AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ham, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Miles, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ham, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Miles, R.
Related Collections
Right arrow Community Health
Right arrow Health Policy
Right arrow Media
Right arrow Other Environment
April 2004, Vol 94, No. 4 | American Journal of Public Health 546-549
© 2004 American Public Health Association

RECONNECTING URBAN PLANNING AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Ranking of Cities According to Public Health Criteria: Pitfalls and Opportunities

Sandra A. Ham, MS, Sarah Levin, PhD, Amy I. Zlot, MPH, Richard R. Andrews, MD and Rebecca Miles, PhD

At the time of the study, Sandra A. Ham, Sarah Levin, and Amy I. Zlot were with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. Richard R. Andrews was with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and with Johns Hopkins University Preventive Medicine. Rebecca Miles is with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida State University, Tallahassee.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Sandra A. Ham, MS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Physical Activity and Health Branch, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, Mail Stop K-46, Atlanta, GA 30341 (e-mail: sham{at}cdc.gov).

Popular magazines often rank cities in terms of various aspects of quality of life. Such ranking studies can motivate people to visit or relocate to a particular city or increase the frequency with which they engage in healthy behaviors.

With careful consideration of study design and data limitations, these efforts also can assist policymakers in identifying local public health issues. We discuss considerations in interpreting ranking studies that use environmental measures of a city population’s public health related to physical activity, nutrition, and obesity.

Ranking studies such as those commonly publicized are constrained by statistical methodology issues and a lack of a scientific basis in regard to design.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2004 by the American Public Health Association