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

Abstract

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.

A Direct Observation Video Method for Describing COVID-19 Transmission Factors on a Micro-Geographical Scale: Viral Transmission (VT)-Scan

“…Relatedly, VT-scan was examined during midday and it is possible that its accuracy could be affected by phenomenon associated with time of day such as shadowing. A previous study did not find this to be a problem while using observation to describe different types of physical activities occurring on sidewalks/streets [25]. Nevertheless, more nuanced behaviors like masking might be more difficult to discern under different lighting conditions.…”

“…To address some of these limitations, the current study developed an observation protocol that uses a high-resolution, wearable video device (WVD) to capture data on COVID-19 transmission behaviors and related factors across a wide range of environmental settings. The use of video has been shown to improve the accuracy of observations when studying physical activity behavior [25,26]. In addition, this study provides a comprehensive set of rules for extracting data from video that is vital for scientific rigor and reproducibility.…”

Metamorfosis educativa de la actividad física para personas con síndrome de Down (Educational metamorphosis of physical activity for people with Down syndrome)

“…La triangulación de información (Nwanna, Ajiko, Motwani, Dicker, & Juillard, 2019) permitió realizar una comparación entre el contraste de la información obtenida de la batería EUROFIT (Vancampfort, Hallgren, Vandael, Raymaekers, Van Damme, 2019) con la información resultante de otros tres métodos: estudio de tiempo y movimiento (Drenowatz, & Greier, 2019); discusiones de grupos focales (Rivaz, Shokrollahi, & Ebadi, 2019) con los docentes de actividad física de FUNDISDOWN y una revisión retrospectiva (Suminski, Dominick, & Plautz, 2019) de los registros de actividad física existentes.…”

A comprehensive evaluation of physical activity on sidewalks and streets in three U.S. Cities

“…Information of this caliper would be useful for informing behavioral theories and future evaluations in this area. Therefore, the current study was conducted to provide the most comprehensive objective, description to date of sidewalk/street usage by humans for PA. A robust study design was adopted along with a widely used, observation method that has been shown to be most accurate when combined with advanced video capture techniques ( McKenzie et al, 2002 , Suminski et al, 2020 , Suminski et al, 2019 ).…”