ODISSEI online Lunch Lecture: microdata and geospatial analysis

    8 February 2021

    On Tuesday 9 February 2021 from 12-1 pm, the first ODISSEI Lunch Lecture will take place digitally. Dr. Hannah Roberts (UU) will discuss her recent research on associations between multiple environmental exposures and depressive symptoms in the Netherlands. For this research, Roberts has combined survey data with CBS microdata and GPS data.

    We warmly invite you to attend this lecture, learn more about the geospatial possibilities of microdata, and participate in the Q&A and discussion after the lecture. Find the full abstract of the lecture below. Online registration has closed, but if you want to join last-minute, do send an email to communications@odissei-data.nl.

    Abstract: Residential- and mobility-based environmental exposures and depressive symptoms

    Roberts’ research, in collaboration with Dr. Marco Helbich, aimed to investigate associations between multiple environmental exposures and depressive symptoms in the Netherlands. Few studies go beyond the residential environment in assessments of the environment-mental health association. In this research, Roberts examined the relationship between environmental exposures and depressive symptoms both in the residential environment and also along the daily mobility path. Data on depressive symptoms were obtained by means of a survey, and respondents were invited to download a smartphone app that tracked their movements for 7 days. These data were further enriched with CBS microdata. This allowed exposure to green space, blue space, air pollution and noise around the residential location of respondents to be determined, as well as along their daily mobility path. We calculated exposures according to 50m and 100m buffer sizes. Separate multiple regression analyses were conducted using the residential- and mobility-based environmental exposures. Our results suggested that exposure to green space within 50m, both at home and along the daily mobility path, is associated with a reduction in depression symptoms. The researchers hope to demonstrate (one of) the geospatial possibilities of microdata.

    Dr. Hannah Roberts is a postdoctoral researcher working on the “Dynamic Urban Environmental Exposures on Depression and Suicide”, or “NEEDS” project. The project aims to understand the correlations between environmental exposures, depression and suicide. She completed her PhD at the University of Leeds (UK) and the Bradford Institute for Health Research. Her thesis aimed to provide evidence to inform the design of environmental interventions into green space use in order to promote health.

    Relevant links

    Foto door Yoal Desurmont on Unsplash