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Reliability of self-reported neighborhood characteristics
Sandra E Echeverria1, Ana V Diez-Roux, Bruce G Link
1Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, 622 West 168th Street, PH-9, Room 105, New York, NY 10032, USA. see9@columbia.edu.
Summary
This study found that self-reported neighborhood characteristics, like safety and access to healthy food, can be reliably measured. This reliability is crucial for understanding how neighborhood environments impact cardiovascular disease risk.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Epidemiology
- Cardiovascular Disease Research
Background:
- Most neighborhood-health studies use census data, limiting understanding of causal links.
- Reliability of self-reported neighborhood measures, vital for health research, is often unexamined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the reliability of a questionnaire measuring self-reported neighborhood environment features.
- To evaluate measures relevant to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire on neighborhood domains (aesthetics, walkability, safety, food access, social cohesion) was administered twice over 2 weeks to 48 participants.
- Face-to-face and telephone interviews were used.
- Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest correlations.
Main Results:
- Scales for neighborhood domains showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: .77–.94).
- Test-retest reliability for scales (0.78–0.91) and indices (0.73–0.91) was strong.
- Self-reported neighborhood measures demonstrated good reliability.
Conclusions:
- Self-reported neighborhood characteristics are reliably measured by this questionnaire.
- This finding supports the use of such measures in epidemiological studies linking neighborhood environments to health outcomes, including CVD.