@article{oh_lee_hipp_2024, title={Food deserts exposure, density of fast-food restaurants, and park access: Exploring the association of food and recreation environments with obesity and diabetes using global and local regression models}, volume={19}, ISSN={["1932-6203"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301121}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0301121}, abstractNote={To prevent obesity and diabetes environmental interventions such as eliminating food deserts, restricting proliferation of food swamps, and improving park access are essential. In the United States, however, studies that examine the food and park access relationship with obesity and diabetes using both global and local regression are lacking. To guide county, state, and federal policy in combating obesity and diabetes, there is a need for cross-scale analyses to identify that relationship at national and local levels. This study applied spatial regression and geographically weighted regression to the 3,108 counties in the contiguous United States. Global regression show food deserts exposure and density of fast-food restaurants have non-significant association with obesity and diabetes while park access has a significant inverse association with both diseases. Geographically weighted regression that takes into account spatial heterogeneity shows that, among southern states that show high prevalence of obesity and diabetes, Alabama and Mississippi stand out as having opportunity to improve park access. Results suggest food deserts exposure are positively associated with obesity and diabetes in counties close to Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee while density of fast-food restaurants show positive association with two diseases in counties of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. These findings will help policymakers and public health agencies in determining which geographic areas need to be prioritized when implementing public interventions such as promoting healthy food access, limiting unhealthy food options, and increasing park access.}, number={4}, journal={PLOS ONE}, author={Oh, Jae In and Lee, KangJae Jerry and Hipp, Aaron}, editor={Xiong, ChenfengEditor}, year={2024}, month={Apr} }
 @article{ogletree_huang_reif_yang_dunstan_osakwe_oh_hipp_2023, title={The relationship between greenspace exposure and telomere length in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey}, volume={905}, ISSN={["1879-1026"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167452}, abstractNote={The exposome, reflecting the range of environmental exposures individuals encounter throughout their life, can influence a variety of health outcomes and can play a role in how the environment impacts our genes. Telomeres, genetic structures regulating cell growth and senescence, are one pathway through which the exposome may impact health. Greenspace exposure, representing the amount of green areas in one's neighborhood, is one component of the exposome and has been associated with multiple health benefits. To investigate the potential link between greenspace exposure and telomere length, we analyzed data from the 1999-2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample. Our study examined individual, risk, and contextual factors. We found that greater greenspace exposure in one's neighborhood was associated with longer telomere lengths when considering individual and risk factors, suggesting a positive effect of living in greener neighborhoods. However, this relationship became non-significant when contextual factors, such as air pollution and deprivation, were included in the analysis. These findings highlight a complex relationship between greenspace and telomere length, warranting further research to explore contextual factors in detail.}, journal={SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT}, author={Ogletree, S. Scott and Huang, Jing-Huei and Reif, David and Yang, Lin and Dunstan, Christopher and Osakwe, Nnamdi and Oh, Jae In and Hipp, J. Aaron}, year={2023}, month={Dec} }
 @article{larson_zhang_oh_beam_ogletree_bocarro_lee_casper_stevenson_hipp_et al._2021, title={Urban Park Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are Socially Vulnerable Communities Disproportionately Impacted?}, volume={3}, ISSN={2624-9634}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2021.710243}, DOI={10.3389/frsc.2021.710243}, abstractNote={The COVID-19 pandemic altered human behavior around the world. To maintain mental and physical health during periods of lockdown and quarantine, people often engaged in outdoor, physically distanced activities such as visits to parks and greenspace. However, research tracking outdoor recreation patterns during the pandemic has yielded inconsistent results, and few studies have explored the impacts of COVID-19 on park use across diverse neighborhoods. We used a mixed methods approach to examine changes in park use patterns in cities across North Carolina, USA, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on impacts in socially vulnerable communities (based on racial/ethnic composition and socioeconomic status). First, we surveyed a demographically representative sample of 611 urban residents during August 2020 to assess their use of outdoor park spaces before and during the pandemic. Second, we used cell phone location (i.e., geo-tracking) data to document changes in park visits within 605 socioeconomically diverse urban census tracts before (July 2019) and during (July 2020) the pandemic. Data from both methods revealed urban park use declined during the pandemic; 56% of survey respondents said they stopped or reduced park use, and geo-tracked park visits dropped by 15%. Park users also became more homogenous, with visits increasing the most for past park visitors and declining the most in socially vulnerable communities and among individuals who were BIPOC or lower-income. Our results raise concerns about urban park use during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest pre-existing health disparities in socially vulnerable communities might be exacerbated by inequitable access and utilization of parks and greenspace.}, journal={Frontiers in Sustainable Cities}, publisher={Frontiers Media SA}, author={Larson, Lincoln R. and Zhang, Zhenzhen and Oh, Jae In and Beam, Will and Ogletree, S. Scott and Bocarro, Jason N. and Lee, KangJae Jerry and Casper, Jonathan and Stevenson, Kathryn T. and Hipp, J. Aaron and et al.}, year={2021}, month={Sep} }
 @article{oh_kim_sohn_2020, title={Minority neighbourhoods and availability of green amenities: empirical findings from Seoul, South Korea}, volume={25}, ISSN={["1469-6711"]}, DOI={10.1080/13549839.2019.1703661}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT Availability of green amenities in cities often raises environmental justice issues. This study empirically examines Seoul, South Korea, where minority populations, such as foreigners, the poor, the old, the young, and the disabled, are generally increasing but the land area of parks and green spaces is gradually decreasing. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalised least squares (GLS) regression models, this study finds that foreign population is mostly negatively associated with green amenities. The old and the young are positively associated with the green amenities in general but negatively with small and children’s parks. Neighbourhood parks do not seem to be associated with concentrations of any minority populations. Findings of this study argue for securing more lands for green amenities in cities and provide lessons to local planning practice.}, number={1}, journal={LOCAL ENVIRONMENT}, author={Oh, Jae In and Kim, Hyungkyoo and Sohn, Dongwook}, year={2020}, month={Jan}, pages={69–82} }