The associations between place-based measures of walkability and physical activity across a range of diverse streetscapes.

Walkability relates to aspects of a physical environment that have the potential to influence walking in that environment. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency developed the National Walkability Index (NWI), an easily accessible, U.S. Census block-group-level indicator of walkability. Although the NWI could be the metric of choice for researchers and urban planners, there is a lack of empirical evidence for its validity. The current study examined the validity of the NWI and Walk Score for predicting physical activity (PA) occurring along urban streetscapes. A wearable video device (Gogloo E7 SMART eyewear) was used to capture videos of streetscapes in 24 U.S. Census block groups in three different sized cities. The block groups varied in walkability, income level, and minority composition. The videos, collected over 10 months during 2019 at different times on weekdays and weekends, were reviewed by experts to obtain counts of walkers/h and individuals performing leisure PA/h (dependent variables). The independent variables were the NWI, its components - transit stop proximity, intersection density, employment/household occupancy mix, and employment mix, and Walk Score. Block group was the level of analysis. Linear regression indicated Walk Score, employment/household occupancy mix, and employment mix were associated with walkers/h (p < .001) while only employment/household occupancy mix, and employment mix were associated with leisure PA/h (p < .001). The NWI did not account for a significant portion of the variance in PA outcomes. A place-based examination of PA and walkability indexes favors the use of Walk Score and a modified version of the NWI.

Assessing Park Quality with a Wearable Video Device and an Unmanned Aerial System.

Parks are ideal places for promoting physical activity, which is vital for achieving and sustaining good health. Thus, it is important to develop and provide the best methods for assessing aspects of parks that could influence physical activity. This study examined the use of high-tech video capture for describing park quality. Videos were obtained with a wearable video device (WVD) and an unmanned aerial system (UAS) at 28 and 17 parks, respectively. In-person audits of park attributes were performed using the Physical Activity Readiness Assessment (PARA) instrument while video was simultaneously captured. The PARA provides quality ratings of park attributes that range from poor to good. Kappa statistics were calculated to compare in-person PARA outcomes with PARA outcomes obtained by reviewing the WVD and UAS videos. Substantial and almost-perfect agreements were found between WVD and in-person PARAs on the quality of features and amenities and the severity of incivilities. Agreements between UAS and in-person PARAs on feature and amenity quality and incivility severity were unacceptable (mostly fair and moderate). In conclusion, being able to reliably assess park quality using video provides advantages over in-person assessments (e.g., retrospective analysis). In addition, it sets up the possibility of utilizing computer vision to automate the video analysis process.

Shining the Light on You:: An Evidence-Based Program Designed to Improve the Health and Wellbeing of Family Child Care Professionals.

Objective: To design and assess the effectiveness of an evidence-based intervention to improve the health and wellbeing of family child care professionals. Methods: The early care and education (ECE) workforce, and family child care (FCC) educators in particular, face challenges to their wellbeing, mental and physical health. In addition, the demographics of the FCC workforce - disproportionately composed of low-income women of color - are associated with higher risk for chronic diseases. The Shining the Light on You program is designed to address FCC professional wellbeing in a feasible, evidence-based manner. The program includes weekly virtual sessions co-facilitated by a Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (HWC) and a Technical Assistance Coach (Early Childhood Specialist) and three individual coaching sessions with the HWC. HWC is built upon a foundation of behavior change theories, motivational strategies and effective communication approaches from psychology, medicine, public health and related fields. Using a mixed methods approach to gather data, participants from three initial cohorts of the program (n=33) implemented in Delaware reported improvement in health and wellbeing indicators. Results: Participants reported improvements in social support, physical activity and water consumption from pre- to post-program surveys. In interviews conducted with the participants following the program, participants consistently commented on the connections between all components of wellbeing and the importance of self-care. Conclusions: This model demonstrates the potential of integrating best practices from HWC and the ECE system.

Dover Micro Open Street Events: Evaluation Results and Implications for Community-Based Physical Activity Programming.

Open Streets events provide opportunities for residents to be active. The current program developed and implemented five smaller scale, Micro Open Streets Events (MOSE) in Dover, DE that provided a range of opportunities for physical activity over a <0.5 miles stretch of closed road. Our objective was to evaluate the capacity of this approach to reach residents and improve knowledge and intention to engage in physical activity once the event was over. We used individual surveys, observational, and neighborhood audit factors to assess MOSE participation and conduciveness to physical activity. Our results showed that MOSE attendance ranged from 40 to 500 adults from a high-risk demographic (i.e., non-Caucasian, middle-age, overweight), who demonstrated a strong liking of the MOSE and increased knowledge of, and intention to engage in physical activity following the event. Our data suggest that where a full-scale Open Streets event is not feasible, a MOSE may be a viable alternative.

Promoting Small Business Support of Youth Physical Activity in Low-Income, Minority Neighborhoods: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: An unacceptably high percentage of our nation's low-income, minority youth (age<18 years) are not regularly physically active. One reason for this could be their lack of access to quality youth physical activity opportunities (YPAOs). Our previous research found that small businesses (<500 employees), which represent over 99.64% (27.9/28.0 million businesses in United States) of all employers, are powerful resources for creating and improving YPAOs. In accordance with the socioecological model and established philanthropic principles, we developed an alpha version of an intervention (alpha-i) for increasing small businesses' involvement with YPAOs. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this proposed study are to (1) create a beta version (beta-i) of the intervention and (2) conduct a pilot study of its impact on small business support for YPAOs and YPAO utilization by the youth in low-income, minority neighborhoods. METHODS: The alpha-i will be refined using information from focus groups and surveys conducted with small business owners and managers, YPAO providers, and parents and guardians of the youths from low-income, predominantly minority neighborhoods. A cluster randomized controlled trial will then be conducted for 1 year to examine the effects of the refined intervention (beta-i) on small business support for YPAOs in 10 low-income, minority neighborhoods. The control group of neighborhoods (n=10) will be provided with a standard practice intervention. The primary outcome for aim 2 will be the percentage of small businesses not supporting YPAOs at baseline that subsequently provide support for YPAOs at follow-up. We also will consider the US dollar equivalent of all types of support (monetary, goods/services, and time) donated for YPAOs by small businesses. In addition, we will examine the impact of the increased small business support for YPAOs on YPAO utilization by the youth. RESULTS: As of May 1, 2019, all YPAOs and small businesses in the study neighborhoods have been identified, and surveys have begun with these groups. In addition, 9 focus groups were completed, and the data have been transcribed. We anticipate that manuscripts regarding these aspects of the study will be submitted in fall 2019. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed study is significant because it will provide evidence that an easily replicated approach can be used to increase small business support for YPAOs and that this support results in greater use of the YPAOs by youth. A logical next step will be to determine if YPAO changes resulting from increased small business support positively influence youth physical activity levels. CLINICALTRIAL: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03936582; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03936582. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/13141.

Validation of the Block Walk Method for Assessing Physical Activity occurring on Sidewalks/Streets.

The block walk method (BWM) is one of the more common approaches for assessing physical activity (PA) performed on sidewalks/streets; however, it is non-technical, labor-intensive, and lacks validation. This study aimed to validate the BWM and examine the potential for using a wearable video device (WVD) to assess PA occurring on sidewalks/streets. Trained observers (one wearing and one not wearing the WVD) walked together and performed the BWM according to a previously developed protocol along routes in low, medium, and high walkable areas. Two experts then reviewed the videos. A total of 1150 (traditional) and 1087 (video review) individuals were observed during 900 min of observation. When larger numbers of individuals were observed, the traditional method overestimated the overall number of people as well as those walking and sitting/standing, while underestimating the number of runners. Valid estimates of PA occurring on sidewalks/streets can be obtained by the traditional BWM in low and medium walkability areas and/or with non-common activities (cycling); however, its validity is questionable when sidewalks/streets use volume is high. The use of WVDs in PA assessment has the potential to establish new levels of accuracy, reduce resource requirements, and open up the possibility for retrospective analysis.