A protocol of comprehensive assessment of exposure to greenspace in school children

Evidence on a comprehensive greenspace exposure assessment on primary school children is scarce yet. Therefore, we aimed to assess a comprehensive greenspace exposure on primary school children and their behavioral function. We assessed different aspects of exposure to greenspace as well as behavioral function in 704 primary school children in Sabzevar, Iran, during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., 22 September 2020 to 10 March 2021). The greenspace indicators were including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in 100, 300 and 500m buffers around children's homes based on Landsat 8 images with 30 × 30 m resolution, residential proximity to green space based on the Euclidean distance of the geocoded residential address to (i) the nearest green space of any area and (ii) the nearest green space with an area of at least 5000m² (i.e., major green space) based on land use map of the study area, time spent in public and private green spaces, number of plant pots at home and visual access to greenspace based on a prepared questionnaire. The behavioral development of primary school children was assessed using a Persian online validated version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) filled by parents.