Alexander Wray’s research while affiliated with Western University and other places

Exposure assessment in the context of mobility-oriented health research often is challenged by the type of spatial measurement technique used to estimate exposures to environmental features. The purpose of this study is to compare smartphone global positioning system (GPS), shortest network path mobility, and buffer-based approaches in estimating exposure to outdoor food and beverage advertising among a sample of 154 teenagers involved in the SmartAPPetite study during 2018 in London, Ontario, Canada. Participants were asked to report their home postal code, age, gender identity, ethnicity, and number of purchases they had made at a retail food outlet in the past month. During the same time period, a mobile phone application was used to log their mobility and specifically record when a participant was in close proximity to outdoor advertising. The results of negative binomial regression modelling reveal significant differences in estimates of advertising exposure, and the relationship to self-reported purchasing. Spatial exposure estimation methods showed differences across regression models, with the buffer and observed GPS approaches delivering the best fitting models, depending on the type of retail food outlet. There is a clear need for more robust research of spatial exposure measurement techniques in the context of mobility and food (information) environment research.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have amplified the environmental, social, and economic implications of household food waste. A better understanding of household food wasting during the pandemic is needed to improve the management of waste and develop best practices for municipal waste management programs under crisis circumstances. A waste composition study was undertaken with 100 single-family households across the city of London, Ontario, Canada to determine the quantity and composition of household food waste disposed in June 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines how household demographic, socioeconomic, and neighbourhood food environment characteristics influence household food wasting. On average, each household sent 2.81 kg of food waste to landfill per week, of which 52% was classified as avoidable food waste and 48% as unavoidable food waste. The quantity and composition of household food waste was found to be strongly influenced by the number of people and children in a household, and somewhat influenced by socioeconomic factors and neighbourhood food environment characteristics, including the availability, density, and proximity of retail food outlets.

Objectives On January 1, 2020, the Government of Ontario passed a regulation banning vaping advertisements by retailers, apart from specialty shops. A motivation for this ban was to limit youth exposure to vaping advertisements. The primary goal of this research was to evaluate the impact of this ban on the number and density of vaping advertisements surrounding secondary schools. Additionally, we examined whether the number of vaping advertisements varied by school socio-demographic characteristics. Methods This study used a pre-post design. Audits were conducted December 2019 (pre-ban) and again January to February 2020 (post-ban), to identify vaping advertisements within 800 m surrounding secondary schools ( n = 18) in London, Ontario. Results Prior to the ban, there were 266 vaping advertisements within 800 m of secondary schools. After the ban, this was reduced to 58, a 78.2% reduction. The mean number of vaping advertisements surrounding schools significantly decreased from 18.1 before the ban to 3.6 after the ban ( p < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was found, prior to the ban, between the number of vaping advertisements surrounding schools and school-level residential instability ( r = 0.42, p = 0.02). After the ban, no significant correlations were found between the number of vaping advertisements and school socio-demographic characteristics. Conclusion The provincial ban of vaping advertisements in select retail settings significantly reduced the number of vaping advertisements in the areas surrounding secondary schools in London, Ontario. The ban also reduced socio-demographic inequities in youths’ potential exposure to marketing of vaping products. Continued monitoring of the geographic accessibility and promotion of vaping products is warranted.

The public realm is a well-recognized contributor to positive health and wellbeing. Public parks and recreational spaces are now some of the main outlets for people to get outdoors, however COVID-19 has created challenges in these spaces. We classify local government responses around maintaining physical distancing in the public realm using a preliminary conceptual map of theories and actions to identify variations in these approaches around the globe. This pilot classification approach provides a useful lens to examine pandemic responses, with future work building upon this map to potentially inform how cities may react to other complex planetary health issues.

Introduction The rise in sedentary behaviour, coupled with the decline in overall mental health among Canadian children and youth in recent decades, demonstrates a clear need for applied research that focusses on developing and evaluating cross-disciplinary interventions. Outdoor spaces provide opportunities for physical activity and social connectedness, making them an ideal setting to address these critical health concerns among children and youth. Methods We conducted a rapid review of peer-reviewed (n = 3096) and grey literature (n = 7) to identify physical activity and/or social connectedness outdoor space interventions targeted at children and youth (19 years and under) in Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Europe and the United States. We determined if interventions were effective by analyzing their research design, confidence intervals and reported limitations, and then conducted a narrative synthesis of the effective interventions. Results We found 104 unique studies, of which 70 (67%) were determined to be effective. Overall, 55 interventions targeted physical activity outcomes, 10 targeted social connectedness outcomes and 5 targeted both. Play (n = 47) and contact with nature(n = 25) were dominant themes across interventions, with most taking place in a school or park. We report on the identifying features, limitations and implications of these interventions. Conclusion The incorporation of natural and play-focussed elements into outdoor spaces may be effective ways to improve physical activity and social connectedness. There is a considerable need for more Canadian-specific research. Novel methods, such as incorporating smartphone technology into the design and evaluation of these interventions, warrant consideration.

Introduction La conjugaison d’une augmentation du comportement sédentaire et d’une baisse de la santé mentale globale chez les enfants et les jeunes canadiens dans les dernières décennies est le signe évident que l’on a besoin de recherche appliquée axée sur l’élaboration et l’évaluation d’interventions interdisciplinaires. Les espaces extérieurs offrent des possibilités d’activité physique et d’interactions sociales, ce qui en fait un cadre idéal pour répondre à ces préoccupations essentielles en matière de santé chez les enfants et les jeunes. Méthodologie Nous avons procédé à une revue rapide de la littérature évaluée par les pairs (n = 3 096) et de la littérature grise (n = 7) afin de sélectionner les interventions en faveur de l’activité physique et de l’appartenance sociale portant sur les espaces extérieurs et visant les enfants et les jeunes (19 ans ou moins) en Australie et en Nouvelle­Zélande, au Canada, en Europe et aux États­Unis. Nous avons déterminé si les interventions étaient efficaces en analysant la conception de l’étude, les intervalles de confiance et les limites signalées, puis en réalisant une synthèse narrative des interventions efficaces. Résultats Nous avons relevé 104 études, dont 70 (67 %) ont été jugées efficaces. Sur l’ensemble, 55 interventions visaient l’activité physique, 10 visaient l’appartenance sociale et 5 visaient les deux. Le jeu (n = 47) et le contact avec la nature (n = 25) étaient les thèmes dominants dans toutes les interventions, la plupart ayant lieu dans une école ou un parc. Nous rendons compte des caractéristiques, des limites et des conséquences de ces interventions. Conclusion L’intégration d’éléments naturels et ludiques dans les espaces extérieurs peut être un moyen efficace d’améliorer l’activité physique et l’appartenance sociale. Il y a un besoin considérable de recherches plus spécifiques au Canada. De nouvelles stratégies, comme l’intégration de la technologie des téléphones intelligents dans la conception et l’évaluation de ces interventions, méritent d’être envisagées.

Background: Automated Vehicles (AVs) are central to the new mobility paradigm that promises to transform transportation systems and cities across the globe. To date, much of the research on AVs has focused on technological advancements with little emphasis on how this emerging technology will impact population-level health. This scoping study examines the potential health impacts of AVs based on the existing literature. Methods: Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping protocol, we searched academic and 'grey' literature to anticipate the effects of AVs on human health. Results: Our search captured 43 information sources that discussed a least one of the five thematic areas related to health. The bulk of the evidence is related to road safety (n = 37), followed by a relatively equal distribution between social equity (n = 24), environment (n = 22), lifestyle (n = 20), and built environment (n = 18) themes. There is general agreement that AVs will improve road safety overall, thus reducing injuries and fatalities from human errors in operating motorized vehicles. However, the relationships with air quality, physical activity, and stress, among other health factors may be more complex. The broader health implications of AVs will be dependent on how the technology is adopted in various transportation systems. Regulatory action will be a significant determinant of how AVs could affect health, as well as how AVs influence social and environmental determinants of health. Conclusion: To support researchers and practitioners considering the health implications of AVs, we provide a conceptual map of the direct and indirect linkages between AV use and health outcomes. It is important that stakeholders, including public health agencies work to ensure that population health outcomes and equitable distribution of health impacts are priority considerations as regulators develop their response to AVs. We recommend that public health and transportation officials actively monitor trends in AV introduction and adoption, regulators focus on protecting human health and safety in AV implementation, and researchers work to expand the body of evidence surrounding AVs and population health.