyen ◽  
Elaine O. Nsoesie

Abstract Obesity is a global epidemic affecting millions. Implementation of interventions to curb obesity rates requires timely surveillance. In this study, we estimated sex-specific obesity prevalence using social media, search queries, demographics and built environment variables. We collected 3,817,125 and 1,382,284 geolocated tweets on food and exercise respectively, from Twitter’s streaming API from April 2015 to March 2016. We also obtained searches related to physical activity and diet from Google Search Trends for the same time period. Next, we inferred the gender of Twitter users using machine learning methods and applied mixed-effects state-level linear regression models to estimate obesity prevalence. We observed differences in discussions of physical activity and foods, with males reporting higher intensity physical activities and lower caloric foods across 40 and 48 states, respectively. In addition, counties with the highest percentage of exercise and food tweets had lower male and female obesity prevalence. Lastly, our models separately captured overall male and female spatial trends in obesity prevalence. The average correlation between actual and estimated obesity prevalence was 0.797(95% CI, 0.796, 0.798) and 0.830 (95% CI, 0.830, 0.831) for males and females, respectively. Social media can provide timely community-level data on health information seeking and changes in behaviors, sentiments and norms. Social media data can also be combined with other data types such as, demographics, built environment variables, diet and physical activity indicators from other digital sources (e.g., mobile applications and wearables) to monitor health behaviors at different geographic scales, and to supplement delayed estimates from traditional surveillance systems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 792-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Li Yin

Objective: This study aims to identify groups of the social and built environment factors that have been studied substantially along with factors that need further attention, to guide the research, designing, and planning of the social and built environment for reducing obesity prevalence. Data Source: A systematic search of literature was undertaken from PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Knowledge. Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: Keyword combination of “built environment,” “social environment,” and “obesity” were used to expand the search scope. Exclusion criteria included (1) any article with less than 50 citations from 2005 to 2010, and those with less than 25 citations from 2011 to 2015. In this way we included the most prominent peer-reviewed studies published in recent years while excluding less influential publications; (2) any article published in a language other than English; (3) literature review articles; (4) any article studying health outcomes not obesity related. We included research on eating behaviors since the studies contributed profoundly to food environment research. Data Synthesis: A meta-analysis of 153 empirical studies, selected from 2005 to 2015 based on a series of criteria, was conducted using factor analysis. The exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to group the prevalence and use of the social and built environment factors associated with obesity. Results: The findings suggested that the research community has gained a substantial understanding of the D variables of the built environment, including density, diversity, design, distance to transit, and destination access. Factors concerning different age groups, minority populations, groups with low socioeconomic status, food environment, and street-level urban design features have been less examined. Conclusions: The findings are important to guide future research directions, giving more attention to the factors in need of more in-depth research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Aujean Lee

This study demonstrates how multiple methods can inform national survey data collection efforts for Indigenous populations using Pacific Islanders as a case study. National data surveys are oftentimes limited in how they collect data on small populations due to data suppression, and they lack nuance in how they aggregate distinct populations. I conduct linear regression models of U.S. Census data to demonstrate that Pacific Islanders lag behind Whites in income, even after controlling for household characteristics and geography. Further analyses of oral histories and interviews with Pacific Islanders demonstrate that income disparities exist in part because of remittances, competing financial demands, and citizenship status. I argue that it is important to add survey questions that capture migrant experiences to improve national data survey collection efforts. By utilizing and improving both types of data collection, researchers can better comprehend the barriers and opportunities for decreasing the racial income and wealth gap, which will strengthen the economic stability of Pacific Islanders in the United States.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Hirsch ◽  
Mahip Grewal ◽  
Anthony James Martorell ◽  
Brian Michael Iacoviello

BACKGROUND Digital Therapeutics (DTx) provide evidence based therapeutic health interventions that have been clinically validated to deliver therapeutic outcomes, such that the software is the treatment. Digital methodologies are increasingly adopted to conduct clinical trials due to advantages they provide including increases in efficiency and decreases in trial costs. Digital therapeutics are digital by design and can leverage the potential of digital and remote clinical trial methods. OBJECTIVE The principal purpose of this scoping review is to review the literature to determine whether digital technologies are being used in DTx clinical research, which type are being used and whether publications are noting any advantages to their use. As DTx development is an emerging field there are likely gaps in the knowledge base regarding DTx and clinical trials, and the purpose of this review is to illuminate those gaps. A secondary purpose is to consider questions which emerged during the review process including whether fully remote digital clinical research is appropriate for all health conditions and whether digital clinical trial methods are inline with the principles of Good Clinical Practice. METHODS 1,326 records were identified by searching research databases and 1,227 reviewed at the full-article level in order to determine if they were appropriate for inclusion. Confirmation of clinical trial status, use of digital clinical research methods and digital therapeutic status as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied in order to determine relevant articles. Digital methods employed in DTx research were extracted from each article and these data were synthesized in order to determine which digital methods are currently used in clinical trial research. RESULTS After applying our criteria for scoping review inclusion, 11 articles were identified. All articles used at least one form of digital clinical research methodology enabling an element of remote research. The most commonly used digital methods are those related to recruitment, enrollment and the assessment of outcomes. A small number of articles reported using other methods such as online compensation (n = 3), or digital reminders for participants (n = 5). The majority of digital therapeutics clinical research using digital methods is conducted in the United States and increasing number of articles using digital methods are published each year. CONCLUSIONS Digital methods are used in clinical trial research evaluating DTx, though not frequently as evidenced by the low proportion of articles included in this review. Fully remote clinical trial research is not yet the standard, more frequently authors are using partially remote methods. Additionally, there is tremendous variability in the level of detail describing digital methods within the literature. As digital technologies continue to advance and the clinical research DTx literature matures, digital methods which facilitate remote research may be used more frequently.


Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Araceli Orozco-Figueroa

Recently, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) have encountered an escalation in adverse social conditions and trauma events in the United States. For individuals of Mexican ancestry in the United States (IMA-US), these recent events represent the latest chapter in their history of adversity: a history that can help us understand their social and health disparities. This paper utilized a scoping review to provide a historical and interdisciplinary perspective on discussions of mental health and substance use disorders relevant to IMA-US. The scoping review process yielded 16 peer reviewed sources from various disciplines, published from 1998 through 2018. Major themes included historically traumatic events, inter-generational responses to historical trauma, and vehicles of transmission of trauma narratives. Recommendations for healing from historical and contemporary oppression are discussed. This review expands the clinical baseline knowledge relevant to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of contemporary traumatic exposures for IMA-US.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Nash ◽  
Zohra Bhimani ◽  
Jennifer Rayner ◽  
Merrick Zwarenstein

Abstract Background Learning health systems have been gaining traction over the past decade. The purpose of this study was to understand the spread of learning health systems in primary care, including where they have been implemented, how they are operating, and potential challenges and solutions. Methods We completed a scoping review by systematically searching OVID Medline®, Embase®, IEEE Xplore®, and reviewing specific journals from 2007 to 2020. We also completed a Google search to identify gray literature. Results We reviewed 1924 articles through our database search and 51 articles from other sources, from which we identified 21 unique learning health systems based on 62 data sources. Only one of these learning health systems was implemented exclusively in a primary care setting, where all others were integrated health systems or networks that also included other care settings. Eighteen of the 21 were in the United States. Examples of how these learning health systems were being used included real-time clinical surveillance, quality improvement initiatives, pragmatic trials at the point of care, and decision support. Many challenges and potential solutions were identified regarding data, sustainability, promoting a learning culture, prioritization processes, involvement of community, and balancing quality improvement versus research. Conclusions We identified 21 learning health systems, which all appear at an early stage of development, and only one was primary care only. We summarized and provided examples of integrated health systems and data networks that can be considered early models in the growing global movement to advance learning health systems in primary care.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2193
Author(s):  
Juan Luis Higuera-Trujillo ◽  
Carmen Llinares ◽  
Eduardo Macagno

Humans respond cognitively and emotionally to the built environment. The modern possibility of recording the neural activity of subjects during exposure to environmental situations, using neuroscientific techniques and virtual reality, provides a promising framework for future design and studies of the built environment. The discipline derived is termed “neuroarchitecture”. Given neuroarchitecture’s transdisciplinary nature, it progresses needs to be reviewed in a contextualised way, together with its precursor approaches. The present article presents a scoping review, which maps out the broad areas on which the new discipline is based. The limitations, controversies, benefits, impact on the professional sectors involved, and potential of neuroarchitecture and its precursors’ approaches are critically addressed.


Author(s):  
Miriam Blume ◽  
Petra Rattay ◽  
Stephanie Hoffmann ◽  
Jacob Spallek ◽  
Lydia Sander ◽  
...  

This scoping review systematically mapped evidence of the mediating and moderating effects of family characteristics on health inequalities in school-aged children and adolescents (6–18 years) in countries with developed economies in Europe and North America. We conducted a systematic scoping review following the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews recommendations. We searched the PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus databases. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts. Evidence was synthesized narratively. Of the 12,403 records initially identified, 50 articles were included in the synthesis. The included studies were conducted in the United States (n = 27), Europe (n = 18), Canada (n = 3), or in multiple countries combined (n = 2). We found that mental health was the most frequently assessed health outcome. The included studies reported that different family characteristics mediated or moderated health inequalities. Parental mental health, parenting practices, and parent-child-relationships were most frequently examined, and were found to be important mediating or moderating factors. In addition, family conflict and distress were relevant family characteristics. Future research should integrate additional health outcomes besides mental health, and attempt to integrate the complexity of families. The family characteristics identified in this review represent potential starting points for reducing health inequalities in childhood and adolescence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kym Roberts ◽  
Ogilvie Thom ◽  
Susan Devine ◽  
Peter A. Leggat ◽  
Amy E. Peden ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Drowning is a significant public health issue, with females accounting for one third of global drowning deaths. The rate of female drowning has not decreased within high-income countries and presentations to hospital have increased. This scoping review aimed to explore adult female unintentional drowning, including risk factors, clinical treatment and outcomes of females hospitalised for drowning. Methods A systematic search of the literature following the PRISMA-ScR framework was undertaken. The databases OVID MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, OVID Emcare, Web of Science, Informit and Scopus were accessed. Study locations of focus were Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Studies from January 2003 to April 2019 were included. The quality of evidence of included studies was assessed using GRADE guidelines. Results The final search results included 14 studies from Australia (n = 4), Canada (n = 1), New Zealand (n = 1), United States (n = 6), United Kingdom (n = 1), and one study reporting data from both Australia and United States. Nine studies reported risk factors for female drowning including age, with the proportion of female drowning incidence increasing with age. Although females are now engaging in risk-taking behaviours associated with drowning that are similar to males, such as consuming alcohol and swimming in unsafe locations, their exposure to risky situations and ways they assess risk, differ. Females are more likely to drown from accidental entry into water, such as in a vehicle during a flood or fall into water. This review found no evidence on the clinical treatment provided to females in hospital after a drowning incident, and only a small number of studies reported the clinical outcomes of females, with inconsistent results (some studies reported better and some no difference in clinical outcomes among females). Conclusion Adult females are a group vulnerable to drowning, that have lacked attention. There was no single study found which focused solely on female drowning. There is a need for further research to explore female risk factors, the clinical treatment and outcomes of females hospitalised for drowning. This will not only save the lives of females, but also contribute to an overall reduction in drowning.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document