Julie-Anne Carroll

Traversing Urban Social Spaces: How Online Research Helps Unveil Offline Practice

This article presents a discussion of methodological considerations in urban informatics research. As an exemplar, we examine a health communication research blog set up to produce insights into the choices made by residents of a master-planned development affecting their health and well-being. It served both as a repository for collection and a tool for the strategic selection and analysis of internet research data. We reflect on the nature of the online data contributed by an urban demographic about their physical activity practices within this particular neighbourhood. The blog provided a forum for detailed responses which allowed participants to reflect on their answers over a period of time, and write with the privacy and protection effects provided by the anonymity of contributions, coupled with the advantage of being able to view the contributions made by other residents. Opinions, stories and discussions were instigated by questions and photographs posted on the blog about residents’ levels of engagement with the neighbourhood for staying active and healthy. Residents reported on the social and physical aspects of the new urban environment that either encouraged or inhibited them from leading active and healthy lifestyles. In this context the blog provided insights into the role of both the planning rhetoric associated with a new urban village and the meanings attached to the lifeworld of the residents in their health practices. A total of 214 contributions to the blog were made by the residents, with the analysis and findings highlighting implications for urban design and health promotion research and practice.

Do people with intersecting identities report more high-risk alcohol use and lifetime substance use?

ObjectivesWe examined protective and non-protective effects of disadvantaged social identities and their intersections on lifetime substance use and risky alcohol consumption.MethodsData from 90,941 participants of the Global Drug Survey 2015 were analysed. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to calculate adjusted odds ratios for lifetime use of nine psychoactive substances, as well as high-risk/harmful alcohol use. Disadvantaged identities from three categories (ethnicity, sexual identity, gender), and interactions between these were compared.ResultsFindings indicate that participants with disadvantaged ethnic and sexual minority identities are more likely to use psychoactive substances compared to their counterparts. The intersecting identity ‘disadvantaged ethnic identity and sexual minority’ appears to be protective compared to those with just one of these identities. While female gender appears to be highly protective in general, it is not protective among females with disadvantaged social identities.ConclusionsStark disparities in substance use between different social identities and their intersections emphasise the importance of intersectionality theories in public health research intervention design. Future research on health equity, particularly substance use, should target individuals with intersecting identities.