[Indicators of physical and social neighborhood attributes measured by the Systematic Social Observation method]

Place of residence is heavily shaped by social position, indicating that neighborhood characteristics can be important contributing factors to health iniquities. The objectives were to construct indicators of the physical and social environment in an urban context based on variables obtained with the Systematic Social Observation method (SSO) and to analyze them according to the Health Vulnerability Index (HVI). The instrument was developed to determine the characteristics of the physical and social neighborhood in two health districts in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Data were collected from April to June 2011. To develop the simple indicators, ratios were calculated for the number of observed items per residence in each segment. Composite indicators were built using principal components analysis via covariance matrix. The final sample consisted of 1,295 street segments nested in 147 neighborhoods. Indicators referring to street conditions and transit items, mobility, appearance, housing and property, physical disorder, safety/security, and services showed a dose-response behavior in relation to HVI (p < 0.05). Indicators pertaining to place to practice physical activity and leisure did not show significant differences. The indicators displayed coherent behavior towards different HVI strata and proved adequate within each respective domain and subdomain.