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Mylène Riva
Doctoral Students
Current Program of Studies
PhD (Public Health), Université de Montréal
Director : Lise Gauvin
Codirectors : Jean-Marc Brodeur and Philippe Apparicio
PhD or MSc thesis in progress
When operationally defining spatial units in order to understand area effects on health, several conceptual and methodological issues must be addressed including: 1) the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) or the fact that analytical results are sensitive to the definition of spatial units at which data are aggregated, and 2) the homogeneity of areas or the uniformity of the ecological dimensions along which small areas should be conceptually and operationally defined.
To address these issues, this thesis explores the viability and utility of creating small area units that are homogeneous in terms of a specific exposure, neighbourhood active living potential, hypothesised to be associated with a specific health indicator, walking. The thesis has three specific goals: 1) using geographical information systems, develop and test an approach for creating small area units that are homogeneous on a specific exposure, 2) using these new area units, examine associations between neighbourhood active living potential and walking behaviours, and 3) develop individual indicators of exposure to neighbourhood active living potential using an idiosyncratic definition of small areas.
Individual data on walking behaviours and socio-economic characteristics are from a sample of 2923 adults aged 45 years and living in Montreal, Canada. Area data are from the 2001 Canadian census data and from various spatial databases, including Montreal’s land-use (City of Montreal) data, road network data (Société de Trasport de Montréal). Data will be analysed using spatial analysis and multilevel modelling procedures.
Questions de recherche du Centre pertinents au projet de thèse (trad)
Research themes of the Centre addressed by your project
Selected Publications
Gauvin, L., Riva, M., Barnett, T., Richard, L., Craig, C.L., Spivock, M., Laforest, S., Laberge, S., Fournel, M.-C., Gagnon, H., Gagné, S., «Association between Neighborhood Active Living Potential and Walking». American Journal of Epidemiology, 15 avril 2008; 167: 944 - 953.
[Consulter la notice dans la Base de données documentaire des inégalités sociales de santé]
Riva, M., Gauvin, L., Robitaille, E., Apparicio, P. (2006). From puzzling results to solving the puzzle: Creating ecologically meaningful spatial units to study area effects on health. 2nd North American Congress of Epidemiology. Seattle, Washington, June 2006. Student Award
Riva, M., Gauvin, L., & Richard, L. (2006). Local facility use for engaging in structured physical activity: Insights into creating conducive environments for physical activity. Submitted to Health Promotion International.
Riva, M., Gauvin, L. and Richard, L. (2005). Socioeconomic determinants of being overweight among Canadian adults: A multilevel study. Submitted to the joint meeting of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Toronto, June 2005.
Riva, M., Gauvin, L., and Richard, L. (2005). Neighborhood programs and services for physical activity: Predictors of their use among physically active adults. Poster presentation, 2005 Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting, Boston, April 2005.
Riva, M., Gauvin, L., Richard, L., Spivock, M., Craig, C.L., Potvin, L., et al., (2004). Exploring environmental predictors of the proportion of people walking to work in the neighborhood. Poster presentation, Active Living Research Conference, San Diego, CA.
