Proximity of California public schools to busy roads

Residential proximity to busy roads has been associated with adverse health outcomes, and school location may also be an important determinant of children's exposure to traffic-related pollutants. The goal of this study was to examine the characteristics of public schools (grades K-12) in California (n = 7,460) by proximity to major roads. We determined maximum daily traffic counts for all roads within 150 m of the school using a statewide road network and a geographic information system. Statewide, 173 schools (2.3%) with a total enrollment of 150,323 students were located within 150 m of high-traffic roads (greater than or equal to 50,000 vehicles/day); 536 schools (7.2%) were within 150 m of medium-traffic roads (25,000-49,999 vehicles/day). Traffic exposure was related to race/ethnicity. For example, the overall percentage of nonwhite students was 78% at the schools located near high-traffic roads versus 60% at the schools with very low exposure (no streets with counted traffic data within 150 m). As the traffic exposure of schools increased, the percentage of both non-Hispanic black and Hispanic students attending the schools increased substantially. Traffic exposure was also related to school-based and census-tract-based socioeconomic indicators, including English language learners. The median percentage of children enrolled in free or reduced-price meal programs increased from 40.7% in the group with very low exposure to 60.5% in the highest exposure group. In summary, a substantial number of children in California attend schools close to major roads with very high traffic counts, and a disproportionate number of those students are economically disadvantaged and nonwhite.     

Child sexual abuse prevention programs in Texas public elementary schools

This survey determined if selected Texas public school districts provided an established child sexual abuse prevention program for elementary schools. The survey examined the type of program being implemented, training available for faculty and staff type of evaluation used, involvement of local agencies, and type of funding sources. Survey data were obtained from a nonrandomized sample of 89 largest public school districts in Texas, all recording an average daily attendance over 5,000. Fifty-eight of the 89 districts addressed child sexual abuse as a formal prevention program or as an awareness program. Training for child sexual abuse prevention program presenters was offered in 89% of districts. Consistent, effective evaluation was minimal. Funding for prevention programs was limited or unknown. Results confirmed the need for consistent, effective child sexual abuse prevention programs in elementary schools.     

肇庆市城区中小学生视力状况分析

视力低下是中小学生常见病之一 ,为了解肇庆市城区中小学生视力状况 ,掌握影响中小学生视力下降的因素及其发展规律 ,我们对 2 0 0 3年肇庆市城区中小学生视力调查资料进行了统计分析 ,现将结果报道如下。1　对象和方法1 1　对象　　按地段分布确定调查学校 ,以年级分层、班级为单位 ,随机整群抽取中小学生共 384 75人为调查对象 ,其中高中生5 2 0 0人 ,初中生 12 6 99人 ,小学生 2 0 5 76人 ;男生 192 4 5人 ,女生 192 30人。1 2　方法　　按《全国学生体质健康状况调查研究实施方案》和《检测细则》要求 ,使用单个视标灯光显示标准对数视…     

城市基本公共卫生服务项目实施过程情况分析

目的 对基本公共卫生服务过程进行分析,获取其执行过程中存在的问题。方法对黑龙江、安徽和广东省29家社区卫生服务机构,采用深入访谈法和问卷调查进行数据收集。结果 政府基本公共卫生服务经费拨款为15元/人的占51.72%;3个省社区平均每万人口数与公卫医师的配比为0.25、0.25、0.35,正式编制人员数仅占44.15%;在9项基本公共卫生服务中,建立居民健康档案、健康教育、老年人保健和慢性病管理的覆盖率达到了100%,慢性病患者的管理率仅约为40%及重性精神病管理率低于10%,新生儿访视率、孕产妇产前管理率和产后访视率均约为20%;居民对基本公共卫生服务项目的知晓率仅为42.62%。结论 所调查社区卫生服务机构基本公共卫生服务项目开展不均衡,在\     

Availability of health workforce in urban and rural areas in relation to Canadian seniors

Geographic imbalances in health human resources exist in a health care system when the composition, level, or use of health care providers does not lead to the same optimal health‐system goals in all regions. This can lead to inequitable distribution of health care services, particularly for rural and remote populations. This study aims to determine to what extent the distribution of regulated health professionals and seniors in urban and rural areas of the Canadian jurisdictions is different from one another and from the national average. Data used in this study are for the 2016 calendar year. Information about physicians was obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Scott's Medical Database. The data for nurses (nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses) were also sourced from CIHI, Health Workforce Database. Geographic information is based on the postal code of physicians' preferred mailing address, and the residence in the case of nurses and the population. Using the Statistical Area Classification from Statistics Canada, each physician and nurse was assigned to either an urban metropolitan, urban non‐metropolitan, or rural/remote area. Findings indicate that there were twice as many nurses per 1000 seniors in urban Canada than in rural Canada. However, this gap was threefold in the case of physicians. Provinces with the largest and lowest gap and international comparisons are also provided. Three broad strategies are offered for policymakers in order to mitigate this health workforce imbalance and reduce the regional shortage of nurses and physicians.     

随迁子女小学四年级学生校园欺负行为现况

了解进城务工人员随迁子女小学高年级学生校园欺负行为的流行现况,为开展有针对性的预防和干预工作提供科学依据.方法 通过多阶段随机整群抽样法,方便抽取上海、广州、北京3地34所随迁子女小学,对共4 047名四年级小学生进行问卷调查.结果 62.1%的学生曾经卷入过校园欺负,仅受欺负、仅欺负他人、既欺负他人又受欺负的比例分别为25.6%,7.2%和29.3%;19.9%的学生现在卷入了校园欺负,仅受欺负、仅欺负他人、既欺负他人又受欺负的比例分别为10.1%,4.0%和5.8%;男生、生活在广州或北京、无兄弟姐妹、家庭经济较差者曾经卷入校园欺负的比例较高,差异均有统计学意义(x2值分别为10.47,118.90,7.86,27.04,P值均<0.05).言语欺负是最常见的欺负和受欺负形式(15.2%,36.2%);教室是最常见的校园欺负地点(54.2%).曾经受欺负者选择忍受类应对方式的比例高于未受欺负者(P值均<0.05).38.3%的旁观者没有采取行动制止校园欺负行为.结论 进城务工人员随迁子女群体中校园欺负行为普遍存在,而学生选择积极有效的应对策略和采取行动抵制校园欺负的情况不容乐观.校园欺负干预不仅要关注欺负、受欺负者,还要重视旁观者,营造反对校园欺负的学校氛围.     

Prevalence of active commuting at urban and suburban elementary schools in Columbia, SC

We directly observed the prevalence of walking and bicycling (active commuting) to 8 randomly selected urban and suburban elementary schools. When school was used as the unit of analysis, only 5.0% of the students actively commuted to or from school across all observed trips. Active commuting was not affected (P >/=; 18) by school urbanization level, school socioeconomic status, time of day, day of week, weather conditions, or temperature. These results indicate a need for school- and community-based interventions.     

Proximity of the home to roads and the risk of wheeze in an Ethiopian population

Background: There is widespread public concern that exposure to road vehicle traffic pollution causes asthma, but epidemiological studies in developed countries have not generally confirmed a strong effect and may have underestimated the risk as a result of relatively high and widespread exposure to traffic in everyday life.     

Proximity of schools in Detroit, Michigan to automobile and truck traffic

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants, which has been associated with a range of adverse health effects, often is represented using indirect proxies or surrogate exposure measures, most commonly, the proximity to busy roads. This study examines the proximity of grade K-12 schools to high traffic roads in Wayne County, Michigan, an area including the industrialized city of Detroit as well as outlying urban and suburban communities. Unlike earlier studies, commercial and non-commercial traffic is distinguished, and effects of school type (public, charter, private), socio-economic variables, demographic factors, and mapping errors are evaluated. We find that total traffic flow, as measured by annual average daily traffic (AADT), does not reflect the substantial differences between trucking and commuting routes. Thus, AADT alone may inadequately capture traffic-related exposures, especially given the large differences between diesel and gasoline emissions. Based on close proximity (school-road distance < or = 150 m) to heavy traffic (AADT > or = 50,000), 4.9% of the 845 Wayne County schools are traffic exposed at school. In the urban core area, 7.2% of schools and 7.6% of students are traffic exposed at school. A larger proportion of grade 7-12 students in public schools are exposed than K-6 students. Considering truck emissions, 2.8% of the schools are within 150 m of roads with 5000 or more trucks per day. In Wayne County, students attending schools near high traffic roads are more likely to be Black or Hispanic, to be enrolled in a meal program, and to reside in a poor area. Many of these results are driven by the large minority population in the densely populated core area of Detroit. The findings show that a large fraction of children have high exposures to traffic-related pollutants, especially in Detroit, and the need for exposure measures that account for both the composition and volume of traffic.     

Suitability of commuting by bicycle to Arizona elementary schools

PURPOSE: To determine the biking suitability (i.e., bikeability) of and prevalence of biking in 14 elementary schools representing two extremes of bused students (2.4% vs. 53.6%). METHODS: Street segments (within 0.25-mile radius of school) were scored for bikeability. Bikes in racks per school student population established biking prevalence. Mann-Whitney U-test compared bikeability and prevalence of biking between groups. RESULTS: A total of 12.5 +/- 2.2 streets per school were assessed. Thirteen schools scored very good (< 3.0) and one scored fair (4.0-4.9). Median bikeability score was 0.69 for the low-busing schools and 0.53 for the high-busing schools (nonsignificant). Median biking prevalence was 3.1% in the low-busing schools and 1.3% in the high-busing schools (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Streets surrounding schools were adequate for biking. Biking prevalence was significantly higher in low-busing schools but was relatively low in both low- and high-busing schools. Other factors, including intraindividual, social, school, and community, likely contribute to choice of biking to school.     

School environmental conditions and links to academic performance and absenteeism in urban,mid-Atlantic public schools

School facility conditions, environment, and perceptions of safety and learning have been investigated for their impact on child development. However, it is important to consider how the environment separately influences academic performance and attendance after controlling for school and community factors. Using results from the Maryland School Assessment, we considered outcomes of school-level proficiency in reading and math plus attendance and chronic absences, defined as missing 20 or more days, for grades 3–5 and 6–8 at 158 urban schools. Characteristics of the environment included school facility conditions, density of nearby roads, and an index industrial air pollution. Perceptions of school safety, learning, and institutional environment were acquired from a School Climate Survey. Also considered were neighborhood factors at the community statistical area, including demographics, crime, and poverty based on school location. Poisson regression adjusted for over-dispersion was used to model academic achievement and multiple linear models were used for attendance. Each 10-unit change in facility condition index, denoting worse quality buildings, was associated with a decrease in reading (1.0% (95% CI: 0.1–1.9%) and math scores (0.21% (95% CI: 0.20-0.40), while chronic absences increased by 0.75% (95% CI: 0.30–1.39). Each log increase the EPA’s Risk Screening Environmental Indicator (RSEI) value for industrial hazards, resulted in a marginally significant trend of increasing absenteeism (p?<?0.06), but no association was observed with academic achievement. All results were robust to school-level measures of racial composition, free and reduced meals eligibility, and community poverty and crime. These findings provide empirical evidence for the importance of the community and school environment, including building conditions and neighborhood toxic substance risk, on academic achievement and attendance.     

Radon concentrations in elementary schools in Kuwait

Measurements of indoor radon concentrations were performed in 25 classrooms in the capital city of Kuwait from September 2003 to March 2004 using track etch detectors. The investigation was focused on area, ventilation, windows, air conditioners, fans, and floor number. All the schools have nearly the same design. Mean indoor radon concentration was higher for case subjects (classrooms) than for control subjects (locations in inert gas, p < 0.001). The mean alpha dose equivalent rate for case subjects, 0.97 +/- 0.25 mSv y, was higher than the radiation dose equivalent rate value of control subjects, 0.43 +/- 0.11 mSv y. The average radon concentrations were found to be 16 +/- 4 Bq m for the first floor and 19 +/- 4.8 Bq m for the second floor after subtraction of the control. These values lead to average effective dose equivalent rates of 0.40 +/- 0.10 and 0.48 +/- 0.12 mSv y, respectively. The equilibrium factor between radon and its progeny was found to be 0.6 +/- 0.2.     

Factors of working conditions and prolonged fatigue among teachers at public elementary and junior high schools

Prolonged fatigue among elementary and junior high school teachers not only damages their health but also affects the quality of education. The aim of this study was to determine the factors of working conditions associated with prolonged fatigue among teachers at public elementary and junior high schools. We distributed a self-reported, anonymous questionnaire to 3,154 teachers (1,983 in elementary schools, 1,171 in junior high schools) working in public schools in a city in Japan. They were asked to assess 18 aspects of their working conditions using a seven-point Likert scale. Prolonged fatigue was measured using the Japanese version of the checklist individual strength questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the association between working conditions and prolonged fatigue. Gender, age, and school type were introduced as confounders. In all, 2,167 teachers participated in this study. Results showed that qualitative and quantitative workload (time pressure due to heavy workload, interruptions, physically demanding job, extra work at home), communication with colleagues (poor communication, lack of support), and career factors (underestimation of performance by the board of education or supervisors, occupational position not reflecting training, lack of prospects for work, job insecurity) were associated with prolonged fatigue.