International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 23, Issue 1

Accessible and inclusive community environments support physical activity and health equity for people with disabilities, yet gaps in design, maintenance, and communication limit safe, independent use. This statewide cross-sectional audit assessed pa...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed major deficiencies in global health governance, including fragmented authority, inequitable resource distribution, and weak compliance mechanisms. Although the WHO Pandemic Agreement (2025) addresses several...

Sedentary behavior contributes to obesity and metabolic dysfunction, yet few interventions individualize exercise intensity using fuel-based metrics such as the respiratory exchange ratio (RER; VCO₂/VO₂). This study investigated the effects of metabo...

Endometriosis affects one in seven women in Australia and is a significant public health concern. Access to appropriate health information is essential for informed decision-making and quality of life, especially for culturally and linguistically div...

Family caregivers provide up to 90% of care in Alberta’s communities and play an essential role in sustaining the province’s health and social care systems, yet they remain under-recognized and insufficiently supported. To address this ga...

Objectives: The popularity of racket sports has been increasing globally in recent years, with tennis remaining the most played sport worldwide and pickleball gaining popularity in the United States. While many studies have addressed injuries associa...

Breastfeeding is universally regarded as the cornerstone of infant feeding, as it is the ideal infant feeding choice for optimal nutrition and development. Socio-structural factors of breastfeeding in child health play an important role in guiding wo...

Local governance has been found to be an important determinant of individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB) in cross-municipality studies in Europe and Asia. In addition, previous literature suggests that increasing access to determinants of SWB...

Public health restrictions during COVID-19 disproportionately affected older adults, especially those in long-term care (LTC) and their families. Family caregivers (FCs) are essential care partners in LTC settings, yet pandemic policies largely exclu...

Locus of control is a psychological construct that influences how individuals perceive their ability to manage life events. Although its relationship with mental health has been widely studied, limited evidence exists among Latin-American university...

The rise in mental illnesses after the COVID-19 pandemic is well documented. However, it is not known whether the rates of mental illness comorbidity increased. The objectives of this study were to compare mental illness comorbidity rates before and...

Background: Early childhood growth trajectories can influence the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. Improvements in environmental sanitation may affect child development in low-resource settings. Objective: to examine the associations among soci...

Background: The Rohingya refugee crisis is one of the largest humanitarian emergencies of the 21st century, with nearly one million Rohingya residing in overcrowded camps in southern Bangladesh. Women and children face the greatest vulnerabilities, i...

Nature-based health interventions (NBHIs) are increasingly used in the healthcare system to support people with anxiety, depression and/or stress, highlighting the need for systematic development and evaluation. This study aims to identify target gro...

Background: Work-related anxiety can result in prolonged work incapacity and reduce return-to-work probabilities. Despite the prevalence of work-related anxiety in somatic rehabilitation settings, there has been little research examining the experien...

Women with intellectual disabilities (IDs) face persistent health inequities, particularly in preventive services such as breast cancer screening, where participation rates remain disproportionately low. These disparities contribute to higher mortali...

Objective: To analyse written submissions from individuals and families with lived experience of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to the 2023 Australian Senate Inquiry, using artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted thematic analysis. The...

Occupational exposure to sharps waste represents a critical challenge for public health systems, directly affecting healthcare workers’ safety, institutional costs, and environmental sustainability. This study aimed to analyze sharps waste mana...

Children and adolescents with disabilities experience disproportionate challenges in achieving recommended levels of physical activity (PA) and adequate sleep, two core determinants of health and functional well-being. This systematic review examined...

Problem Statement: Upper crossed syndrome (UCS), as first described by Janda, refers to a group of muscle imbalances in which tightness in the upper trapezius and levator scapulae dorsally cross with tightness in the pectoralis major and minor muscle...

The objective of this study was to analyze social perception, trust, and vaccine hesitancy through a combined approach of bibliometric analysis and qualitative synthesis, based on the most cited articles in the recent scientific literature. A systema...

Remote Indigenous communities experience persistent inequities in access to fresh and nutritious foods due to the fragility of perishable food supply chains (PFSCs). Disruptions across procurement, transportation, storage, retail, and limited local p...

Current approaches to gaming disorder prevention remain comparatively narrow, and prevention efforts are frequently underdeveloped and fragmented. Using the socio-ecological model (SEM), this qualitative study mapped frontline practitioners’ pe...

Practical training and recruitment strategies are critical for the sustainable implementation of psychosocial interventions. However, few studies have examined how to prepare community partners and doctoral students to support culturally adapted psyc...

Existing research highlights that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) teachers are often exposed to additional stressors in schools which adversely affect their mental health. Some mitigate the effects of these stressors by separat...

Air pollution from lignite combustion represents a major environmental and public health concern, particularly for cardiovascular disease. This study investigated the relationship between ambient air pollution and hospital admissions for Acute Corona...

Background: Cannabis excise tax structures vary widely across the states in the United States. Standardizing taxes may improve cross-state comparisons and strengthen evaluations of how taxes and prices influence public health outcomes. This study dev...

Dental caries remains a major global public health problem characterized by pronounced social inequalities. This study aimed to identify, critically appraise, and synthesize the most recent evidence on the relationship between socioeconomic indicator...

With emerging improvement in screening and treatment, most patients with prostate cancer (PCa) live for a long period beyond their diagnosis. Erectile dysfunction (ED) and bowel and urinary incontinence have been shown to be the most bothersome side-...

Background: Chronic nonspecific neck pain (CNNP) is a widespread musculoskeletal condition affecting individuals across all age groups. Although cervical stabilization exercises (CSE) and Thai self-massage have each demonstrated therapeutic potential...

Parental perceptions of healthy eating often diverge from children’s actual diets, but this gap is poorly documented in Central Asia. We examined how parents’ priorities for key food groups relate to nutrient intakes in 390 urban children...

This study examines how parental legal status operates as a fundamental social determinant of health and educational equity, focusing on long-term outcomes among U.S.-born and foreign-born children of immigrants. We hypothesized that intergenerationa...

Aging induces sarcopenia and reduces bone mineral density, altering body composition. These modifications contribute to physical decline, increase non-communicable disease risk and increase the likelihood of hospitalization, thereby representing a su...

Obesity is a growing health concern in Western countries and the link between obesity and mental disorders has been extensively studied, although less attention has been paid to post-traumatic stress spectrum symptoms (PTSS). This observational study...

Suicide in children and young adults is a leading cause of premature mortality, and there is a need to develop a more profound understanding of the factors that contribute to these deaths. This study is part of the nationwide Retrospective Investigat...

Objectives. To integrate clinical and economic evidence on the main non-pharmacological interventions aimed to reduce the burden of caregivers of people with dementia, with specific attention to stated preference measures (SPM), Willingness-to-Pay (W...

Gender discrimination is a pervasive and multifaceted phenomenon rooted in cognitive, emotional, and social mechanisms that operate across individual, interpersonal, and structural levels. This umbrella review synthesizes systematic reviews and meta-...

The closure of rural maternity units in hospitals across the United States contributes to health inequities; however, little is known about the effects of reopening maternity services in this context. We conducted a mixed-methods study to characteriz...

Childhood overweight and obesity is a growing public health challenge in Indonesia, affecting approximately one in five school-aged children. Because children spend substantial time at school and frequently obtain meals and snacks from on-site cantee...

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have significant implications for women’s long-term health, including at least a twofold increased lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Blood Pressure Postpartum (BP²) Study wa...

The agri-food supply chain is a relevant contributor to the Italian economy but shows a high incidence of occupational injuries and musculoskeletal disorders, such as lower back pain. Repetitive manual handling and biomechanical overload highlight th...

The One Health framework highlights the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, requiring interdisciplinary and multisectoral collaboration to address complex global health challenges. This scoping review protocol aims to guide...

Health equity and financial inclusion (FI) are at the core of the Sustainable Development Goals, yet their intersection remains critically under-studied. This bibliometric study maps this emergent and fragmented field by analyzing 24,140 publications...

Exposure to plant protection products (pesticides) is common among agricultural workers and may represent an underrecognized cause of mucocutaneous disease. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey in agricultural communities in southern Tha...

Rates of alcohol use and exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are elevated among youth in the legal system (YILS) compared to their non-legally involved peers. Exposure to ACEs has been associated with later alcohol use and delinquency, a...

Background: Personal protective measures help prevent infection and disease transmission during health crises such as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Populations facing barriers to adhering to these measures are more vulnerable to the health cri...

Background: Maternal mortality in Brazil remains a critical indicator of social and racial inequalities, reflecting structural failures in access to and quality of obstetric care. Black women, particularly those categorized as black or brown, are at...

Housing insecurity is a growing public health concern linked to adverse health outcomes and lifelong vulnerability. Although housing is a well-established social determinant of health, this review employs a life-course framework to explain how housin...

Refugee-serving primary health centres/clinics (PHCs) provide culturally safe, integrated care for refugee children, yet little is known about how their health conditions and outcomes are assessed. This scoping review examines the current literature...

Environmental health practice is facing an identity crisis. Not because our work lacks impact, but because our work lacks a coherent narrative. Environmental health practice needs a brand that speaks our truth and secures our place in the future of h...