Development, scoring, and reliability for the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes for Safe Routes to School (MAPS-SRTS) instrument.

BACKGROUND: Active commuting to school can be a meaningful contributor to overall physical activity in children. To inform better micro-level urban design near schools that can support active commuting to school, there is a need for measures that capture these elements. This paper describes the adaptation of an observational instrument for use in assessing micro-scale environments around urban elementary schools in the United States. METHODS: The Micro-scale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes for Safe Routes to School (MAPS-SRTS) was developed from existing audit instruments not designed for school travel environments and modifications for the MAPS-SRTS instrument include the structure of the audit tool sections, the content, the observation route, and addition of new subscales. Subscales were analyzed for inter-rater reliability in a sample of 36 schools in Austin, TX. To assess reliability for each subscale, one-way random effects single-measure intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used. RESULTS: Compared to the 30 original subscales, the adapted MAPS-SRTS included 26 (86.6%) subscales with revised scoring algorithms. Most MAPS-SRTS subscales had acceptable inter-rater reliability, with an ICC of 0.97 for the revised audit tool. CONCLUSIONS: The MAPS-SRTS audit tool is a reliable instrument for measuring the school travel environment for research and evaluation purposes, such as assessing human-scale determinants of active commuting to school behavior and documenting built environment changes from infrastructure interventions.

More People, More Active, More Often for Heart Health - Taking Action on Physical Activity.

Physical inactivity is a leading contributor to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Almost 500 million new cases of preventable noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will occur globally between 2020 and 2030 due to physical inactivity, costing just over US$300 billion, or around US$ 27 billion annually (WHO 2022). Active adults can achieve a reduction of up to 35% in risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Physical activity also helps in moderating cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, unhealthy weight and type 2 diabetes. For people with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and many cancers, physical activity is an established and evidence-based part of treatment and management. For children and young people, physical activity affords important health benefits. Physical activity can also achieve important cross-sector goals. Increased walking and cycling can reduce journeys by vehicles, air pollution, and traffic congestion and contribute to increased safety and liveability in cities.

Crime-related perceptions and walking for recreation inside and outside one's home neighborhood.

It is widely assumed crime and related concerns, including neighborhood incivilities and fear of crime, are barriers to physical activity (PA). Past studies reveal mixed evidence. Studies of impacts for crime-protective factors are less common but have similarly mixed results. This paper evaluates a comprehensive transdisciplinary conceptual framework of cross-sectional associations between crime-related perceptions and reported minutes/week of recreational walking inside and outside one's home neighborhood. Safe and Fit Environments Study (SAFE) recruited and surveyed 2302 participants from adolescents to older adults from four U.S. metropolitan areas. A zero-inflated model estimated two components of each outcome: whether the respondent walked, and minutes/week walked. Correlates of recreational walking were location-specific, differing based on walking location. Fear of crime, risk evaluation, victimization, and incivilities were not consistently associated with walking for recreation inside one's neighborhood. People with crime concerns about their own neighborhoods, however, more commonly walked for recreation outside their neighborhoods. Protective crime-related perceptions that seldom have been studied in relation to PA, such as street efficacy (i.e., the perceived ability to avoid and manage danger), were strongly associated with recreational walking in both locations, indicating the additional heuristic value of the SAFE conceptual framework. Crime-related perceptions and walking for recreation: Evaluating a conceptual model.

Validade e reprodutibilidade da versão brasileira da escala se suporte social para o exercício em adolescentes / Reliability and Validity of the brazilian version of social support for exercise scale for adolescents

O Suporte social e um importante mediador psicosocial para a atividade física em adolescentes. Entretanto, instrumentos validos para avaliar este mediador em adolescentes Brasileiros são ate agora inexistentes. O propósito deste estudo foi avaliar psicometricamente a versão Brasileira da Escala de Suporte Social para o Exercício em Adolescentes. Participaram do estudo 540 estudantes de ensino médio 57.5% meninos) entre 14 e 17 anos. Foram selecionados aleatoriamente 64 participantes para avaliar a reprodutibilidade através do coeficiente Intra-Classe (R). A consistência interna foi avaliada através do coeficiente alfa-Chronbach. A validade critério-concorrente foi avaliada através da Correlação Ordenada de Spearmann entre as escalas e: a) minutos por semana de atividade física moderada a vigorosa (MVPA); b) minutos por semana de atividades estruturadas e c) caminhada como transporte. Os valores de alfa variaram de 0.78 a 0.81 e os coeficientes Intraclasse de 0.61 a 0.81. Todas escalas apresentaram correlação com ao menos duas medidas de atividade física, evidenciando a validade. As escalas de suporte social apresentaram fidedignidade adequada e validade moderada para o uso em adolescentes Brasileiros. Medidas mais objetivas da atividade física são necessárias para avaliar mais adequadamente a validade.

Social Support is an important psychosocial mediator of physical activity, particularly in adolescents. However, a valid and reliable instrument to measure this mediator in Brazilian adolescents is not available. The purpose of this study was to evaluate psychometrically a Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Social Support for Exercise Behavior Scale with adolescents. Participants were 540 high-school students (57.5% boys) with ages ranging from 14 to 17 years. A sub-sample of 64 participants was randomly selected to assess one week test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation. Internal consistency reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha. Concurrent criterion validity was assessed by Spearman rank-order correlation between the social support scales and minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), minutes of structured activities per week and minutes per week of walking for transport. Cronbach’s alpha for subscales ranged from 0.78 to 0.81 and Intraclass coefficients ranged from 0.61 to 0.81. All social support subscales correlated significantly with at least two physical activity measures supporting validity. These social support scales showed adequate reliability and moderate validity with Brazilian adolescents. Objective physical activity measures are needed to evaluate further the validity.

Los niños que trabajan en las calles de Tijuana: perfil epidemiológico y prevalencia de experimentación con tabaco / Children who work on the streets of Tijuana: an epidemiological profile and prevelence of cigarette smoking

Objetivo: desarrollar un perfil epidemiológico de los niños que laboran en las calles de tijuana, y determinar la prevelencia de tabaquismo y de los factores de riesgo asociados a la experimentación con cigarrillos en este grupo. Tipo de estudio: corte seccional. Material y métodos: se incluyó a niños que laboran en las calles de Tijuana, cuya edad oscilara entre los 8 y los 15 años. Se investigaron aspectos demográficos y socioconómicos, así como la prevalencia de tabaquismo y de los factores de riesgo para la experimentación con tabaco. Resultados: se incluyeron 110 niños cuya media de edad fue 11.43 años; de éstos 91.7 por ciento viven con ambos o con alguno de sus padres; 60 por ciento asisten a la escuela actualmente, y 30 por ciento más asistieron a la escuela alguna vez. Sólo 6.4 por ciento de los encuestados notificaron ser el sostén económico de la familia. De estos niños, 51.8 por ciento informan ingresos diarios de N$ 30 o menos. De los sujetos, sólo 9.1 por ciento refieren haber experimentado con tabaco alguna vez; 31 por ciento indicaron que un adulto de la familia les ha pedido alguna vez encenderle un cigarrillo; esta conducta es significativamente más común por parte del padre que de la madre (21.8 vs 4.5 por ciento; p < 0.001). Conclusiones: la mayoría de los niños que trabajan en las calles de Tijuana vive y mantiene nexos con su familia y la calle no representa un hogar. Un gran porcentaje asiste a la escuela y trabaja en las calles principalmente para complementar el ingreso familiar. Su experimentación con tabaco no es mayor que la de otros niños de la misma edad

Objective: To develop an epidemiological profile of children that work in the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, and to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking in this group, as well as the prevalence of those factors associated with tobacco experimentation. Study type: cross-sectional. Material and methods: Children aged 8 through 15, who work in the streets of Tijuana were included. Demographic, socioeconomic, and smoking related variables were analyzed. Results: The study included 110 children, with a mean age of 11.43 years. Of these 91.7% live with one or both of their parents; 60% attend school and an additional 30% did so in the past. Only 6.4% of these children are the principal economic support of the household, and 51.8% reported an average daily income of $US 10 or less. Only 9.1% reported experimentation with tobacco, and 31% of them tobacco prompting (in the form of lighting up a cigarette) by an adult of the family; this is significantly more frequent on behalf of the father than of the mother (21.8% vs 4.5% p < 0.001). Conclusions: Most of the children under 15 years of age who work in the streets of Tijuana live with their parents and maintain close relationships with their family. Most of them attend school and work in the streets only to complement the family income. Their tobacco experimentation is not greater than that of other children of the same age group.

Tabaquismo en niños y adolescentes de la ciudad de Tijuana, México / Smoking among children and adolescents in Tijuana, Mexico

Objetivo. Determinar la prevalencia de tabaquismo en niños y adolescentes de la ciudad de Tijuana, y la edad en que se inicia dicha experimentación, así como la identificación de las variables asociadas a la adquisición de este hábito. Material y métodos. Se llevó a cabo una encuesta, que incluyó seis escuelas primarias y cuatro escuelas secundarias de Tijuana, que fueron seleccionadas aleatoriamente a partir del registro escolar estatal. Se incluyeron 820 estudiantes con edades entre 8 y 14 años. Resultados. El 33.6 por ciento de los escolares en quinto año de primaria (edad promedio 10.9 años) han experimentado ya con cigarrillos. Existe un incremento muy evidente en la experimentación con tabaco entre el tercero y quinto año de primaria (de 6.2 a 33.6 por ciento). Las variables asociadas significativamente a esta experimentación son: a) ofertas de cigarrillos por parte de otros adolescentes, b) ofertas de cigarrillos por un adulto, y c) tabaquismo de los amigos. Conclusiones. Los escolares en nuestro medio inician la experimentación con tabaco a muy temprana edad; el 33.6 por ciento de los escolares en quinto año de primaria ya han experimentado con cigarrillos. La oferta de tabaco por otros adolescentes de la misma edad es la influencia más importante para la experimentación con tabaco en la infancia