Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39920640›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

Mobility, ICT, and health: a built environment investigation of older Chinese migrants' social isolation and loneliness.

Amber DeJohn, Bochu Liu, Xinlin Ma, Michael J Widener, Zhilin Liu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Amber DeJohnDepartment of Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA. amber.dejohn@fsu.edu.
Bochu LiuCollege of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Xinlin MaDepartment of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Michael J WidenerDepartment of Geography & Planning, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Zhilin LiuSchool of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial isolation and loneliness have detrimental impacts on health, especially for older adults. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical access to third places (e.g., coffee shops, libraries) decreased due to the closure of non-essential destinations and personal risk assessments. Older adults reported adopting information and communication technology (ICT) during pandemic lockdowns. ICT-mediated socializing may have different impacts on loneliness than in-person equivalents. Understanding access to social connection and their distinct relationships to the built environment and health for older Chinese migrants is critical to supporting equitable, healthy aging in a post-COVID world.

methodsUsing a survey of older Chinese migrants in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) during the extended COVID-19 lockdown, we investigate how community mobility and ICT use, two mechanisms of socializing, relate to the built environment and influence loneliness (De Jong Gierveld 6-item scale), as well as mental and physical health (SF-12). Specifically, we use a structural equation model to test a theoretical framework of older adult social isolation.

resultsOur model demonstrates the importance of community mobility for reducing feelings of loneliness, while ICT use is significantly related to better physical health. Both community mobility and ICT use have significant, although opposite, relationships to transit density.

conclusionsResults indicate that ICT use might have limited ability to reduce loneliness and support mental health when mobility is limited. Addressing older migrants' barriers to community mobility is critical to reducing feelings of loneliness.

Indexed as

Built EnvironmentHealth StatusInformation TechnologyLonelinessSocial IsolationTransients and MigrantsAgedChinaCOVID-19East Asian PeopleFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedOntarioSurveys and QuestionnairesICTLonelinessMental healthMigrantsMobilityOlder adultsPhysical HealthSocial isolation

Identifiers

PMID39920640
PMCPMC11806903

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.