Virtual Assessment of Physical Activity-Related Built Environment in Soweto, South Africa: What Is the Role of Contextual Familiarity?

Autor: Godongwana M; SAMRC-Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Motlatso.godongwana@wits.ac.za.; Burden of Disease Research Unit, South Africa Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa. Motlatso.godongwana@wits.ac.za., Gama K; SAMRC-Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Maluleke V; SAMRC-Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Micklesfield LK; SAMRC-Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa., Odekunle D; Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.; Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria., Wasnyo YF; Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.; Health of Populations in Transition, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Elouna B; Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Ngwa E; Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.; Health of Populations in Transition, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Lopes A; Observatory for Urban Health, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil., Balarabe MR; African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa., Coringrato E; RAND Europe, Cambridge, UK., McGushin A; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK., Oni T; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK., Foley L; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK., Canelas T; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine [J Urban Health] 2024 Dec; Vol. 101 (6), pp. 1221-1234. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 10.
DOI: 10.1007/s11524-024-00914-3
Abstrakt: Understanding how urban environments shape physical activity is critical in rapidly urbanizing countries such as South Africa. We assessed the reliability of virtual audits for characterizing urban features related to physical activity in Soweto, South Africa. We used the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes Global tool to characterize pedestrian-related features from Google Street View images in four neighborhoods of Soweto. Neighborhoods were selected to represent different levels of deprivation. Inter-rater reliability was analyzed according to the rater's familiarity with the local area. The results show a higher inter-rater reliability was observed among auditors with greater contextual familiarity. Many measurements however generated inconclusive results due to either low variability in the raters' responses or the absence of the features in the streets. It is evident from our findings that virtual audits are efficient tools that can be used to assess the built environment. However, to ensure meaningful use of these tools in diverse settings, we recommend that auditors comprise of people with contextual familiarity.
Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical Approval: An ethics waiver was received from the University of the Witwatersrand Institutional Ethics Review Board (HRECNMW22/06/08) as the research study did not include any participants. Consent for Publication: Not applicable.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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