Summary:The International Initiative on Spatial Lifecourse Epidemiology (ISLE) convened its first International Symposium on Lifecourse Epidemiology and Spatial Science at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, Netherlands, 16–20 July 2018. Its aim was to further an emerging transdisciplinary field: Spatial Lifecourse Epidemiology. This field draws from a broad perspective of scientific disciplines including lifecourse epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, community health, spatial science, health geography, biostatistics, spatial statistics, environmental science, climate change, exposure science, health economics, evidence-based public health, and landscape ecology. The participants, spanning 30 institutions in 10 countries, sought to identify the key issues and research priorities in spatial lifecourse epidemiology. The results published here are a synthesis of the top 10 list that emerged out of the discussion by a panel of leading experts, reflecting a set of grand challenges for spatial lifecourse epidemiology in the coming years. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4868
Children represent a population group that is much neglected in the city planning process. Their perceptions, which are different from those of adults, are usually not incorporated in the design of cities. The aim of this paper is to present a qualitative GIS approach to capture children's perceptions of the urban environment. It gives a detailed insight into why certain perceptions occur and what the associated physical and social qualities are. The approach considers children as active participants and combines quantitative and qualitative methods. Twenty-eight children aged 10-17 were involved in examining the city-centre area of Enschede, the Netherlands. The results show both similarity and heterogeneity in perception (e.g. based on gender and age group) and the emergence of new location-specific qualities (e.g. natural elements, smart technologies, economic functions). It concludes with a discussion on the potential of incorporating this approach in urban planning processes.
Stunting is recognised as a major public health problem in Rwanda. We therefore aimed to study the demographic, socio-economic and environmental factors determining the spatial pattern of stunting. A cross-sectional study using the data from the 2014- 2015 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey and environmental data from external geospatial datasets were conducted. The study population was children less than two years old with their mothers. A multivariate linear regression model was used to estimate the effects of demographic, socio-economic and biophysical factors and a proxy measure of aflatoxins exposure on height-for-age. Also, a spatial prediction map of height-for-age to examine the stunting pattern was produced. It was found that age of child, height of mother, secondary education and higher, a child being male and birth weight were associated with height-for-age. After adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors, elevation and being served by a rural market were also significantly associated with low height-for-age in children. The spatial prediction map revealed the variability of height-for-age at the cluster-level that was lost when the levels are aggregated at the district level. No associations with height-for-age were found for exclusive breastfeeding, use of deworming tablets, improved water source and improved sanitation in the study population. In addition to the child and mother factors known to determine height-for-age, our study confirms the influence of environmental factors in determining the height-of-age of children in Rwanda. A consideration of the environmental drivers of anthropometric status is crucial to have a holistic approach to reduce stunting.
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