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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (2 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2022)
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored how underlying disparities in environmental and health conditions exacerbate vulnerability during public health emergencies in low-income and communities of color. Neglected epidemics-high rates of pollution, chronic disease, and racial and socioeconomic health disparities-have continued amid persistent systemic racism and declining investment in public health. Recognized too late due to shortcomings in public health data tracking, COVID-19 has surged through vulnerable communities. Improved public health tracking is critical for informing the country's recovery from COVID-19, and it can be leveraged to measure and reduce health disparities and strengthen community resilience to respond more effectively to the next public health crisis. We emphasize how public health tracking agencies can engage communities in data collection and reporting; we also discuss the complementary role that communities can take to mobilize data to change policies and institutions, strengthening resilience through increased information and capacity driven by community priorities. Success requires the continuous collection of timely data at a community scale, and public health agencies partnering with communities to use the information in decision making and evaluation to ensure progress over time. We highlight community-engaged data collection and reporting-community air monitoring in Imperial County, CA-as an example of working with communities to improve public health data collection and reporting, increase community dialogue and engagement in governmental decision making, and inform public health tracking to reduce health disparities and strengthen community resilience.
  • 1 supplemental PDF
Cover page: Tracking Environmental and Health Disparities to Strengthen Resilience Before the Next Crisis
  • Article
Research Reports (2008)

A dramatic decline in walking and cycling to school has been observed in many geographic and cultural regions, and most children in the US are now driven to school in private vehicles. There are a number of health implications associated with the choice of commute mode, including traffic safety, exposure to air pollution, and levels of physical activity and obesity, and the risks and benefits of each must be weighed. This paper reviews current evidence on these risks and benefits for each health topic area. From a traffic safety perspective, buses are best, while the risks of private vehicle and walking are roughly comparable. Less apparent is the observation that one student’s travel choice will affect another student’s risk, because changes in mode share alter the overall risk profile. Walking to school has been associated with higher levels of physical activity, although it is unclear whether this association is causal, or merely reflects a preference for walking among active children. Current evidence does not support a link between walking to school and reduced body-mass index or levels of obesity. A discussion of concurrent health effects in all areas has implications both for programs promoting walking to school and for individuals choosing among commute modes.

    Cover page: Health Impacts of the School Commute
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