Tracie Barnett
Neighborhood environment and obesity in children and adolescents: investigating nocturnal and diurnal pathways
Collaborators: J McGrath (PIs), A Van Hulst; B Chaix; C Coté-Lussier; G Datta; ME Mathieu; M Henderson; Y Kestens
Funding: IRSC, Subvention de fonctionnement, INRS
Years: 2015-2020
Where we live can influence our health and behaviours, and in particular our risk of being obese. Obesity is linked to our levels of physical activity, but it is also linked to our sleep quality and to our levels of stress. We will study the extent to which obesity in youth is related to factors that influence day time activities, (e.g. being less active due to living in less walkable neighbourhoods), or to factors predominantly related to night time circumstances (e.g. having poor quality sleep due to living near noisy streets). We will also try to better capture actual behaviours, surroundings and influences using technology such as global positioning systems, noise sensors, motion sensors and satellite images.
Linking built & social environments to pediatric obesity using a spatial environmental diagnostic & analytic laboratory
Collaborators: –
Funding: FCI, Subvention d’infrastructure, INRS
Years: 2015-2020
Investigating the influence of neighbourhood characteristics and obesity on asthma outcomes in children and adolescents
Collaborators: F Ducharme, G Bartlett-Esquilant, M Goldberg, Y Kestens, K Leffondré, A Smarggiassi
Funding: IRSC, Subvention de foctionnement, U Concordia
Years: 2012-2017
Asthma and obesity are important public health priorities that currently affect 15-20% of youth. Both are socially patterned conditions, with the likelihood of being obese or of having asthma differing from one neighbourhood to the next. More recent studies conducted among youth with asthma have observed a great deal of neighbourhood differences in asthma control, considered to be the worldwide standard for monitoring the adequacy of asthma management. In contrast to obesity, however, comparatively few studies have sought to identify specific factors explaining neighbourhood-level differences in asthma control, and little is known about the specific dimensions within built and social environments could be targeted to help improve asthma control. In this study, we examine three dimensions of neighbourhood context believed to affect asthma control: air quality (i.e. traffic related pollutants), built environment (i.e. walkability), and social environment (i.e. area deprivation). We also examine if obesity increases vulnerability to an adverse neighbourhood environment, in a population of asthmatic youth. Our objectives will be pursued using a database comprising a large clinical population of youth diagnosed with asthma, many of which were followed over time. Data from individual patient records and on medication use have already been collected; the current proposal will construct and merge a new database containing indicators of the three neighborhood dimensions of interest. These indicators will be created for several neighbourhood boundaries to allow sensitivity analyses, and over several time points, to capture change over time. We then examine spatial variation in the relationships of interest, and identify which specific neighbourhood characteristics may be involved. This unique infrastructure will also allow us better understand the relationship between asthma, obesity, and neighbourhood context, providing a basis for developing environmental interventions.
KT Workshop for the healthy vending machines concept
Collaborators: A Van Hulst
Funding: Direction de la promotion de la santé du CHU Ste-Justine, financement pour organisation de colloque
Years: 2011-2012
Subvention d’établissement de jeune chercheur
Collaborators: –
Funding: FRSQ, Subvention d’établissement de jeune chercheur
Years: 2008-2011
Investigating the role of the built environment in the development and maintenance of excess weight in a cohort of children at risk for obesity
Collaborators: L Gauvin, M Lambert, M Daniel, Y Kestens, P Apparicio, J McGrath, A Koushik, K Gray-Donald et K Leffondre.
Funding: IRSC, Subvention de fonctionnement, CHU Sainte Justine
Years: 2008-2012
Health Promoting Vending Machines: Evaluation of a Pediatric Hospital Intervention
Collaborators: A Van Hulst
Funding: Direction de la promotion de la santé du CHU Ste-Justine
Years: 2008-2009
Features of the Built Environment in Residential Neighbourhoods that Influence Excess Weight and Weight Related Behaviours in a Cohort of Children at Risk for Obesity
Collaborators: L Gauvin, M Lambert, M Daniel, Y Kestens, P Apparicio, J McGrath, L Mongeau, S Brice, A Koushik, et S Pellerin
Funding: IRSC et Fondation des Maladies du Coeur du Canada et IRSC, CHU Sainte-Justine
Years: 2007-2011
Protocole: Features of the Built Environment in Residential Neighbourhoods that Influence Excess Weight and Weight-Related Behaviours in a Cohort of Children at Risk for Obesity
Collaborators: L Gauvin, M Lambert, M Daniel, Y Kestens, P Apparicio et J McGrath
Funding: RRDSBE
Years: 2007
Development of a methodological approch for ascertaining exposures in built and social environments among QUALITY cohort participants
Collaborators: L Gauvin, M Lambert, M Daniel, Y Kestens, M Lambert
Funding: CHU Ste-Justine
Years: 2007