Out in the cold

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults features a group of articles on inequalities amongst older people in Ireland.  These include studies on the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas, the effects of recession on older people in Northern Ireland and the Republic and the relationship between cold housing and health and wellbeing.  A survey for Age UK found that "the number of older people owing money has risen sharply over the last year."  The latest figures on fuel poverty from the Department of Energy and Climate change recently reported a fall in numbers of households in fuel poverty for 2010, but predicted a rise for subsequent years.

Location, location, location

The importance of green space in urban environments has been much studied in recent years. A systematic review from a team at the University of Sheffield assesses the evidence for health benefits of green space. They find that while most studies find in favour of green space, causal relationships are more elusive. Another environmental truism, that the countryside is a healthier place to live, is challenged by a study on mortality differences from the Public Health Observatory Wales. Another study from Durham University finds that living in rural areas is associated with better overall mental health, although notes that in rural areas there deeper divisions between those who are in the workforce and those who are not.

In the country

How will the health service reforms affect rural economies, asks the Primary Care Trust Network (part of NHS Confederation)? Differently, it seems, is the answer. In its briefing, the PCT Network warns commissioners and others to pay attention to the particular demographic and geographic challenges in rural locations, especially the older-than-average population and the hard to reach pockets of deprivation. The report also consider the outlook for the health market, suggesting that rural areas have a propensity for market failure in some sectors: any plans for implementation need to be "rural proofed."

Geography

The association of fast food outlets and density of child obesity in the population of Leeds is shown to be positive, according to a recently published study in Health and Place. Researchers also noted a "significant association between fast food outlet density and areas of higher deprivation." Also from Health and Place researchers looked at the relationship between childhood obesity and access to unrban parks and recreational facilities in a longitudinal study in Southern California (where better?).
A team from the University of Michigan has put GoogleEarth to the test as a neighbourhood audit instrument, using Street View to survey areas of Chicago.
Finally, a team from UEA has mapped the UK's recreational physical activity using data from large population studies rather than estimates and modelling.

Children's Centres

The Commission for Rural Communities makes a bid for the value of children's centres in rural areas to be acknowledged. The government has made it clear in the 2010 Spending Review and elsewhere that it wishes the Sure Start programme and Children's Centres to be "refocused on its original purpose of improving the life chances of disadvantaged children." In the light of this, it's not clear how influential this commissioning guide will be with cash-strapped local authorities or other likely commissioners.

Rural communities

Tackling health inequalities in Fenland offers a particular set of challenges: as well as isolation and an aging population, the area is also home to a sizeable traveller community. The IDeA site offers a video podcast of Fenland District Council's approach which provides some insight into the local authority's thinking.