Citation

Frehlich L, Blackstaffe A, McCormack GR. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(11): e16111917.

Affiliation

Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. Gavin.McCormack@ucalgary.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16111917

PMID

31151210

Abstract

There is a growing public health interest in the contributions of the built environment in enabling and supporting physical activity. However, few tools measuring neighbourhood-specific physical activity exist. This study assessed the reliability of an established physical activity tool (International Physical Activity Questionnaire: IPAQ) adapted to capture perceived neighbourhood-specific physical activity (N-IPAQ) administered via the internet and compared N-IPAQ outcomes to differences in neighbourhood Walk Score^®. A sample of n = 261 adults completed an online questionnaire on two occasions at least seven days apart. Questionnaire items captured walking, cycling, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity physical activity, undertaken inside the participant's perceived neighbourhood in the past week. Intraclass correlations, Spearman's rank correlation, and Cohen's Kappa coefficients estimated item test-retest reliability. Regression estimated the associations between self-reported perceived neighbourhood-specific physical activity and Walk Score^®. With the exception of moderate physical activity duration, participation and duration for all physical activities demonstrated moderate reliability. Transportation walking participation and duration was higher (p < 0.05) in more walkable neighbourhoods. The N-IPAQ administered online found differences in neighbourhoods that vary in their walkability. Future studies investigating built environments and self-reported physical activity may consider using the online version of the N-IPAQ.

Language: en

Keywords

active living; neighbourhood; physical activity; questionnaire; sedentary behaviour; survey; walkability; walkable environment