Neighborhood Eating and Activity Advocacy Teams (NEAAT): engaging older adults in policy activities to improve food and physical environments

Buman, Matthew P.; Winter, Sandra J.; Baker, Cathleen; Hekler, Eric B.; Otten, Jennifer J.; King, Abby C.

doi:10.1007/s13142-011-0100-9

Cited by 51 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(17 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The training was provided by the researchers in a group setting and emphasized realistic goal setting, development of action plans, and strategic identification of potential allies and resources. Each participant received a community advocacy handbook that included definitions, educational materials, and worksheets that had been developed by the research team and that have been shown to have initial utility in fostering community change in other underserved neighborhoods[8, 31]. All written materials and meetings were bilingual (English, Spanish).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This research evolved out of previous studies conducted by members of the Healthy Aging Research and Technology Solutions (HARTS) Lab at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. The initial development and testing of the approach occurred in the Neighborhood Eating and Activity Advocacy Teams study [8, 9], which spurred the development and testing of the Discovery Tool[10]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Using Citizen Scientists to Gather, Analyze, and Disseminate Information About Neighborhood Features That Affect Active Living

Winter

Rosas

Romero

et al. 2016

J Immigrant Minority Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Many Latinos are insufficiently active, partly due to neighborhoods with little environmental support for physical activity. Multi-level approaches are needed to create health-promoting neighborhoods in disadvantaged communities. Methods Participant “citizen scientists” were adolescent (n=10, mean age=12.8±0.6 years) and older adult (n=10, mean age=71.3±6.5 years), low income Latinos in North Fair Oaks, California. Citizen scientists conducted environmental assessments to document perceived barriers to active living using the Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool, which records GPS-tracked walking routes, photographs, audio narratives, and survey responses. Using a community-engaged approach, citizen scientists subsequently attended a community meeting to engage in advocacy training, review assessment data, prioritize issues to address and brainstorm potential solutions and partners. Results Citizen scientists each conducted a neighborhood environmental assessment and recorded 366 photographs and audio narratives. Adolescents (n=4), older adults (n=7) and community members (n=4) collectively identified reducing trash and improving personal safety and sidewalk quality as the priority issues to address. Three adolescent and four older adult citizen scientists volunteered to present study findings to key stakeholders. Conclusions This study demonstrated that with minimal training, low-income, Latino adolescent and older adult citizen scientists can: 1) use innovative technology to gather information about features of their neighborhood environment that influence active living, 2) analyze their information and identify potential solutions, and 3) engage with stakeholders to advocate for the development of healthier neighborhoods.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Citizen Scientists to Gather, Analyze, and Disseminate Information About Neighborhood Features That Affect Active Living

Winter

Rosas

Romero

et al. 2016

J Immigrant Minority Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although full deployment of the community advocacy training portion of the citizen science community engagement model was beyond the scope of this pilot study, 30 participants from one neighborhood were invited to a community meeting to identify issues relating to addressing barriers to active living in their neighborhoods and to discuss how relevant changes could be made in Mexico. The research assistant invited all participants from the low SES/low walkability neighborhood to participate in the community meeting, which took place at the main offices of the National Public Health Institute in Cuernavaca.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing Technology and Citizen Science to Support Neighborhoods that Promote Active Living in Mexico

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Middle-and low-income countries bear 80 % of the global chronic disease burden. Population-level, multi-sectoral approaches to promoting healthful lifestyles that take into local physical, socioeconomic, and sociocultural characteristics of both the environment and the population are needed. The BNuestra Voz (Our Voice)^is one such approach that involves neighborhood residents acting as Bcitizen scientists^to systematically gather information on the barriers and facilitators of physical activity in their neighborhoods and then use their data to collectively advocate for local environmental-and policy-level changes to support active living. We pilot tested this approach in Cuernavaca, Mexico with adults and adolescents. This community-engaged and participatory approach is driven by residents, who utilize a GPS-enabled electronic tablet-based application with simple audio-based instructions to take photographs and record audio narratives of facets of their neighborhood that promote or hinder active living. After collecting these data, the citizen scientists come together in a community meeting and use their data to prioritize realistic, multi-level changes for promoting active living in their neighborhoods. A survey assessed participants' acceptability of the approach. Participating citizen scientists included 32 adults and 9 adolescents. The citizen scientists rated the acceptability of five of the nine acceptability survey items with an average of 4.0 or higher out of 5.0, indicating they thought it was Bfun,^were comfortable carrying the tablet, were likely to use it again, and would recommend it to friends and family. Items with average scores of less than 4 were all related to safety concerns. The most common barriers reported by citizen scientists using the tablet were poor sidewalk quality, presence of trash, negative characteristics of the streets, unpleasant aesthetics (e.g., graffiti), and presence of parks and recreational facilities. The Our Voice citizen scientist approach using the Discovery Tool has high potential for assisting communities in diverse settings to begin to identify both local barriers to active living as well as potentially useful strategies for promoting physical activity in culturally congruent ways that are appropriate and feasible in the local context.

show abstract

“…New methods of cost-efficient data collection are needed that can generate local, relevant data to foster community-focused planning and policy solutions. 7 Unfortunately, tools used to assess active living environments are often insufficient for informing local-level change: they are often cumbersome and can require intensive training 8,9 ; self-report measures often are not correlated with objective measures 10 ; GIS-based measures are often inaccessible, and microscale data unavailable to identify specific community needs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool

Buman

Winter

Sheats

et al. 2013

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The built environment can influence physical activity, particularly among older populations with impaired mobility. Existing tools to assess environmental features associated with walkability are often cumbersome, require extensive training, and are not readily available for use by community residents. Purpose This project aimed to develop and evaluate the utility of a computerized, tablet-based participatory tool designed to engage older residents in identifying neighborhood elements that affect active living opportunities. Methods Following formative testing, the tool was used by older adults (aged ≥65 years, in 2011) to record common walking routes (tracked using built-in GPS) and geocoded audio narratives and photographs of the local neighborhood environment. Residents (N=27; 73% women; 77% with some college education; 42% used assistive devices) from three low-income communal senior housing sites used the tool while navigating their usual walking route in their neighborhood. Data were analyzed in 2012. Results Elements (from 464 audio narratives and photographs) identified as affecting active living were commensurate with the existing literature (e.g., sidewalk features, aesthetics, parks/playgrounds, crosswalks). However, within each housing site, the profile of environmental elements identified was distinct, reflecting the importance of granular-level information collected by the tool. Additionally, consensus among residents was reached regarding which elements affected active living opportunities. Conclusions This tool serves to complement other assessments and assist decision makers in consensus-building processes for environmental change.

show abstract

Neighborhood Eating and Activity Advocacy Teams (NEAAT): engaging older adults in policy activities to improve food and physical environments

Cited by 51 publications

References 19 publications

Using Citizen Scientists to Gather, Analyze, and Disseminate Information About Neighborhood Features That Affect Active Living

Using Citizen Scientists to Gather, Analyze, and Disseminate Information About Neighborhood Features That Affect Active Living

Harnessing Technology and Citizen Science to Support Neighborhoods that Promote Active Living in Mexico

The Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About