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      Cross-validation of the factorial structure of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) and its abbreviated form (NEWS-A)

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          Abstract

          Background

          The Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) and its abbreviated form (NEWS-A) assess perceived environmental attributes believed to influence physical activity. A multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) conducted on a sample from Seattle, WA showed that, at the respondent level, the factor-analyzable items of the NEWS and NEWS-A measured 11 and 10 constructs of perceived neighborhood environment, respectively. At the census blockgroup (used by the US Census Bureau as a subunit of census tracts) level, the MCFA yielded five factors for both NEWS and NEWS-A. The aim of this study was to cross-validate the individual- and blockgroup-level measurement models of the NEWS and NEWS-A in a geographical location and population different from those used in the original validation study.

          Methods

          A sample of 912 adults was recruited from 16 selected neighborhoods (116 census blockgroups) in the Baltimore, MD region. Neighborhoods were stratified according to their socio-economic status and transport-related walkability level measured using Geographic Information Systems. Participants self-completed the NEWS. MCFA was used to cross-validate the individual- and blockgroup-level measurement models of the NEWS and NEWS-A.

          Results

          The data provided sufficient support for the factorial validity of the original individual-level measurement models, which consisted of 11 (NEWS) and 10 (NEWS-A) correlated factors. The original blockgroup-level measurement model of the NEWS and NEWS-A showed poor fit to the data and required substantial modifications. These included the combining of aspects of building aesthetics with safety from crime into one factor; the separation of natural aesthetics and building aesthetics into two factors; and for the NEWS-A, the separation of presence of sidewalks/walking routes from other infrastructure for walking.

          Conclusion

          This study provided support for the generalizability of the individual-level measurement models of the NEWS and NEWS-A to different urban geographical locations in the USA. It is recommended that the NEWS and NEWS-A be scored according to their individual-level measurement models, which are relatively stable and correspond to constructs commonly used in the urban planning and transportation fields. However, prior to using these instruments in international and multi-cultural studies, further validation work across diverse non-English speaking countries and populations is needed.

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          Most cited references31

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          The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis.

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            Perceived and objective environmental measures and physical activity among urban adults.

            Enhancing community environments to support walking and bicycling serves as a promising approach to increase population levels of physical activity. However, few studies have simultaneously assessed perceptions and objectively measured environmental factors and their relative association with transportation or recreational physical activity. For this cross-sectional study, high- and low-income study areas were selected among census tracts in St. Louis MO ("low-walkable" city) and Savannah GA ("high-walkable" city). Between February and June 2002, a telephone survey of 1068 adults provided measures of the perceived environment and physical activity behavior. In this timeframe, objective measures were collected through environmental audits of all street segments (n =1158). These measures were summarized using 400-m buffers surrounding each respondent. Neighborhood characteristics included the land use environment, transportation environment, recreational facilities, aesthetics, and social environment. Associations were examined between neighborhood features and transportation- and recreation-based activity. After adjusting for age, gender, and education, transportation activity was negatively associated with objective measures of sidewalk levelness and perceived and objective neighborhood aesthetics. It was positively associated with perceived and objectively measured number of destinations and public transit, perceived access to bike lanes, and objective counts of active people in the neighborhood. Recreational activity was positively associated with perceived access to recreational facilities and objective measures of attractive features. These findings indicate that physical activities for transportation or recreational are associated with different perceived and objective environmental characteristics. Modifications to these features may change the physical activity behavior of residents exposed to them.
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              The relative influence of individual, social and physical environment determinants of physical activity.

              Environmental determinants of health are receiving growing attention in the literature, although there is little empirical research in this area. The Study on Environmental and Individual Determinants of Physical Activity (known as the SEID project) was a social ecological project that examined the relative influence of individual, social environmental and physical environmental determinants of recreational physical activity. It involved a community survey of 1803 healthy workers and home-makers aged 18-59 years living in a 408 km2 area of metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Physical environmental determinants were mainly conceptualised as spatial access to popular recreational facilities. Overall, 59% of respondents exercised as recommended. Recreational facilities located near home were used by more respondents than facilities located elsewhere. The most frequently used facilities were informal: the streets (45.6%); public open space (28.8%) and the beach (22.7%). The physical environment's directs the influence on exercising as recommended was found to be secondary to individual and social environmental determinants. Nevertheless, accessible facilities determined whether or not they were used and in this way, support and enhance the achievement of recommended levels of physical activity behaviour by providing opportunities. The results suggest that access to a supportive physical environment is necessary, but may be insufficient to increase recommended levels of physical activity in the community. Complementary strategies are required that aim to influence individual and social environmental factors. Given the popularity of walking in the community, it is recommended that greater emphasis be placed on creating streetscapes that enhance walking for recreation and transport.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act
                The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
                BioMed Central
                1479-5868
                2009
                9 June 2009
                : 6
                : 32
                Affiliations
                [1 ]USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Street, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
                [2 ]Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
                [3 ]Seattle Children's Hospital Research Center, University of Seattle, UW-CHI NE 74th St, Box 354920, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA
                [4 ]School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 231-1933 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
                [5 ]Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 3900 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, California 92103, USA
                Article
                1479-5868-6-32
                10.1186/1479-5868-6-32
                2700069
                19508724
                d5bf864a-f6c2-42cc-a7c4-f8cac82ffe57
                Copyright © 2009 Cerin et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 31 December 2008
                : 9 June 2009
                Categories
                Research

                Nutrition & Dietetics
                Nutrition & Dietetics

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