IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i10p1170-d114059.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Housing as a Determinant of Tongan Children’s Health: Innovative Methodology Using Wearable Cameras

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Robinson

    (Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, 6242 Wellington, New Zealand)

  • Sarah Hulme-Moir

    (Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, 6242 Wellington, New Zealand)

  • Viliami Puloka

    (Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, 6242 Wellington, New Zealand)

  • Moira Smith

    (Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, 6242 Wellington, New Zealand)

  • James Stanley

    (Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, 6242 Wellington, New Zealand)

  • Louise Signal

    (Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, 6242 Wellington, New Zealand)

Abstract

Housing is a significant determinant of health, particularly in developing countries such as Tonga. Currently, very little is known about the quality of the housing in Tonga, as is the case with many developing countries, nor about the interaction between children and the home environment. This study aimed to identify the nature and extent of health risk factors and behaviours in Tongan houses from a child’s perspective. An innovative methodology was used, Kids’Cam Tonga. Seventy-two Class 6 children (10 to 13-year-olds) were randomly selected from 12 randomly selected schools in Tongatapu, the main island. Each participating child wore a wearable camera on lanyards around their neck. The device automatically took wide-angled, 136° images of the child’s perspective every seven seconds. The children were instructed to wear the camera all day from Friday morning to Sunday evening, inclusive. The analysis showed that the majority of Tongan children in the study live in houses that have structural deficiencies and hazards, including water damage (42%), mould (36%), and electrical (89%) and burn risk factors (28%). The findings suggest that improvements to the housing stock may reduce the associated health burden and increase buildings’ resilience to natural hazards. A collaborative approach between communities, community leaders, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is urgently needed. This research methodology may be of value to other developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Robinson & Sarah Hulme-Moir & Viliami Puloka & Moira Smith & James Stanley & Louise Signal, 2017. "Housing as a Determinant of Tongan Children’s Health: Innovative Methodology Using Wearable Cameras," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:10:p:1170-:d:114059
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/10/1170/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/10/1170/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jacobs, D.E., 2011. "Environmental health disparities in housing," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(SUPPL. 1), pages 115-122.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Collins, Timothy W. & Nadybal, Shawna & Grineski, Sara E., 2020. "Sonic injustice: Disparate residential exposures to transport noise from road and aviation sources in the continental United States," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Hoke, Morgan K. & Boen, Courtney E., 2021. "The health impacts of eviction: Evidence from the national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    3. Jens Kandt & Shu-Sen Chang & Paul Yip & Ricky Burdett, 2017. "The spatial pattern of premature mortality in Hong Kong: How does it relate to public housing?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(5), pages 1211-1234, April.
    4. Deepa Mankikar & Carla Campbell & Rachael Greenberg, 2016. "Evaluation of a Home-Based Environmental and Educational Intervention to Improve Health in Vulnerable Households: Southeastern Pennsylvania Lead and Healthy Homes Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-15, September.
    5. Lorenzo Capasso & Daniela D’Alessandro, 2021. "Housing and Health: Here We Go Again," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-9, November.
    6. Sarah Alves & Joan Tilghman & Arlene Rosenbaum & Devon C. Payne-Sturges, 2012. "U.S. EPA Authority to Use Cumulative Risk Assessments in Environmental Decision-Making," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-23, May.
    7. Abolfazl Mollalo & Moosa Tatar, 2021. "Spatial Modeling of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-14, September.
    8. Bongokuhle Mabuya & Mary Scholes, 2020. "The Three Little Houses: A Comparative Study of Indoor and Ambient Temperatures in Three Low-Cost Housing Types in Gauteng and Mpumalanga, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-22, May.
    9. Jiafeng Gu & Xing Ming, 2021. "The Influence of Living Conditions on Self-Rated Health: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Kristen Burwell-Naney & Sacoby M. Wilson & Siobhan T. Whitlock & Robin Puett, 2019. "Hybrid Resiliency-Stressor Conceptual Framework for Informing Decision Support Tools and Addressing Environmental Injustice and Health Inequities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-19, April.
    11. Katarzyna Kordas & Julia Ravenscroft & Ying Cao & Elena V. McLean, 2018. "Lead Exposure in Low and Middle-Income Countries: Perspectives and Lessons on Patterns, Injustices, Economics, and Politics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, October.
    12. Bethany Marie Wood & Catherine Cubbin, 2022. "Neighborhood Poverty in Combination with Older Housing Is Associated with Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Study on Ubiquitous Lead Risk among 1 Million Births in Texas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, January.
    13. Jangho Lee & Michael Hu, 2024. "Effect of Environmental and Socioeconomic Factors on Increased Early Childhood Blood Lead Levels: A Case Study in Chicago," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(4), pages 1-15, March.
    14. Swope, Carolyn B. & Hernández, Diana, 2019. "Housing as a determinant of health equity: A conceptual model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    15. Alisha Yee Chan & Ji-Young Son & Michelle Lee Bell, 2021. "Displacement of Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Groups after the Installation of Stormwater Control Measures (i.e., Green Infrastructure): A Case Study of Washington, DC," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:10:p:1170-:d:114059. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.