Revising the senior walking environmental assessment tool.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Environmental Health
• Public Health

Background:

• The Senior Walking Environmental Assessment Tool (SWEAT) measures built environmental features linked to older adult physical activity.
• A revision was made to enhance usability for practitioners and community members.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the modified instrument, SWEAT-R.
• To evaluate the practicality and efficiency of the revised tool.

Main Methods:

• The modified instrument (SWEAT-R) underwent reliability testing in Portland, Oregon.
• Five trained observers conducted 361 pairs of street segment audits, including 63 repeated audits.

Main Results:

• SWEAT-R demonstrated good to excellent inter-rater reliability (88%) and intra-rater reliability (75%).
• The revised instrument was quicker to complete and yielded more comprehensive data than the original.

Conclusions:

• SWEAT-R is a reliable and user-friendly tool for community-based built environment audits.
• The data gathered is valuable for understanding and promoting walking among older adults.