Development and testing of a community stakeholder park audit tool

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Planning
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Parks are vital community assets influencing physical activity and health.
• Existing park auditing tools lack citizen engagement.
• A need exists for accessible tools to assess park potential for promoting health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a user-friendly tool for auditing community parks' physical activity promotion potential.
• To ensure the tool is reliable and usable by diverse stakeholders.
• To assess community stakeholders' experiences with the tool's development and application.

Main Methods:

• A sequential, multiphase approach involving workshops and field testing.
• Incorporation of stakeholder recommendations and existing instrument reviews.
• Psychometric validation to ensure the tool's reliability and soundness.

Main Results:

• The Community Park Audit Tool (CPAT) was developed with four key sections.
• High inter-rater reliability was confirmed for most CPAT items.
• Stakeholders reported positive engagement and reactions to the development process.

Conclusions:

• The CPAT offers a reliable and accessible method for evaluating parks' health promotion capacity.
• The tool can empower diverse communities in park assessment and advocacy.
• CPAT supports efforts towards healthier community design through improved park evaluation.