Perception of neighborhood environment and health risk behaviors in Prague's teenagers: a pilot study in a post-communist city.

Jana Spilkova,Dagmar Dzúrova,Michal Pitonak

doi:10.1186/1476-072x-13-41

Jana Spilkova, Dagmar Dzúrova + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-072x-13-41

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Abstract

BackgroundA youths’ neighborhood can play an important role in their physical, health, and emotional development. The prevalence of health risk behavior (HRB) in Czech youth such as smoking, drug and alcohol use is the highest in Europe.AimTo analyze differences in HRB in youth residents within different types of Prague’s neighborhoods in relation to the perception of the built environment, quality of their school and home environments.Data and methodsThe data is based on the on-line survey among elementary school students aged between 14–15 years, which was administered in19 selected schools in Prague, during the months of October 2013 to March 2014. Respondents were asked their opinions on various issues related to their HRB, about their indoor and outdoor housing and school environments. The questionnaire was completed by 407 students. Factor analysis with a principal components extraction was applied to determine the underlying structure in the variables. A consequent field research was conducted to map the opportunity hot spots and critical places around the elementary schools.ResultsBinge drinking has been reported mainly by the students living in the housing estates with blocks of flats. The most frequent occurrence of daily smokers was found in the neighborhoods of old city apartment houses. High prevalence of risky marijuana use almost in all the surveyed types of neighborhoods. The respondents were more critical in their evaluation of school characteristics. The neighborhoods critically evaluated by the students as regards the school outdoor environments were the older apartment houses in the historical centre and inner city, the school indoor environment was worst assessed within the housing estate neighborhoods.ConclusionsOur results suggest that perceptions of problems in both residential and school environment are associated with HRB. This fact makes this issue of a serious importance also from the policy point of view. Mainly the school surroundings have to be better managed by the local authorities responsible for the public space. This research thus forms part of the Sophie project aiming to find the most efficient policies that would tackle with the inequalities in the health and quality of life.

Highlights

A youths’ neighborhood can play an important role in their physical, health, and emotional development
Our results suggest that perceptions of problems in both residential and school environment are associated with health risk behavior (HRB)
In our paper we introduce the case of Prague, the capital of Czechia, where a pilot study on built environment and health risk behavior has been conducted taking into account home and school environments in different types of neighborhoods

Summary

Introduction

A youths’ neighborhood can play an important role in their physical, health, and emotional development. Certain characteristics of the neighborhoods that people inhabit have proved to have harmful effects on health. These characteristics often include class, income or the racial structure of the community, but most of the studies allow crime rates, threat of crime, local problems, physical hazards, noise, pollution etc. To enter the picture of environmental effects on health. These characteristics were earlier conceptualized into so-called high-stress neighborhoods. Harburg et al [5] define these areas as places with low socioeconomic status, high population density, high geographic mobility, high rates of marital breakup, high crime, high stress etc

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