Spatial equity in the layout of urban public sports facilities in Hangzhou.

This paper proposes a framework for a layout evaluation of urban public sports facilities. First, the buffer analysis method is used to measure the service level of public sports facilities. The study findings indicate that the overall service level of public sports facilities presents the spatial characteristics of a central agglomeration, and the value of the service level diffuses outward from high to low. There is evident spatial heterogeneity in the layout of public sports facilities in Hangzhou. Second, the Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve, and location entropy are employed to measure the equity of the distribution among spatial units and the intradistrict disparity. The results show a mismatch between the spatial distribution of the facilities and the distribution of the permanent population. The patterns of distribution of the location entropy classes of Hangzhou can be divided into three types: balanced, alternating, and divergent districts. The method in this paper is effective in measuring spatial equity and visualizing it. it has a certain degree of systemicity, universality and operability. At the same time, this method can compare the diachronic characteristics of the same city and the synchronic characteristics of different cities, which has universal application value.

The Distribution and Accessibility of Urban Parks in Beijing, China: Implications of Social Equity.

As public service facilities, urban parks offer many benefits for daily life and social activities for residents. However, the accessibility of public parks to urban residents is often unevenly distributed in spaces that cannot be utilized fully. Here, we used the urban parks in Beijing, China as a case study and examined the relationship between urban park accessibility and population distribution at different administrative levels. Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve were used to evaluate the social equity of urban park accessibility, and the location quotient was used to identify the spatial difference between urban parks and resident population. The results of our study show that the urban park accessibility varies at district and subdistrict levels and that places with more urban parks usually have higher accessibility. Very importantly, the spatial equity is different from the social equity, a mismatch exists between the spatial distribution of urban parks and population, particularly for the elderly residents. These results generate valuable insights, as, in China and many developing countries, current urban public green space planning only uses the ratio of public green space to urban construction land and the per capita public green area.

Trajectory of cause of death among brought dead neonates in tertiary care public facilities of Pakistan: A multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Considering the fact that Pakistan is amongst the countries with very high neonatal mortality rates, we conducted a research study to determine the possible causes and characteristics of neonates presenting dead to the emergency department of tertiary public health care facilities of Pakistan using verbal autopsies. METHODS: A descriptive case series study was conducted in emergency department/pediatrics ward/neonatal ward/nursery unit of ten tertiary care public health facilities, situated in seven major cities of Pakistan from November, 2011 to June, 2013. Precoded verbal autopsy proforma was used to collect information regarding cause of death, family narratives and other associated risks accountable for pathway to mortality. RESULTS: We identified 431 neonates presenting dead to the emergency department (238 males and 193 females). Sepsis (26.7%), birth asphyxia (18.8%) and persistent pulmonary arrest (17.2%) were main primary causes of brought death. Around 72% brought dead neonates were referred from doctors/health care facilities and more than 28% caregivers mentioned that they were not informed about the diagnosis/ailment of their deceased newborn. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of our study suggest that infectious disease remains the main primary cause of neonatal mortality. Underweight in newborns (64%) was estimated as a leading associated risk. Delays in referrals to respective health care facility enlightened the concern of sub-standard prerequisites of neonatal care that could be one of the major contributing risk factor of high mortality rates.

The impact of alcohol management practices on sports club membership and revenue.

Issue addressed: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an alcohol management intervention on community sporting club revenue (total annual income) and membership (number of club players, teams and spectators).Methods: The study employed a cluster randomised controlled trial design that allocated clubs either an alcohol accreditation intervention or a control condition. Club representatives completed a scripted telephone survey at baseline and again ~3 years following. Demographic information about clubs was collected along with information about club income.Results: Number of players and senior teams were not significantly different between treatment groups following the intervention. The intervention group, however, showed a significantly higher mean number of spectators. Estimates of annual club income between groups at follow-up showed no significant difference in revenue.Conclusions: This study found no evidence to suggest that efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm in community sporting clubs will compromise club revenue and membership.So what?: These findings suggest that implementation of an intervention to improve alcohol management of sporting clubs may not have the unintended consequence of harming club viability.