Abstract
BackgroundThe development of reliable and culturally sensitive measures of attributes of the built and social environment is necessary for accurate analysis of environmental correlates of physical activity in low-income countries, that can inform international evidence-based policies and interventions in the worldwide prevention of physical inactivity epidemics. This study systematically adapted the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) for Nigeria and evaluated aspects of reliability and validity of the adapted version among Nigerian adults.MethodsThe adaptation of the NEWS was conducted by African and international experts, and final items were selected for NEWS-Nigeria after a cross-validation of the confirmatory factor analysis structure of the original NEWS. Participants (N = 386; female = 47.2%) from two cities in Nigeria completed the adapted NEWS surveys regarding perceived residential density, land use mix – diversity, land use mix – access, street connectivity, infrastructure and safety for walking and cycling, aesthetics, traffic safety, and safety from crime. Self-reported activity for leisure, walking for different purposes, and overall physical activity were assessed with the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire (long version).ResultsThe adapted NEWS subscales had moderate to high test-retest reliability (ICC range 0.59 –0.91). Construct validity was good, with residents of high-walkable neighborhoods reporting significantly higher residential density, more land use mix diversity, higher street connectivity, more traffic safety and more safety from crime, but lower infrastructure and safety for walking/cycling and aesthetics than residents of low-walkable neighborhoods. Concurrent validity correlations were low to moderate (r = 0.10 –0.31) with residential density, land use mix diversity, and traffic safety significantly associated with most physical activity outcomes.ConclusionsThe NEWS-Nigeria demonstrated acceptable measurement properties among Nigerian adults and may be useful for evaluation of the built environment in Nigeria. Further adaptation and evaluation in other African countries is needed to create a version that could be used throughout the African region.
Highlights
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, with most of these deaths occurring in developing countries [1,2,3]
In the developed countries of North America, Australia and Europe, consistent findings have emerged that people who live in neighborhoods with supportive built environment features like high residential density, street connectivity, proximal access to destinations, good aesthetics and availability of infrastructures and facilities are more physically active than those living in neighborhoods with unsupportive environmental features [14,15,16,18,19]
Africa is the only continent for which evidence on the association between the built environment and physical activity is lacking [16,20,21], and questions remain about the applicability of surveys constructed in developed countries to the local contexts in Africa [22]
Summary
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, with most of these deaths occurring in developing countries [1,2,3]. Understanding environmental correlates of physical activity and other health behaviors in Africa has implications to inform international evidence-based and countryspecific physical activity policies and interventions to help prevent obesity and other chronic diseases [21] Such interventions would help reduce the effect of growing epidemics of inactivity in developing countries [23], and contribute to effective global prevention of non-communicable diseases that are high in developed countries and growing rapidly in low and middle income countries [1,2,3,5]. The development of reliable and culturally sensitive measures of attributes of the built and social environment is necessary for accurate analysis of environmental correlates of physical activity in low-income countries, that can inform international evidence-based policies and interventions in the worldwide prevention of physical inactivity epidemics. This study systematically adapted the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) for Nigeria and evaluated aspects of reliability and validity of the adapted version among Nigerian adults
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