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Digital and Spatial Epidemiology in Urban Health

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 8678

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Oliver Gruebner

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Geography, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
2. Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Prevention Institute (EBPI), University of Zurich, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland
Interests: health geography; spatial epidemiology; digital epidemiology

Dr. Florian Fischer

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Co-Guest Editor

1. Institute of Public Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
2. Bavarian Research Center for Digital Health and Social Care, Kempten University of Applied Sciences, 87437 Kempten, Germany
Interests: population medicine; health services; health care and nursing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Tobia Lakes

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Co-Guest Editor

Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
Interests: spatial statistics; geostatistical analysis; geomatics; land use modelling; land use science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Mobarak Hossain Khan

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Co-Guest Editor

Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, East West University, 1212 Dhaka, Bangladesh
Interests: spatial and digital epidemiology; urban mental health

Prof. Dr. Sven Lautenbach

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Co-Guest Editor

Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Interests: Trade-offs of land use decisions; Ecosystem services; Land use change; Environmental modelling; Health geography and spatial epidemiology; Species distribution modelling; Multi-objective decision making; Evolutionary computation; Data science, machine learning, big data analysis; Spatial data analysis; Analysis of social media data; Decision support systems

Prof. Dr. Alexander Krämer

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Co-Guest Editor

School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
Interests: global health; epidemiology of infectious diseases; setting migration: refugee health; setting universities: health of students; setting company: online company health management; setting cities: health in megacities; theory: concept of health in medicine and health sciences

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban living is becoming the new normal for many of us within the social contexts defined by cities. Many characteristics of the urban socio-ecological environment are likely to affect the distributions of mental health outcomes and both chronic and infectious diseases among urban populations. Furthermore, inner-city inequalities in health care access and disease prevention (e.g., healthy neighborhoods) are still present.

With this Special Issue, we aim to feature current digital and spatial epidemiological work on the topic of urban health. Digital epidemiological approaches use data that are mainly generated outside of the public health system, for example from social media, smart city devices, or the Internet of Things (IoT). Spatial epidemiological approaches investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of population health and locally specific causes of disease, so that we know where to intervene to prevent disease and improve health. When combined, digital and spatial epidemiological approaches provide ample opportunities to investigate and monitor urban health in compliance with ethical standards, so that we may build healthy cities by design. We very much look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Oliver Gruebner
Dr. Florian Fischer
Prof. Dr. Tobia Lakes
Prof. Dr. Mobarak Hossain Khan
Prof. Dr. Sven Lautenbach
Prof. Dr. Alexander Krämer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

health geography
spatial epidemiology
digital epidemiology
eHealth
mHealth
urban health
mental health
urban design
smart cities
Internet of Things (IoT)

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 645 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Social Media in Building Pandemic Resilience in an Urban Community: A Qualitative Case Study

by Joel Oommen George, Suzanne Elayan, Martin Sykora, Marin Solter, Rob Feick, Christopher Hewitt, Yiqiao Liu and Ketan Shankardass

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(17), 6707; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20176707 - 4 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1973

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of social media in fostering resilience within an urban spatial context, specifically in Bangalore, India, during the COVID-19 lockdown, a period marked by a surge in digital communication due to movement restrictions. To control the rapid spread of the virus, over 1.38 billion people were given stay-at-home orders by the government of India during the onset of the pandemic. The restrictions in movement forced individuals to shift to online modes of connection and communication. As the field of digital epidemiology, that is, the use of digital tools and data to understand and improve health took center stage during the pandemic, the focus shifted towards the social media landscape, which is often associated with its negative aspects, such as misinformation. However, this paper delves into social media’s potential to build resilience on a local scale, particularly given its increased usage during the pandemic. Through in-depth online interviews with eight urban residents, we conducted a thematic analysis to understand social media’s role during the lockdown. Results indicate that social media facilitated effective information exchange and fostered a sense of community. Furthermore, it engendered an environment conducive to prosocial behavior, a known resilience amplifier. We also highlight the importance of baseline context regarding the users directly engaged in social media data generation with respect to digital epidemiology analytics tools for large-scale social media data and the need for qualitative input feeding into their design. Our study highlights the need for a balanced perspective on social media use in times of crisis, recognizing its potential to boost community resilience in an urban setting, and further enriching digital epidemiology approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Epidemiology in Urban Health)

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22 pages, 4730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Spatial Relative Risk of COVID-19 in Berlin-Neukölln

by Christoph Lambio, Tillman Schmitz, Richard Elson, Jeffrey Butler, Alexandra Roth, Silke Feller, Nicolai Savaskan and Tobia Lakes

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(10), 5830; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105830 - 16 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1366

Abstract

Identifying areas with high and low infection rates can provide important etiological clues. Usually, areas with high and low infection rates are identified by aggregating epidemiological data into geographical units, such as administrative areas. This assumes that the distribution of population numbers, infection rates, and resulting risks is constant across space. This assumption is, however, often false and is commonly known as the modifiable area unit problem. This article develops a spatial relative risk surface by using kernel density estimation to identify statistically significant areas of high risk by comparing the spatial distribution of address-level COVID-19 cases and the underlying population at risk in Berlin-Neukölln. Our findings show that there are varying areas of statistically significant high and low risk that straddle administrative boundaries. The findings of this exploratory analysis further highlight topics such as, e.g., Why were mostly affluent areas affected during the first wave? What lessons can be learned from areas with low infection rates? How important are built structures as drivers of COVID-19? How large is the effect of the socio-economic situation on COVID-19 infections? We conclude that it is of great importance to provide access to and analyse fine-resolution data to be able to understand the spread of the disease and address tailored health measures in urban settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Epidemiology in Urban Health)

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Other

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22 pages, 851 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Sustainable Smart Cities—Social Media Platforms and Their Role in Community Neighborhood Resilience—A Systematic Review

by Soumya Balakrishnan, Suzanne Elayan, Martin Sykora, Marin Solter, Rob Feick, Christopher Hewitt, Yi Qiao Liu and Ketan Shankardass

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(18), 6720; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20186720 - 6 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1529

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic took most communities off guard and has highlighted gaps in community preparedness and resilience in spite of the numerous technological advancements and the variety of available social media platforms that many relied on during lockdown periods. This served to emphasise the necessity for exploring the roles of social media and smart city technologies in mitigating pandemic impacts. In this systematic literature review, we examined twelve articles on social media usage and smart city technologies and their contributions to community resilience during COVID-19. The analysis focused on the use of social media platforms and smart city technologies during and after lockdown periods, examining their role in fostering community resilience. Results indicate that social media and smart city technologies were instrumental in helping communities adapt and recover from the pandemic. While past studies have examined community resilience, social media, or smart cities separately, there is limited literature collating insights on the three elements combined. We therefore argue that these technologies, employed collaboratively, enhance community resilience during crises. Nevertheless, further research is recommended, particularly on urban resilience and comparative analyses to deepen our understanding of the complex interplay between these variables. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Epidemiology in Urban Health)

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15 pages, 1684 KiB

Open AccessCommentary

Reproducibility and Scientific Integrity of Big Data Research in Urban Public Health and Digital Epidemiology: A Call to Action

by Ana Cecilia Quiroga Gutierrez, Daniel J. Lindegger, Ala Taji Heravi, Thomas Stojanov, Martin Sykora, Suzanne Elayan, Stephen J. Mooney, John A. Naslund, Marta Fadda and Oliver Gruebner

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1473; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021473 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2880

Abstract

The emergence of big data science presents a unique opportunity to improve public-health research practices. Because working with big data is inherently complex, big data research must be clear and transparent to avoid reproducibility issues and positively impact population health. Timely implementation of solution-focused approaches is critical as new data sources and methods take root in public-health research, including urban public health and digital epidemiology. This commentary highlights methodological and analytic approaches that can reduce research waste and improve the reproducibility and replicability of big data research in public health. The recommendations described in this commentary, including a focus on practices, publication norms, and education, are neither exhaustive nor unique to big data, but, nonetheless, implementing them can broadly improve public-health research. Clearly defined and openly shared guidelines will not only improve the quality of current research practices but also initiate change at multiple levels: the individual level, the institutional level, and the international level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Epidemiology in Urban Health)

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