{"title":"Urban-Rural Disparity in the Relationship Between Geographic Environment and the Health of the Elderly","authors":"Jiexia Xu, Jing Ma","doi":"10.1007/s12061-024-09586-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As the aged population increases, the health of seniors (aged 60 years and over) is particularly important for the development of a healthy China, which makes it important to assess the health determinants for the elderly. This study aims to estimate the effect and pathway of microgeographic environment on the seniors’ health and physical activities, and further investigate the urban–rural disparity in the relationship between the seniors’ health and geographic environment. We collected data on 7155 elderly (≥ 60 years) from the Household Health Survey database of the Hebei Provincial Health Planning Commission, China. The geographic environment data, based on different radius buffers of respondents’ residence, were collected from Baidu Maps. The green space data were obtained from the dataset provided by National Ecosystem Science Data Center, National Science & Technology Infrastructure of China. A series of multilevel generalized structural equation models were employed to examine the disparities in the effects of geographic environment on the seniors’ health and physical activities. Built environment has significant direct and indirect effects on the health of the urban elderly, while its indirect effect on the rural elderly is significant. Green space is significantly and positively associated with the seniors’ health, whereas its indirect effect is insignificant in rural areas. Environmental pollution has a negative correlation with seniors’ health, and it also significantly restricts seniors from participating in outdoor physical activities. Physical activity has a significantly beneficial effect and a significant mediating effect on the health of seniors in both urban and rural area. The socioeconomic attributes, such as income, education and age, are significantly associated with the health of urban and rural elderly. The study finds that built environment, green space, environmental pollution and physical activities are crucial factors influencing the seniors’ health, but there is significant urban–rural disparity in the health effects. The findings provide policy implications for the government to develop healthy neighborhoods and cities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46392,"journal":{"name":"Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy","volume":"17 3","pages":"1335 - 1357"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12061-024-09586-7","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
As the aged population increases, the health of seniors (aged 60 years and over) is particularly important for the development of a healthy China, which makes it important to assess the health determinants for the elderly. This study aims to estimate the effect and pathway of microgeographic environment on the seniors’ health and physical activities, and further investigate the urban–rural disparity in the relationship between the seniors’ health and geographic environment. We collected data on 7155 elderly (≥ 60 years) from the Household Health Survey database of the Hebei Provincial Health Planning Commission, China. The geographic environment data, based on different radius buffers of respondents’ residence, were collected from Baidu Maps. The green space data were obtained from the dataset provided by National Ecosystem Science Data Center, National Science & Technology Infrastructure of China. A series of multilevel generalized structural equation models were employed to examine the disparities in the effects of geographic environment on the seniors’ health and physical activities. Built environment has significant direct and indirect effects on the health of the urban elderly, while its indirect effect on the rural elderly is significant. Green space is significantly and positively associated with the seniors’ health, whereas its indirect effect is insignificant in rural areas. Environmental pollution has a negative correlation with seniors’ health, and it also significantly restricts seniors from participating in outdoor physical activities. Physical activity has a significantly beneficial effect and a significant mediating effect on the health of seniors in both urban and rural area. The socioeconomic attributes, such as income, education and age, are significantly associated with the health of urban and rural elderly. The study finds that built environment, green space, environmental pollution and physical activities are crucial factors influencing the seniors’ health, but there is significant urban–rural disparity in the health effects. The findings provide policy implications for the government to develop healthy neighborhoods and cities.
期刊介绍:
Description
The journal has an applied focus: it actively promotes the importance of geographical research in real world settings
It is policy-relevant: it seeks both a readership and contributions from practitioners as well as academics
The substantive foundation is spatial analysis: the use of quantitative techniques to identify patterns and processes within geographic environments
The combination of these points, which are fully reflected in the naming of the journal, establishes a unique position in the marketplace.
RationaleA geographical perspective has always been crucial to the understanding of the social and physical organisation of the world around us. The techniques of spatial analysis provide a powerful means for the assembly and interpretation of evidence, and thus to address critical questions about issues such as crime and deprivation, immigration and demographic restructuring, retailing activity and employment change, resource management and environmental improvement. Many of these issues are equally important to academic research as they are to policy makers and Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy aims to close the gap between these two perspectives by providing a forum for discussion of applied research in a range of different contexts
Topical and interdisciplinaryIncreasingly government organisations, administrative agencies and private businesses are requiring research to support their ‘evidence-based’ strategies or policies. Geographical location is critical in much of this work which extends across a wide range of disciplines including demography, actuarial sciences, statistics, public sector planning, business planning, economics, epidemiology, sociology, social policy, health research, environmental management.
FocusApplied Spatial Analysis and Policy will draw on applied research from diverse problem domains, such as transport, policing, education, health, environment and leisure, in different international contexts. The journal will therefore provide insights into the variations in phenomena that exist across space, it will provide evidence for comparative policy analysis between domains and between locations, and stimulate ideas about the translation of spatial analysis methods and techniques across varied policy contexts. It is essential to know how to measure, monitor and understand spatial distributions, many of which have implications for those with responsibility to plan and enhance the society and the environment in which we all exist.
Readership and Editorial BoardAs a journal focused on applications of methods of spatial analysis, Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy will be of interest to scholars and students in a wide range of academic fields, to practitioners in government and administrative agencies and to consultants in private sector organisations. The Editorial Board reflects the international and multidisciplinary nature of the journal.