Eligibility

Studies were eligible for inclusion in the review if they met the following criteria: (1) report on measurable associations between health outcomes (primary or secondary) and any characteristics of neighbourhood design. (2) are published in English language between January 2000 to November 2016 with full text in a peer-reviewed journal or nationally recognised stakeholder website. (3) are conducted in a high-income country according to the World Bank categorisation (World Bank ²⁰¹⁷).

Qualitative studies were excluded from this review as the focus on identifying any measurable impact on health outcomes of the neighbourhood environment on health precludes the inclusion of qualitative variables. Also, the quantitative results from this study formed the basis for the development of an economic modelling exercise reported elsewhere (UPSTREAM ²⁰¹⁸).

All studies retrieved from the search database were exported to RefWorks for duplicate removals. Studies were screened by titles, abstract and full text against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two reviewers (J.I. and P.P.) independently assessed the quality of selected studies and extracted relevant data.