Author:
Cyril Sheila,Oldroyd John C,Renzaho Andre
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Despite a plethora of studies examining the effect of increased urbanisation on health, no single study has systematically examined the measurement properties of scales used to measure urbanicity. It is critical to distinguish findings from studies that use surrogate measures of urbanicity (e.g. population density) from those that use measures rigorously tested for reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to assess the measurement reliability and validity of the available urbanicity scales and identify areas where more research is needed to facilitate the development of a standardised measure of urbanicity.
Methods
Databases searched were MEDLINE with Full Text, CINAHL with Full Text, and PsycINFO (EBSCOhost) as well as Embase (Ovid) covering the period from January 1970 to April 2012. Studies included in this systematic review were those that focused on the development of an urbanicity scale with clearly defined items or the adoption of an existing scale, included at least one outcome measure related to health, published in peer-reviewed journals, the full text was available in English and tested for validity and reliability.
Results
Eleven studies met our inclusion criteria which were conducted in Sri Lanka, Austria, China, Nigeria, India and Philippines. They ranged in size from 3327 to 33,404 participants. The number of scale items ranged from 7 to 12 items in 5 studies. One study measured urban area socioeconomic disadvantage instead of urbanicity. The emerging evidence is that increased urbanisation is associated with deleterious health outcomes. It is possible that increased urbanisation is also associated with access and utilisation of health services. However, urbanicity measures differed across studies, and the reliability and validity properties of the used scales were not well established.
Conclusion
There is an urgent need for studies to standardise measures of urbanicity. Longitudinal cohort studies to confirm the relationship between increased urbanisation and health outcomes are urgently needed.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference41 articles.
1. United Nations: World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population. ESA/P/WP/205 In. 2008, New York: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations
2. Allender S, Foster C, Hutchinson L, Arambepola C: Quantification of urbanization in relation to chronic diseases in developing countries: a systematic review. J Urban Health. 2008, 85 (6): 938-951. 10.1007/s11524-008-9325-4.
3. Dahly DL, Adair LS: Quantifying the urban environment: a scale measure of urbanicity outperforms the urban–rural dichotomy. Soc Sci Med. 2007, 64 (7): 1407-1419. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.11.019.
4. McDade TW, Adair LS: Defining the “urban” in urbanization and health: a factor analysis approach. Social Science & Medicine. 2001, 53 (1): 55-70. 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00313-0.
5. Vlahov D, Galea S: Urbanization, urbanicity, and health. J Urban Health. 2002, 79 (4 Suppl 1): S1-S12.
Cited by
99 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献