A systematic review of audit tools for evaluating the quality of green spaces in mental health research.

Research showing the relationship between exposure to green space and health has yielded conflicting results, possibly due to the oversight of green space quality in quantitative studies. This systematic review, guided by the PRISMA framework (registered under Prospero ID CRD42023279720), focused on audit tools for green space quality in mental health research. From 4028 studies, 13 were reviewed, with 77 % linking better mental health outcomes to higher green space quality. Eight tools, especially Public Open Space and Dillen et al. tools demonstrated strong correlations with mental health. Certain green space qualities like grass, pathways, and water elements showed positive health associations. Future research should aim for standardized quality metrics and robust methodologies to support causal inferences and efficient assessments.

A Critical Appraisal of a University's Response to a Campus Mass Shooting: Perspectives from Public Health Students and Researchers at Michigan State University.

Mass shootings are a public health crisis and have become more frequent on U.S. university campuses over the past decade, with the number doubling since 2000. Due to this alarming trend, many institutions have developed response strategies for active shooting events. Yet, the extent to which these response strategies address the needs and minimize harm for students, faculty, and staff has not been evaluated critically after a campus mass shooting. Michigan State University (MSU) experienced a mass shooting on February 13, 2023. Before, during, and 6 months following this tragedy, the university employed an estimated 18 strategies to inform, support, and protect its students, faculty, and staff. While MSU continues to address concerns and roll out programs related to this event, here we aimed to (1) create a timeline of resources and communication provided by MSU from the event to 6 months post-event; (2) critically evaluate the extent to which these resources met the needs of students, faculty, and staff through a survey among persons involved in public health research; and (3) identify potential areas for improvement in the university's responses. We used an online survey where participants (n = 10) rated the university responses and provided additional comments. From our survey, we recommend that, in the event of a campus shooting, other universities are attentive to re-engaging with the community within which the university is situated, holding communal events on campus, offering pauses in classes, and enhancing mental health services. These responses were seen as crucial to re-establish campus life and learning.

Systematic review of best practices for GPS data usage, processing, and linkage in health, exposure science and environmental context research.

Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is increasingly used in health research to capture individual mobility and contextual and environmental exposures. However, the tools, techniques and decisions for using GPS data vary from study to study, making comparisons and reproducibility challenging. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this systematic review were to (1) identify best practices for GPS data collection and processing; (2) quantify reporting of best practices in published studies; and (3) discuss examples found in reviewed manuscripts that future researchers may employ for reporting GPS data usage, processing and linkage of GPS data in health studies. DESIGN: A systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases searched (24 October 2023) were PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022322166). ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Included peer-reviewed studies published in English met at least one of the criteria: (1) protocols involving GPS for exposure/context and human health research purposes and containing empirical data; (2) linkage of GPS data to other data intended for research on contextual influences on health; (3) associations between GPS-measured mobility or exposures and health; (4) derived variable methods using GPS data in health research; or (5) comparison of GPS tracking with other methods (eg, travel diary). DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We examined 157 manuscripts for reporting of best practices including wear time, sampling frequency, data validity, noise/signal loss and data linkage to assess risk of bias. RESULTS: We found that 6% of the studies did not disclose the GPS device model used, only 12.1% reported the per cent of GPS data lost by signal loss, only 15.7% reported the per cent of GPS data considered to be noise and only 68.2% reported the inclusion criteria for their data. CONCLUSIONS: Our recommendations for reporting on GPS usage, processing and linkage may be transferrable to other geospatial devices, with the hope of promoting transparency and reproducibility in this research. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022322166.

Elementary Classroom Views of Nature Are Associated with Lower Child Externalizing Behavior Problems.

Exposure to nature views has been associated with diverse mental health and cognitive capacity benefits. Yet, much of this evidence was derived in adult samples and typically only involves residential views of nature. Findings from studies with children suggest that when more greenness is available at home or school, children have higher academic performance and have expedited attention restoration, although most studies utilize coarse or subjective assessments of exposure to nature and largely neglect investigation among young children. Here, we investigated associations between objectively measured visible nature at school and children's behavior problems (attention and externalizing behaviors using the Brief Problem Monitor Parent Form) in a sample of 86 children aged seven to nine years old from 15 classrooms across three schools. Images of classroom windows were used to quantify overall nature views and views of specific nature types (sky, grass, tree, shrub). We fitted separate Tobit regression models to test associations between classroom nature views and attention and externalizing behaviors, accounting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, residential deprivation score, and residential nature views (using Google Street View imagery). We found that higher levels of visible nature from classroom windows were associated with lower externalizing behavior problem scores, after confounder adjustment. This relationship was consistent for visible trees, but not other nature types. No significant associations were detected for attention problems. This initial study suggests that classroom-based exposure to visible nature, particularly trees, could benefit children's mental health, with implications for landscape and school design.