Peer-reviewed article
Environment and child well-being: A scoping review of reviews to guide policies
Louise Wallerich, Amandine Fillol, Ana Almanchel Rivadeneyra, Stéphanie Vandentorren, Jérôme Wittwer et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This scoping review of reviews looks at which features of children's living environment affect their health and development. It followed a recognised scoping review method and used the PubMed database. Forty-seven articles were selected and analysed by theme. The authors group the environmental determinants into five interdependent categories and propose a framework to help policy makers understand how the physical, social and economic environment affects children's health and wellbeing.
Key points
- Forty-seven articles were included in the review.
- Five categories of environmental determinants were identified: urban design, contaminants, parenting environment, social conditions and climate change.
- The categories are interdependent and act on child health together, in a systemic way.
- The review proposes a pragmatic framework to clarify the effects of the physical, social and economic environment on children's health and wellbeing.
Limitations
Only one database (PubMed) was searched, and the abstract gives no detail on specific findings, effect sizes or the quality of the included reviews. The abstract does not state which countries the reviewed work covers; the France hint is not confirmed by the text, so no country is listed.
Abstract
Background: Acting on social determinants is the most effective, efficient, and fairest strategy to improve population health and health equity. Because of their vulnerability and dependence, children are particularly exposed to the deleterious effects of their living environment. Taking these issues into account in the development of public policies and identifying levers for action are crucial. The objective of this scoping review of reviews is to identify the main environmental determinants on children's health and development, and their mechanisms of effect, to be addressed by public policies. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of reviews in accordance with the method developed by Arksey and O'Malley, and Levac and colleagues' methodology advancement and the PRISMA guideline. Inclusion criteria were identified with the PICos (population-phenomena of interest-context-study design) framework. We used the PubMed database and conducted a thematic analyze. Results: Forty-seven articles were selected. Their analysis allowed us to identify five categories of interdependent environmental determinants of child health: i) urban design ii) contaminants, iii) parenting environment, iv) social conditions, v) climate change. Together and in a systemic way, they act on the health of the child. Conclusion: The review carried out allows us to propose a pragmatic framework for clarifying the effects of the physical, social, and economic environment on children's health and wellbeing.