Abstract
Previous studies have mainly examined the independent effects of green or blue space on health from a perspective of spatial homogeneity, which neglects their interactive or spatially varying effects. Here, we examined the spatially varying and interactive effects of green and blue space on health using open access data in Northern Ireland (NI). Aggregate health data was collected from 2017 Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure at the Super Output Area (SOA) level. Green and blue spaces were extracted from Land Cover Map data. The proportion of grassland and the proportion of woodland for each SOA were calculated as proxies for green space, while the proportion of water bodies was calculated for measuring blue space. Spatially varying effects of green and blue space were modelled using multiscale Geographic Weighted Regression (MGWR). Interaction terms between green and blue spaces were added into the MGWR models to test the interactive association of green and blue space on different health outcomes (e.g., preventable death ratio and cancer registrations). Results indicate that associations were distributed zonally, with green and blue spaces in eastern areas of NI more strongly associated with health outcomes than in western areas. Within these large regional zones, further spatially varying effects of different green and blue spaces were observed. Grassland was generally positively associated with some health outcomes (e.g., less preventable death ratio, cancer registrations ratio, multiple prescriptions ratio, and long-term health problem or disability ratio), while the results of woodland and water body were mixed. Water bodies were found to strengthen the effect of woodland and grassland. The above results indicate that green and blue space have independently and interactive spatially varying associations with different health outcomes in NI. It is also important to combine both green and blue space elements to enhance health impacts in future interventions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 035007 |
| Journal | Environmental Research Communications |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 27 Mar 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:GroundsWell is an interdisciplinary consortium involving researchers, policy, implementers and communities. It is led by Queen’s University Belfast, University of Edinburgh and University of Liverpool in partnership with Cranfield University, University of Exeter, University of Glasgow, University of Lancaster and Liverpool John Moores University. We would like to acknowledge our partners including: Belfast, Edinburgh and Liverpool City Councils, Public Health Agencies of Scotland and Northern Ireland, Greenspace Scotland, Scottish Forestry, Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation, Department for Infrastructure Northern Ireland, Belfast Healthy Cities, Climate Northern Ireland, Health Data Research UK, Administrative Data Research Centre, NatureScot, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Liverpool Health Partners, NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group, the Scottish Government, Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, HSC Research and Development Office Northern Ireland, EastSide Partnership, Ashton Centre, Regenerus, Sustrans, Cycling UK, CHANGES, The Mersey Forest, Translink, Anaeko, AECOM Ltd., The Paul Hogarth Company and Moai Digital Ltd.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
Keywords
- green and blue space
- health outcomes
- interactive effects
- northern ireland
- spatially varying effects
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science
- General Environmental Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Geology
- Earth-Surface Processes
- Atmospheric Science
Access to Document
- Examining the spatially varying and interactive effects of green and blue space on health outcomes in Northern Ireland using multiscale geographically weighted regression modeling
Copyright 2023 the authors. This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited.