an-application-for-pairing-with-wearable-devices-to-monitor-personal

An Application for Pairing with Wearable Devices to Monitor Personal Health Status

The current protocol aims to showcase the technology integration, providing a detailed description of adopting the HealthCloud app, developed by the ...

University of Illinois, Champaign

Nature! Small steps that can make a big difference.

Multiple studies have revealed the impact of walkable environments on physical activity. Scholars attach considerable importance to leisure and health-related walking. Recent studies have used Google Street View as an instrument to assess city streets and walkable environments; however, no study has compared the validity of Google Street View assessments of walkable environment attributes to assessments made by local residents and compiled from field visits. In this study, we involved nearby residents and compared the extent to which Google Street View assessments of the walkable environment correlated with assessments from local residents and with field visits. We determined the assessment approaches (local resident or field visit assessments) that exhibited the highest agreement with Google Street View. One city with relatively high-quality walkable environments and one city with relatively low-quality walkable environments were examined, and three neighborhoods from each city were surveyed. Participants in each neighborhood used one of three approaches to assess the walkability of the environment: 15 local residents assessed the environment using a map, 15 participants made a field visit to assess the environment, and 15 participants used Google Street View to assess the environment, yielding a total of 90 valid samples for the two cities. Findings revealed that the three approaches to assessing neighborhood walkability were highly correlated for traffic safety, aesthetics, sidewalk quality, and physical barriers. Compared with assessments from participants making field visits, assessments by local residents were more highly correlated with Google Street View assessments. Google Street View provides a more convenient, low-cost, efficient, and safe approach to assess neighborhood walkability. The results of this study may facilitate future large-scale walkable environment surveys, effectively reduce expenses, and improve survey efficiency.

Measuring Neighborhood Walkable Environments: A Comparison of Three Approaches.

As urbanization increases around the world and fewer and fewer people have easy access to completely natural places, there is a growing need to understand how the landscapes we design and inhabit impact our health and wellbeing.[...].

Landscapes and Human Health.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing developmental disorder in countries across the world. Although recent studies have demonstrated the health benefits of nature for typically developing children and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, it is unclear whether these benefits extend to children with ASD. In this study, we investigated whether benefits associated with exposure to nature could be observed by parents of children diagnosed with ASD. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 parents and caregivers of children on the spectrum from two cities in China. Results showed that exposure to nature provided motor-sensory, emotional and social benefits to children with ASD, although some of the identified benefits also come with concerns. Participants identified a wide range of barriers that make exposing their children to nature difficult. Among them, inappropriate behaviors, safety concerns, phobias and issues with the public realm emerged as critical hurdles. These findings suggest that practitioners should consider nature exposure as an intervention strategy, and planners and designers should create places that better accommodate the needs of children with ASD.

Article	Year
Nature! Small steps that can make a big difference. HERD\| PubMed ID: 26698884	2016
Measuring Neighborhood Walkable Environments: A Comparison of Three Approaches. International journal of environmental research and public health\| PubMed ID: 28587186	2017
Landscapes and Human Health. International journal of environmental research and public health\| PubMed ID: 29019914	2017
Exposure to nature for children with autism spectrum disorder: Benefits, caveats, and barriers. Health & place\| PubMed ID: 30503683	2019

William C. Sullivan

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