1,721,163 research outputs found
Twenty-five years of Health & Place: citation classics, internationalism and interdisciplinarity
Full text linkTo mark 25 years of Health & Place Health & Place, we identify and appraise some key contributions to the journal over this period. We use citation data to identify ‘classics’ from the journal's back catalogue. We also examine trends in the international reach and disciplinary homes of our authors. We show that there has been a near 7-fold increase in the number of published papers between the early and most recent years of the journal and that the journal's citation levels are amongst the top 2% of social science journals. Amongst the most cited papers, some clear themes are evident such as physical activity, diet/food, obesity and topics relating to greenspace. The profile of the journal's authors is becoming more internationally diverse, represents a broader range of disciplines, and increasingly demonstrating cross/interdisciplinary ways of working. Although Anglophone countries have led the way, there is an increasing number of contributions from elsewhere including emerging economies such as China. We conclude with some comments on likely future directions for the journal including enduring concerns such as greenspace, obesity, diet and unhealthy commodities (alcohol, tobacco, ultra-processed food) as well as more recent directions including planetary health, longitudinal and lifecourse analyses, and the opportunities (and challenges) of big data and machine learning. Whatever the thematic concerns of the papers over next 25 years, we will continue to welcome outstanding research that is concerned with the importance place makes to health
Smoking, ethnic residential segregation, and ethnic diversity: a spatio-temporal analysis
No full textEthnic residential segregation is a profound social divide in many societies. In the health arena, U.S. work has been influential in demonstrating the impact of ethnic residential segregation on child health outcomes, showing how it can compound other forms of disadvantage. This article builds on and extends this research by examining the transferability of conclusions concerning the health impact of ethnic residential segregation to a non-U.S. context and to the field of health behavior. Using complete adult population data from the 1996 and 2006 New Zealand Censuses of Population geocoded to local and urban area levels, we examine smoking prevalence and cessation in relation to ethnic segregation and diversity. The article employs a repeated cross-sectional multilevel modeling strategy with smoking and cessation as outcome variables. The differential impact of segregation and diversity on smoking behavior by different ethnic groups is considered, taking into account the confounding effect of socioeconomic status and demographic variation. Conclusions suggest that M?ori isolation has little overall effect but ethnic diversity has some relevance. Individual ethnic status and area-level deprivation are more important in understanding smoking behavio
Does social inequality matter? Changing ethnic socio-economic disparities and Maori smoking in New Zealand, 1981–1996
No full textThis paper builds on an earlier study of the effects of inequality on smoking by explicitly incorporating a temporal dimension. We examine the effects of changing levels of inequality upon ethnic variations in smoking rates in New Zealand for the period 1981 to 1996. This was a period of rapid structural change in New Zealand's economy and welfare state, changes which had a disproportionate effect on Maori. While Maori smoking rates declined during this period, the gap in smoking levels between Maori and Pakeha (persons of European descent) increased. The results suggest that levels of social inequality between Maori and Pakeha have an independent effect on Maori smoking rates and that communities which experienced increased social inequality during both the 1980s and 1990s were more likely to have higher Maori smoking rates. Controlling for confounders, the effect of increased ethnic inequality on smoking was particularly evident for Maori women (net R2=0.150) compared to Maori men (net R2=0.079). Nevertheless, absolute rather than relative socio-economic deprivation remains the most important predictor of smoking
Smoking Geographies: Space, Place and Tobacco
No full textSmoking Geographies provides a research-led assessment of the impact of geographical factors on smoking. The contributors uncover how geography can show us not only why people smoke but also broader issues of tobacco control, providing deeper clarity on how smoking and tobacco is ‘governed’.•The text centres on one of the most important public health issues worldwide, and a major determinant of preventable mortality and morbidity in developed and developing countries•Records the outcomes of a long-term research collaboration that brings a geographical lens to smoking behaviour•Uncovers how geography can play a part in understanding not only why people smoke but also broader issues of tobacco control•Provides a deeper understanding of how smoking and tobacco is ‘governed’, regarding where people may smoke, but also more subtle governance as a climate is produced in which smoking becomes ‘denormalised’•Brings both quantitative and qualitative perspectives to bear on this major source of mortality and morbidity<br/
Do smoking cessation programmes influence geographical inequalities in health? An evaluation of the impact of the PEGS programme in Christchurch, New Zealand
No full textObjectives: To identify the impact of a smoking cessation programme on social and ethnic inequalities in smoking rates through social and ethnic differences in enrolment and quitting. Methods: Analysis of records of 11325 patients who enrolled in an innovative smoking cessation programme in Christchurch, New Zealand between 2001 and 2006. We compare enrolment, follow-up, quitting and impact on population smoking rates in the most and least deprived neighbourhoods and the neighbourhoods with the lowest and highest proportions of M?ori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.Results: Enrolment as a proportion of the population was higher from the most deprived areas but as a proportion of neighbourhood smokers, it was lower. Enrolees from the least deprived quintile were 40% more likely to quit than those from the most deprived quintile. Smoking rates were 2.84 (2.75 to 2.93) times higher in the most deprived neighbourhoods. If the programme had not been available we estimate that this differential would have reduced to 2.81 (2.72 to 2.90). Thus the programme made no difference to deprivation related inequalities. In neighbourhoods with the highest proportion of M?ori, smoking rates were 2.33 (2.26 to 2.41) times higher and we estimate that without the programme smoking rates would be 2.30 (2.23 to 2.37) times higher. Ethnic inequalities were also not changed by the programme.Conclusions: Although enrolees were drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds, those most likely to quit tended to reside in affluent areas or areas with a low proportion of M?ori. There was no evidence that this smoking cessation program increased or decreased inequalities within the Chirstchurch population. For smoking cessation programmes to have an impact on health inequalities more effort is required in targeting hard to reach groups and in encouraging them to quit
Sociospatial inequalities in health-related behaviours: Pathways linking place and smoking
No full textThere has been a resurgence of interest in how the social, built and cultural environments contribute to shaping health outcomes. The pathways relating place to health behaviour have received less attention. We develop a nuanced understanding of the pathways linking individuals, places and smoking. Two key pathways operate: place-based ‘practices' and place-based ‘regulation’. Future geographical research should pay attention to the different scale effects, encompass a wider set of influences which affect the liveability and social composition of neighbourhoods, and specify group differences in the impact of the local economic and social environment upon smoking.<br/
Community inequality and smoking cessation in New Zealand, 1981-2006
No full textThe overall prevalence of smoking in New Zealand reduced from 32% in 1981 to 23.5% in 2006 but rates
of smoking cessation have not been consistent among all social, demographic and ethnic groups. The
period 1981–2006 also saw macroeconomic changes in New Zealand that resulted in profound increases
in social and economic inequalities. Within this socio-political context we address two questions. First,
has there been a social polarisation in smoking prevalence and cessation in New Zealand between 1981
and 2006? Second, to what extent can ethnic variation in rates of quitting be explained by community
inequality, independently of socio-economic status?We find that smoking behaviour in New Zealand has
become socially and ethnically more polarised over the past two decades, with greater levels of smoking
cessation among higher socio-economic groups, and among New Zealanders of European origin. Variations
in quit rates between Maori and European New Zealanders cannot be fully accounted for by ethnic
differences in socio-economic status. Community inequality exerted a significant influence on Maori (but
not European) smoking quit rates. The association with community inequality was particularly profound
among women, and for particular age groups living in urban areas. These findings extend the international
evidence for a relationship between social inequality and health, and in particular smoking
behaviour. The research also confirms the importance of considering the role of contextual factors when
attempting to elucidate the mechanisms linking socio-economic factors to health outcomes. Our findings
emphasise that, if future smoking cessation strategies are to be successful, attention has to shift from
policies that focus solely on engineering individual behavioural change, to an inclusion of the role of
environmental stressors such as community inequality
Can a deterministic spatial microsimulation model provide reliable small-area estimates of health behaviours? An example of smoking prevalence in New Zealand
No full textModels created to estimate neighbourhood level health outcomes and behaviours can be difficult to validate as prevalence is often unknown at the local level. This paper tests the reliability of a spatial microsimulation model, using a deterministic reweighting method, to predict smoking prevalence in small areas across New Zealand. The difference in the prevalence of smoking between those estimated by the model and those calculated from census data is less than 20% in 1745 out of 1760 areas. The accuracy of these results provides users with greater confidence to utilize similar approaches in countries where local-level smoking prevalence is unknow
Assessing the effects of the introduction of the New Zealand Smokefree Environment Act 2003 on Acute Myocardial Infarction hospital admissions in Christchurch, New Zealand
No full textObjective: To examine trends in Acute
Myocardial Infarction (AMI) hospital
admissions in Christchurch, New Zealand
before and after the implementation of the
New Zealand Smokefree Environments Act
2003 in December 2004.Methods: Data on AMI hospital
admissions to Christchurch Public Hospital
were extracted for the period 2003 to 2006.
Poisson regression was used to calculate
rate ratios by comparing for AMI rates
of hospital admissions before (2003/04)
and after (2005/06) the introduction of
the Smokefree legislation, and to assess
whether there was a significant change
over time.Results: The introduction of the smokefree
legislation was associated with a 5%
reduction in AMI admissions. The 55-74
age group recorded the greatest decrease
in admissions (9%) and this figure rose to
13% among never smokers in this group.
Reductions were more marked for men.
Adding the effects of area deprivation
increased the reduction to 21% among 55-
74 year olds living in more affluent (quintile
2) areas. Overall however, the statistical
association of changing levels of AMI
admissions with smoking status and with
deprivation was not consistently significant.Conclusion: At this early stage following
the smokefree legislation, there are hints
emerging of a positive impact on AMI
admissions but these suggestions cannot
yet be treated with certainty. Further
research could usefully evaluate the longerterm
effects of smoking legislation on the
prevalence of smoking and exposure to
second hand smoke, especially in more
deprived urban communities
The tobacco endgame: the neglected role of place and environment
No full textAn increasing number of countries across the world are planning for the eradication of the tobacco epidemic. The actions necessary to realise this ambition have been termed the tobacco endgame. The focus of this paper is on the intersection between the tobacco endgame with place, a neglected theme in recent academic and policy debates. We begin with an overview of the key themes in the literature on endgame strategies before detailing the international landcape of engame initatives, paying particular attention to the opportunities and challenges of endgame strategies in low and middle income countries. Finally, we critically assess the current endgame debates and suggest a novel agenda for integrating geographical perspectives into research on the endgame that provides enhanced understanding of the challenges associated with this important global health vision
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