Abstract
BackgroundEnvironmental characteristics may be associated with patterns of physical activity. However, the development of instruments to measure perceived characteristics of the local environment is still at a comparatively early stage, and published instruments are not necessarily suitable for application in all settings. We therefore developed and established the test-retest reliability of a new scale for use in a study of the correlates of active travel and overall physical activity in deprived urban neighbourhoods in Glasgow, Scotland.MethodsWe developed and piloted a 14-item scale based on seven constructs identified from the literature (aesthetics, green space, access to amenities, convenience of routes, traffic, road safety and personal safety). We administered the scale to all participants in a random postal survey (n = 1322) and readministered the scale to a subset of original respondents (n = 125) six months later. We used principal components analysis and Varimax rotation to identify three principal components (factors) and derived summary scores for subscales based on these factors. We examined the internal consistency of these subscales using Cronbach's alpha and examined the test-retest reliability of the individual items, the subscale summary scores and an overall summary neighbourhood score using a combination of correlation coefficients and Cohen's kappa with and without weighting.ResultsPublic transport and proximity to shops were the items most likely to be rated positively, whereas traffic volume, traffic noise and road safety for cyclists were most likely to be rated negatively. Three principal components – 'safe and pleasant surroundings', 'low traffic' and 'convenience for walking' – together explained 45% of the total variance. The test-retest reliability of individual items was comparable with that of items in other published scales (intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) 0.34–0.70; weighted Cohen's kappa 0.24–0.59). The overall summary neighbourhood score had acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.72) and test-retest reliability (ICC 0.73).ConclusionThis new scale contributes to the development of a growing set of tools for investigating the role of perceived environmental characteristics in explaining or mediating patterns of active travel and physical activity.
Highlights
Environmental characteristics may be associated with patterns of physical activity
A growing body of evidence suggests that certain characteristics of the physical environment may be associated with patterns of physical activity in general or with particular types of physical activity such as walking or cycling as modes of transport. [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] Physical activity has been found to be associated with both 'objective' characteristics of the environment – such as those ascertained using observations made by trained researchers, or using spatially referenced census and transport infrastructure data held and analysed in a geographical information system (GIS) – and with characteristics of the environment as perceived and reported by study participants
This paper underpins our companion paper, in which we report the result of our analyses of the personal and environmental correlates of active travel and physical activity (Ogilvie et al, submitted for publication), and contributes to the development of a growing set of tools which may be useful for researchers working in other settings
Summary
Environmental characteristics may be associated with patterns of physical activity. the development of instruments to measure perceived characteristics of the local environment is still at a comparatively early stage, and published instruments are not necessarily suitable for application in all settings. [10] In the cross-sectional (baseline) phase of the study, we wished to test the hypotheses that levels of 'active travel' (walking and cycling for transport) and overall physical activity vary with demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, but not necessarily in the same way, and that these relationships may be partly explained by the perceived characteristics of the local environment in which people live – as well as by their objectively-assessed proximity to motorway and major road infrastructure. [3,11,12] For our purposes, it seemed important that the chosen instrument should satisfy three criteria It should measure constructs shown (at least in some studies) to be related to physical activity in general or walking and cycling in particular and that could reasonably be expected to change as a result of the intervention. It should be suitable for completion as part of a postal survey
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