Can neighborhood green space mitigate health inequalities? A study of socio-economic status and mental health

Takemi Sugiyama; Karen Villanueva; Matthew Knuiman; Jacinta Francis; Sarah Foster; Lisa Wood; Billie Giles-Corti

Journal article

Can neighborhood green space mitigate health inequalities? A study of socio-economic status and mental health

Takemi Sugiyama, Karen Villanueva, Matthew Knuiman, Jacinta Francis, Sarah Foster, Lisa Wood, Billie Giles-Corti

HEALTH & PLACE | ELSEVIER SCI LTD | Published : 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2016.01.002

Abstract

This study examined whether the association of psychological distress with area-level socio-economic status (SES) was moderated by the area and attractiveness of local green space. As expected, the odds of higher psychological distress was higher in residents in lower SES areas than those in higher SES areas. However, our results were inconclusive with regard to the moderating role of green space in the relationship between psychological distress and SES. Further investigations incorporating safety and maintenance features of green space and street-level greenery are warranted.

University of Melbourne Researchers

Billie Giles-Corti Author Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

Related Projects (1)

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBAN PLANNING AND HEALTH AND THE APPLICATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF AUSTRALIANS BY CREATING MORE HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Globally there is growing concern about the health, social, environmental, and economic impacts of rising levels of inactivity and obesity, ..

Grants

Awarded by Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway)

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Capacity Building

Awarded by Healthway Health Promotion Research Fellowship

Awarded by NHMRC Principal Research Fellow Award

Awarded by Healthway

Funding Acknowledgements

The Department of Health of Western Australia and the WA Data Linkage Branch are gratefully acknowledged for providing the HWSS data. Spatial data were created based on information provided by and with the permission of the Western Australian Land Information Authority. Nick Middleton is gratefully acknowledged for his role in developing GIS scripts used for analyses, and processing GIS measures in 2010 and 2011. The Life Course Built Environment and Health project was supported by the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway, #18922). The POSDAT was developed using a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Capacity Building Grant (#458668). Foster is supported by a Healthway Health Promotion Research Fellowship (#21363); Wood is supported by a Healthway Health Promotion Research Fellowship (#20693); Giles-Corti is supported by a NHMRC Principal Research Fellow Award (#1004900).