The Relationship of Urban Form on Children and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review of Canadian Evidence

doi:10.3390/ijerph18084180

. 2021 Apr 15;18(8):4180.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084180.

The Relationship of Urban Form on Children and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review of Canadian Evidence

Tona M Pitt¹, Janet Aucoin², Tate HubkaRao^{1

2}, Suzanne Goopy^{3

4}, Jason Cabaj^{2

5}, Brent Hagel^{1

2

6

7

8}, Gavin R McCormack^{2

9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Paediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 28 Oki Drive NW, Calgary, AB T3B 6A8, Canada.
² Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
³ Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁴ Usher Institute, Old Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, Scotland, UK.
⁵ Alberta Health Services, 10301 Southport Lane SW, Calgary, AB T2W 1S7, Canada.
⁶ Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 28 Oki Drive NW, Calgary, AB T3B 6A8, Canada.
⁷ Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁸ O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
⁹ School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
¹⁰ Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
¹¹ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan.

PMID: 33920876
PMCID: PMC8071316
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18084180

The Relationship of Urban Form on Children and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review of Canadian Evidence

Tona M Pitt et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021.

. 2021 Apr 15;18(8):4180.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084180.

Authors

Tona M Pitt¹, Janet Aucoin², Tate HubkaRao^{1

2}, Suzanne Goopy^{3

4}, Jason Cabaj^{2

5}, Brent Hagel^{1

2

6

7

8}, Gavin R McCormack^{2

9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Paediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 28 Oki Drive NW, Calgary, AB T3B 6A8, Canada.
² Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
³ Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁴ Usher Institute, Old Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, Scotland, UK.
⁵ Alberta Health Services, 10301 Southport Lane SW, Calgary, AB T2W 1S7, Canada.
⁶ Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 28 Oki Drive NW, Calgary, AB T3B 6A8, Canada.
⁷ Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁸ O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
⁹ School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
¹⁰ Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
¹¹ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan.

PMID: 33920876
PMCID: PMC8071316
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18084180

Abstract

Urban form can have an impact on health outcomes in children, and the synthesis of findings can identify gaps in the literature and regional reviews may help guide policymakers. This study aims to complete a scoping review of the research relating urban form to health outcomes in children and adolescents from urban Canadian settings. Thirteen online databases were searched to identify studies that had objective measures of urban form and health outcomes. Two research assistants independently reviewed 27,444 titles and abstracts, and 176 full-text articles, returning 32 unique studies with youth-specific data. The majority of the included studies were cross-sectional or ecological (n = 26). Six studies used Canada-wide data and the rest were from Ontario (n = 11), Alberta (n = 6), and Quebec (n = 6). Urban form characteristics included neighbourhood food environment (n = 11), parks/natural space/greenness (n = 10), road or intersection characteristics (n = 7), and aggregated urban form measures (n = 7). Studies examined a variety of health outcomes: the majority considered weight status (n = 16) and injury (n = 10). Although there is over-reliance on mainly cross-sectional study designs, there is evidence suggesting that urban form is associated with health outcomes in Canadian youth, with parks/greenspace, road connectivity, and road characteristics most consistently associated with health outcomes in youth.

Keywords: adolescent; built environment; child; food environment; health; injury; obesity; urban form; youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
PRISMA-ScR flow chart of included and excluded studies.

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References

1. Public Health Agency of Canada . Economic Burden of Illness in Canada, 2005–2008. Public Health Agency of Canada; Nepean, ON, Canada: 2014.
1. The Secretariat for the Intersectoral Healthy Living Network in Partnership with the FPT Healthy Living Task Group and the FPT Advisory Committee on Population Health and Health Security (ACPHHS) The Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy. Public Health Agency of Canada; Nepean, ON, Canada: 2005.
1. World Health Organization . Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2004.
1. McCormack G.R., Cabaj J., Orpana H., Lukic R., Blackstaffe A., Goopy S., Hagel B., Keough N., Martinson R., Chapman J., et al. A scoping review on the relations between urban form and health: A focus on Canadian quantitative evidence. Health Promot. Chronic Dis. Prev. Can. 2019;39:187–200. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.39.5.03. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Craigie A.M., Lake A.A., Kelly S.A., Adamson A.J., Mathers J.C. Tracking of obesity-related behaviours from childhood to adulthood: A systematic review. Maturitas. 2011;70:266–284. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.08.005. - DOI - PubMed

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[1] Public Health Agency of Canada . Economic Burden of Illness in Canada, 2005–2008. Public Health Agency of Canada; Nepean, ON, Canada: 2014.

[2] Public Health Agency of Canada . Economic Burden of Illness in Canada, 2005–2008. Public Health Agency of Canada; Nepean, ON, Canada: 2014.

[3] The Secretariat for the Intersectoral Healthy Living Network in Partnership with the FPT Healthy Living Task Group and the FPT Advisory Committee on Population Health and Health Security (ACPHHS) The Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy. Public Health Agency of Canada; Nepean, ON, Canada: 2005.

[4] The Secretariat for the Intersectoral Healthy Living Network in Partnership with the FPT Healthy Living Task Group and the FPT Advisory Committee on Population Health and Health Security (ACPHHS) The Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy. Public Health Agency of Canada; Nepean, ON, Canada: 2005.

[5] World Health Organization . Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2004.

[6] World Health Organization . Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2004.

[7] McCormack G.R., Cabaj J., Orpana H., Lukic R., Blackstaffe A., Goopy S., Hagel B., Keough N., Martinson R., Chapman J., et al. A scoping review on the relations between urban form and health: A focus on Canadian quantitative evidence. Health Promot. Chronic Dis. Prev. Can. 2019;39:187–200. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.39.5.03. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] McCormack G.R., Cabaj J., Orpana H., Lukic R., Blackstaffe A., Goopy S., Hagel B., Keough N., Martinson R., Chapman J., et al. A scoping review on the relations between urban form and health: A focus on Canadian quantitative evidence. Health Promot. Chronic Dis. Prev. Can. 2019;39:187–200. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.39.5.03. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Craigie A.M., Lake A.A., Kelly S.A., Adamson A.J., Mathers J.C. Tracking of obesity-related behaviours from childhood to adulthood: A systematic review. Maturitas. 2011;70:266–284. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.08.005. - DOI - PubMed

[10] Craigie A.M., Lake A.A., Kelly S.A., Adamson A.J., Mathers J.C. Tracking of obesity-related behaviours from childhood to adulthood: A systematic review. Maturitas. 2011;70:266–284. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.08.005. - DOI - PubMed

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The Relationship of Urban Form on Children and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review of Canadian Evidence

Affiliations

The Relationship of Urban Form on Children and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review of Canadian Evidence

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

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References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

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Medical