IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i12p7551-d843518.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial Inequalities and Influencing Factors of Self-Rated Health and Perceived Environmental Hazards in a Metropolis: A Case Study of Zhengzhou City, China

Author

Listed:
  • Hongbo Zhao

    (Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation, Center on Yellow River Civilization Jointly Built by Henan Province and Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China)

  • Li Yue

    (Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation, Center on Yellow River Civilization Jointly Built by Henan Province and Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China)

  • Zeting Jia

    (Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation, Center on Yellow River Civilization Jointly Built by Henan Province and Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China)

  • Lingling Su

    (Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation, Center on Yellow River Civilization Jointly Built by Henan Province and Ministry of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China)

Abstract

Research on environmental pollution and public health has aroused increasing concern from international scholars; particularly, environmental hazards are among the important issues in China, focusing public attention on significant health risks. However, there are few studies concentrated on how perceived environmental hazards are characterized by spatial variation and on the impact of these risks on residents’ health. Based on a large-scale survey of Zhengzhou City in 2020, we investigated how the self-rated health of residents and the environmental hazards perceived by them were spatially inequal at a fine (subdistrict) scale in Zhengzhou City, China, and examined the relationship among self-rated health, environmental hazards, and geographical context. The Getis–Ord Gi* method was applied to explore the spatially dependent contextual (neighborhood) effect on environmental health inequality, and the ordered multivariate logistic regression method was used to examine the correlative factors with environmental hazards, geographical context, and health inequality. The results reveal that self-rated health and environmental hazards were disproportionately distributed across the whole city and that these distributions showed certain spatial cluster characteristics. The hot spot clusters of self-rated health had favorable environmental quality where the hot spot clusters of environmental hazards were located and vice versa. In addition, health inequality was evident and was related to gender, income level, educational attainment, and housing area of residents, and the inequalities of environmental hazards existed with respect to income and housing area. Meanwhile, environmental risk inequalities associated with the social vulnerability of residents (the poor and those with low educational attainment) were obvious, with those residents experiencing a disproportionately high exposure to environmental hazards and reporting bad health conditions. The role of the geographical context (subdistrict location feature) also helps to explain the spatial distribution of health and environmental inequalities. Residents with better exposure to green coverage generally reported higher levels of self-rated health condition. In addition, the geographical location of the subdistrict also had a significant impact on the difference in residents’ self-rated health status. The purpose of this study is to provide reference for policy makers to optimize the spatial pattern of urban public services and improve public health and environmental quality at a fine scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongbo Zhao & Li Yue & Zeting Jia & Lingling Su, 2022. "Spatial Inequalities and Influencing Factors of Self-Rated Health and Perceived Environmental Hazards in a Metropolis: A Case Study of Zhengzhou City, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:12:p:7551-:d:843518
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7551/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7551/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bakkeli, Nan Zou, 2016. "Income inequality and health in China: A panel data analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 39-47.
    2. Rehana Shrestha & Johannes Flacke & Javier Martinez & Martin Van Maarseveen, 2016. "Environmental Health Related Socio-Spatial Inequalities: Identifying “Hotspots” of Environmental Burdens and Social Vulnerability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.
    3. Lin Zhang & Suhong Zhou & Mei-Po Kwan & Fei Chen & Rongping Lin, 2018. "Impacts of Individual Daily Greenspace Exposure on Health Based on Individual Activity Space and Structural Equation Modeling," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, October.
    4. Florian Lederbogen & Peter Kirsch & Leila Haddad & Fabian Streit & Heike Tost & Philipp Schuch & Stefan Wüst & Jens C. Pruessner & Marcella Rietschel & Michael Deuschle & Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, 2011. "City living and urban upbringing affect neural social stress processing in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 474(7352), pages 498-501, June.
    5. Susan J. Elliott & Donald C. Cole & Paul Krueger & Nancy Voorberg & Sarah Wakefield, 1999. "The Power of Perception: Health Risk Attributed to Air Pollution in anUrban Industrial Neighbourhood," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 621-634, August.
    6. Chakraborty, J. & Maantay, J.A. & Brender, J.D., 2011. "Disproportionate proximity to environmental health hazards: Methods, models, and measurement," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(SUPPL. 1), pages 27-36.
    7. Jing Ma & Gordon Mitchell & Guanpeng Dong & Wenzhong Zhang, 2017. "Inequality in Beijing: A Spatial Multilevel Analysis of Perceived Environmental Hazard and Self-Rated Health," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 107(1), pages 109-129, January.
    8. Baeten, Steef & Van Ourti, Tom & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2013. "Rising inequalities in income and health in China: Who is left behind?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1214-1229.
    9. Feng, Zhixin & Wang, Wenfei Winnie & Jones, Kelvyn & Li, Yaqing, 2012. "An exploratory multilevel analysis of income, income inequality and self-rated health of the elderly in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2481-2492.
    10. Lei Zhang & Gui-zhen He & Arthur P.J. Mol & Yong-long Lu, 2013. "Public perceptions of environmental risk in China," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 195-209, February.
    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. Johannes Flacke & Steffen Andreas Schüle & Heike Köckler & Gabriele Bolte, 2016. "Mapping Environmental Inequalities Relevant for Health for Informing Urban Planning Interventions—A Case Study in the City of Dortmund, Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Luo, Weixiang & Xie, Yu, 2020. "Economic growth, income inequality and life expectancy in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    3. Viniece Jennings & Lincoln Larson & Jessica Yun, 2016. "Advancing Sustainability through Urban Green Space: Cultural Ecosystem Services, Equity, and Social Determinants of Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Nan Zou Bakkeli, 2020. "Older Adults’ Mental Health in China: Examining the Relationship Between Income Inequality and Subjective Wellbeing Using Panel Data Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1349-1383, April.
    5. Hongliang Wang & Yiwen Yu, 2016. "Increasing health inequality in China: An empirical study with ordinal data," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(1), pages 41-61, March.
    6. Peng Nie & Andrew E. Clarck & Conchita D'Ambrosio & Lanlin Ding, 2020. "Income-related health inequality in urban China (1991-2015): The role of homeownership and housing conditions," Working Papers 524, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    7. Li, Zhengtao & Hu, Bin, 2018. "Perceived health risk, environmental knowledge, and contingent valuation for improving air quality: New evidence from the Jinchuan mining area in China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 54-68.
    8. Larissa Samaan & Leonie Klock & Sandra Weber & Mirjam Reidick & Leonie Ascone & Simone Kühn, 2024. "Low-Level Visual Features of Window Views Contribute to Perceived Naturalness and Mental Health Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(5), pages 1-35, May.
    9. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Bum-Jin Park & Juyoung Lee & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2018. "Psychological Benefits of Walking through Forest Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Migle Baceviciene & Rasa Jankauskiene, 2022. "The Mediating Effect of Nature Restorativeness, Stress Level, and Nature Connectedness in the Association between Nature Exposure and Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Lee Liu, 2019. "Rural–urban inequities in deaths and cancer mortality amid rapid economic and environmental changes in China," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(1), pages 39-48, January.
    12. Tao Zhang, 2016. "Socioeconomic determinants of obesity and hypertension at the county level in China," Mathematical Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 239-252, October.
    13. Xiaosu Ye & Lie Ma & Kunhui Ye & Jiantao Chen & Qiu Xie, 2017. "Analysis of Regional Inequality from Sectoral Structure, Spatial Policy and Economic Development: A Case Study of Chongqing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, April.
    14. Lijian Xie & Suhong Zhou & Lin Zhang, 2021. "Associations between Objective and Subjective Housing Status with Individual Mental Health in Guangzhou, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-14, January.
    15. Jake M. Robinson & Martin F. Breed, 2019. "Green Prescriptions and Their Co-Benefits: Integrative Strategies for Public and Environmental Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    16. Kevin Fox Gotham & Richard Campanella & Katie Lauve‐Moon & Bradford Powers, 2018. "Hazard Experience, Geophysical Vulnerability, and Flood Risk Perceptions in a Postdisaster City, the Case of New Orleans," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(2), pages 345-356, February.
    17. Chuanshen Qin & Jianhua Xu & Gabrielle Wong‐Parodi & Lan Xue, 2020. "Change in Public Concern and Responsive Behaviors Toward Air Pollution Under the Dome," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(10), pages 1983-2001, October.
    18. Ben Senkler & Julius Freymueller & Susanne Lopez Lumbi & Claudia Hornberg & Hannah-Lea Schmid & Kristina Hennig-Fast & Gernot Horstmann & Timothy Mc Call, 2022. "Urbanicity—Perspectives from Neuroscience and Public Health: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Henk J. Steinz & Frank J. Van Rijnsoever & Frans Nauta, 2016. "How to Green the red Dragon: A Start‐ups' Little Helper for Sustainable Development in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8), pages 593-608, December.
    20. Hiromi Suenaga & Kanako Murakami & Nozomi Murata & Syoriki Nishikawa & Masae Tsutsumi & Hiroshi Nogaki, 2020. "The Effects of an Artificial Garden on Heart Rate Variability among Healthy Young Japanese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-10, December.

    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:19:y:2022:i:12:p:7551-:d:843518. 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.