Health & Place最新文献

{"title":"Mapping local perspectives on specialized healthcare: Insights from five global cities","authors":"Saeedeh Moayedfar ,&nbsp;Saba Akhavansadr ,&nbsp;Paria Taheri ,&nbsp;Safiyeh Tayebi ,&nbsp;Ayyoob Sharifi","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103637","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103637","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cities that specialize in healthcare are reshaping the global urban landscape, offering advanced medical services while facing challenges of equity and inclusion. This study examines how residents, healthcare professionals, and policymakers perceive these transformations across five internationally recognized medical hubs, Vancouver, Seoul, Yazd, London, and Bangalore. By using a comparative qualitative design supported by computational text analysis, we explored how people describe and evaluate the changing role of healthcare in their cities. A total of 100 semi-structured interviews were analyzed through sentiment analysis and topic modeling to identify emotional orientations and recurring themes. Findings reveal a dual narrative. participants expressed strong satisfaction with care quality, specialization, and global recognition, yet voiced concerns about infrastructural strain, unequal access, and cultural displacement. Thematic clusters highlighted four key areas shaping these perceptions. economic development, governance, cultural identity, and operational challenges. Overall, public trust and perceived fairness emerged as central to how specialized healthcare cities are experienced and legitimized. The study concludes that successful health city planning must integrate technical excellence with equity, transparency, and cultural sensitivity to ensure socially sustainable urban healthcare futures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103637"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146777119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The interplay between the market food environment and barriers to healthy diets for women in rural Bihar, India","authors":"Martin Watts ,&nbsp;Gregory S. Cooper ,&nbsp;Anjali Purushotham ,&nbsp;Bhavani Shankar ,&nbsp;Santhi Bhogadi ,&nbsp;Helen Harris-Fry ,&nbsp;Suneetha Kadiyala ,&nbsp;Aakriti Gupta ,&nbsp;Fanny Sandalinas ,&nbsp;Shriya Bajaj ,&nbsp;Navin Bhushan ,&nbsp;Vikash Kumar ,&nbsp;Ashwini Chhatre ,&nbsp;Raja Sriswan Mamidi ,&nbsp;Emily Fivian","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103618","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103618","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the barriers that women in rural, low-income settings face in acquiring nutrient-dense foods (NDFs) is fundamental to improving health. Most existing evidence comes from quantitative studies. However, complementary qualitative insights can deepen understanding of individuals' lived realities and inform contextually relevant strategies to address these barriers. We qualitatively examined how gender norms and other socioeconomic inequalities shape women's interactions with their market food environment for acquiring NDFs in rural Bihar, India's poorest and most undernourished state. We also considered men's experiences to understand gender differences in barriers. We sampled 12 villages across two districts (Bhojpur and Samastipur) and conducted 12 focus groups with women and 76 interviews with women and their spouses. A complementary survey was also conducted to contextualise our qualitative findings.</div><div>The unaffordability of NDFs, caused by low income and high prices, was the main barrier to acquisition. This barrier was most pronounced for the poorest and was greatest during seasonal price spikes. Women faced unique affordability challenges due to their exclusion from markets, driven by restrictive gender norms that stigmatise their participation and view markets as unsafe spaces. Consequently, women relied on expensive local sources or travelled longer distances to more distant markets, diminishing food budgets. Affordability barriers for the poorest and lower-caste women were compounded by pay discrimination and gender norms that restricted women's livelihood opportunities. Our insights suggest that providing women with cash transfers, alongside the development of safer, more inclusive markets, could improve women's acquisition of NDFs and their nutritional health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103618"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards a socio-ecological perspective of the “biopsychosocial model of pain”: Delineation of pathways between perceived pain intensity, community capital and mental distress among community-dwelling individuals","authors":"Yuchang Bao ,&nbsp;Chi Wai Cheung ,&nbsp;Wentao Bai ,&nbsp;Hung Chak Ho","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103614","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103614","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>According to the “biopsychosocial model of pain”, pain can lead to significant effects on mental distress. However, previous studies have not linked this model to a socio-ecological perspective, although it is generally assumed that a supportive neighborhood environment can improve mental well-being. In particular, it is unclear how the built and social environment can be considered as community capital to improve the perceived quality of social and health services and support community-dwelling individuals. Following the “Community Capitals Framework” and the “Transdisciplinary Neighborhood Health Framework”, this study considered the perceived quality of urban amenities and their satisfaction as factors of 'built capital' and sub-factors of subjective (or personal) wellbeing as factors of 'social capital' and 'psychological capital'. This study found that several subfactors of wellbeing (e.g., community connectedness and achievement in life) may not be able to develop significant pathways. In addition, significant pain-related pathways contributed to mental distress via overall satisfaction with urban amenities and satisfaction with health facilities, and were associated with risk perception and health status. However, pathways related to satisfaction with social amenities (e.g., community facilities, indoor sports facilities) were associated with quality-of-life outcomes (e.g., standard of living and future security) rather than personal health status, possibly reflecting appreciation of the built environment and its perceived quality. The above results suggest that the sub-factors related to community capital play different roles in the biopsychosocial contexts of pain. These findings can be used to suggest multidimensional strategies to support pain patients living in the community. In particular, improving risk perception for injury prevention should be considered.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103614"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Residential green and blue space effects on newborn health: findings from a retrospective longitudinal study in Wales","authors":"Rukun K.S. Khalaf ,&nbsp;Roberto Villegas-Diaz,&nbsp;Olly Butters,&nbsp;Anna Head,&nbsp;Rebecca S. Geary,&nbsp;Ruwanthi Kolamunnage-Dona,&nbsp;Sarah E. Rodgers","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103628","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103628","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effects of green and blue spaces on newborn health are unclear with most studies using cross-sectional methods. Our retrospective longitudinal study aimed to investigate the effects of green and blue spaces on incidence of low birthweight and pre-term birth, and changes in birthweight (g) and gestational age (weeks). Our cohort was limited to births in Wales (2008 – 2019). Exposures were greenness at a 300m buffer (Enhanced Vegetation Index) and distances to blue spaces (1600m buffer), centred around a mother's home. Annual metrics were derived for the year pre-pregnancy and during-pregnancy. We utilised generalised linear models and controlled for individual-level confounders (e.g. mother's educational attainment) using census data. We conducted moderation analyses using mother's employment status and area-level deprivation. Our cohort comprised 176 459 births. Ten percent greater greenness pre-pregnancy was associated with an increase of 3.04g (95% CI 0.33 – 5.76g, p = 0.03) in birthweight. Further, 10% greater greenness pre-pregnancy was associated with a 1.0-week (p = 0.01) increase in gestational age. There were no greenness effects on pre-term birth or low birthweight. Increasing during-pregnancy distance between home and blue space was associated with increased gestational age (β = 1.0-week, p = 0.01). Greater greenness and living in moderately deprived areas were associated with increased birthweights. Our results indicate that greenness is associated with increases in birthweight and gestational age, while larger distances to blue space are associated with gestational age. The effect of green spaces on birth outcomes is not homogeneous based on area-level deprivation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103628"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146189423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Activities in natural environments as remedy to loneliness: The role of connectedness to nature and place attachment","authors":"Sindre Cottis Hoff ,&nbsp;Helga Synnevåg Løvoll","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103617","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103617","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Loneliness constitutes an increasing social and public health concern, making it important to find effective strategies for prevention and alleviation. Activities in natural environments have been found to buffer against loneliness. This is commonly explained by social interactions enabled by these activities. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that connectedness to nature and place attachment explain much of the effect of activities in natural environments on loneliness. To date, this has been left unexplored empirically. Based on tailored survey data (N = 2544) from the region surrounding Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake, the present study addresses this gap. Using structural equation modeling, it was found that activities on or along Mjøsa were associated with reduced loneliness when mediated by connectedness to nature and place attachment to Mjøsa, with the strongest association observed when mediated by connectedness to nature. The indirect association of activities via connectedness to nature and place attachment to Mjøsa was strengthened if activities were done alone. Closer examination of the activities on or along Mjøsa revealed variations in how they related to connectedness to nature and place attachment, pointing to the centrality of ways of attending to the environment. The study discusses the value of enabling people to develop connectedness to nature and place attachment for prevention and alleviation of loneliness. Followingly, the importance of educating people in ways of attending to the environment during activities is emphasized, along with the need to maintain and develop the built environment in manners favorable for activities that can increase people's connectedness to nature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103617"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146021150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of place on health: Neighbourhood & residential satisfaction as a contributor to physical and mental health in applicants for publicly subsidized housing","authors":"Natasha C. Taylor ,&nbsp;Julia Woodhall-Melnik ,&nbsp;Allyson Lamont ,&nbsp;James R. Dunn ,&nbsp;Emily Nombro ,&nbsp;Daniel J. Dutton","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103641","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103641","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Little is known about residential satisfaction in individuals who wait for subsidized housing and its relationship to health. This paper measures residential satisfaction in applicants for subsidized housing in New Brunswick, Canada and investigates its contributions to mental and physical health. The findings indicate that residential dissatisfaction is significantly associated with depression and distress; however, it is not significantly associated with physical health. The authors conclude that individuals may experience better mental health with the introduction of targeted interventions (e.g. programs to improve social interactions in lower income neighbourhoods) to improve residential dissatisfaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103641"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147398687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring placemaking in Boston's low-threshold transitional housing locations","authors":"Joseph Silcox ,&nbsp;Charlie Summers ,&nbsp;Sofia Zaragoza ,&nbsp;Patricia Case ,&nbsp;Avik Chatterjee ,&nbsp;Sarah Porter ,&nbsp;Traci C. Green","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103634","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103634","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103634"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146222571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatial and social inequities in access to essential healthcare services: a case study of a fast-growing, diverse Canadian city","authors":"Amrit Tiwana ,&nbsp;Martino Tran ,&nbsp;Christina Draeger ,&nbsp;Ben Mumford","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103640","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103640","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Access to healthcare services remains a persistent challenge, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. Limited access results in lower service utilisation and worse health outcomes, hindering progress toward inclusive and sustainable cities. This study developed a novel methodological framework integrating high-resolution (1-km²) socio-demographic data from the 2021 Canadian Census with an advanced multimodal transport routing engine (R⁵) to assess healthcare access via public transit in Surrey, British Columbia – a fast-growing, diverse city. Using a 30-min travel time threshold, we computed destination-oriented (‘passive’) and origin-oriented (‘active’) accessibility to walk-in clinics, urgent care centres, and hospitals. Eco-intersectional multilevel modelling was applied to examine accessibility inequalities across intersectional strata, defined as areas with a high concentration of vulnerable populations based on age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, and urbanicity (&gt;vs. ≤ 400 people/km²). Overall, 319,402 (56.2%) residents could reach at least one healthcare facility within 30 min via public transit. Walk-in clinics were the most accessible, followed by urgent care centres and hospitals. Many vulnerable populations were concentrated near major urban centres, which generally had access to more facilities than the city's periphery and outer suburbs. Strata with a high concentration of females had higher odds of accessibility, while seniors and non-urban areas had lower odds. Access inequalities were most pronounced among senior visible minority communities living in non-urban areas. Equity-oriented planning and investments in sustainable transportation and healthcare infrastructure are required to close accessibility gaps. This scalable, open-data framework can inform inclusive urban policy and improve access to essential services for underserved communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103640"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147313611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bayesian joint spatial modeling of child malnutrition and household food insecurity among under-five children in Somaliland","authors":"Jama Mohamed ,&nbsp;Mukhtar Abdi Mohamed ,&nbsp;Iqbaal Mohmoud Adem ,&nbsp;Hibo Ahmed Aden ,&nbsp;Ahmed Ismail Mohamed ,&nbsp;Ahmed Ibrahim Farah ,&nbsp;Azizur Rahman ,&nbsp;Saralees Nadarajah","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103639","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103639","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Malnutrition and household food insecurity are major public health concerns among under-five children in Somaliland, often sharing overlapping risk factors. Using data from the 2020 Somaliland Health and Demographic Survey (<em>n</em> = 3961), this study assessed their prevalence, spatial distribution, and shared determinants through descriptive statistics, spatial autocorrelation, and a multivariate Bayesian spatial model. The prevalence of malnutrition and food insecurity was 42.7% and 26.7%, respectively, with higher risk of malnutrition among children in food-insecure households (OR = 1.17). Both outcomes were most prevalent in eastern regions such as Sool and Sanaag, with significant clustering of food insecurity and their joint occurrence. Risk factors for food insecurity included large family size, lack of radio and agricultural land, and longer water-fetching time, while higher wealth, electricity access, and more sleeping rooms were protective. Malnutrition was associated with female sex, absence of cooling facilities, and longer water-fetching time. The joint burden was influenced by nomadic residence, household wealth, family size, sleeping rooms, and electricity. These findings highlight the geographic concentration and interconnectedness of malnutrition and food insecurity and underscore the need for multi-sectoral interventions targeting poverty reduction, water access, and infrastructure, with a particular focus on eastern regions. Strengthening nutrition-sensitive policies and integrated programs that address both household resources and structural barriers could reduce the overlapping burden of child malnutrition and food insecurity, providing critical evidence for policymakers and development partners in Somaliland and similar fragile contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103639"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147328630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How do residents perceive alcohol availability and its impact on drinking behaviour? A qualitative study","authors":"Elena D. Dimova ,&nbsp;Matt Smith ,&nbsp;Niamh K. Shortt ,&nbsp;Richard J. Mitchell ,&nbsp;Jamie R. Pearce ,&nbsp;Tom L. Clemens ,&nbsp;Carol Emslie","doi":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103616","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.healthplace.2026.103616","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Reducing alcohol availability has been identified as a potential approach to reduce alcohol use and related harm. In order to regulate alcohol availability at a local level, it is important to involve communities in decision-making and ensure interventions are locally acceptable and appropriate. To do this, we need to improve our understanding of how residents conceptualise alcohol availability and its impact on behaviours. This paper uses data collected in Scotland, a country with particularly high levels of alcohol-related harm, to explore the perspectives of residents, on local alcohol availability and how it might affect drinking behaviours.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted 11 online focus groups with 45 participants, living in nine strongly contrasting neighbourhoods in Scotland, characterised by varying levels of alcohol retail density change, urbanity and deprivation. We explored participants’ perceptions of their local alcohol environment and alcohol availability, and any perceived relationship between alcohol availability and alcohol-related behaviours.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Participants challenged established notions that alcohol availability is characterised primarily by density of alcohol outlets. According to our participants, availability is about accessibility, ease of purchase and ubiquity of alcohol. Residents drew distinctions between areas of varying deprivation and conceptualised alcohol availability as complex, characterised by market segmentation, and related to price, advertising and the wider environment.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This is one of the few papers to explore residents' perspectives of local alcohol availability and its relationship with alcohol use. It highlights that residents view alcohol availability as encompassing more than just the physical presence of outlets, recognising also the variety of outlet types and the connections between availability, pricing, and advertising. Policies to reduce local availability should consider residents’ perspectives and account for contextual factors such as shifts in the retail landscape and the availability of alcohol-free recreational alternatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49302,"journal":{"name":"Health & Place","volume":"98 ","pages":"Article 103616"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146014117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}