Engaging Community Residents in Large-Scale Neighborhood Audits for Health Research

This study evaluated the feasibility of engaging community residents as community scientists to conduct large-scale pedestrian streetscape audits around bus stops for use in observational health research.

Community residents (n=38) were recruited, trained, and certified as community scientists to conduct audits of walkability features along 337 walking routes near 273 bus stops in 10 low-income ZIP codes of Kansas City, MO. Participants completed structured classroom and field training, followed by practice and independent audits using research-based audit tools. They then participated in a reflection session and a community dissemination and advocacy event. Interrater reliability was assessed in a subsample audited by trained researchers. Quotations from the reflection event were used to summarize key reflections by the community scientists.

Twenty-five community scientists completed a total of 271 audits (mean=10.8, SD=7.8). Interrater reliability was good to excellent for 93.6% of the items, for all bus stop and crossing subscales and 4 of the 7 segment subscales. Community scientists reported increased awareness of neighborhood conditions, identified infrastructure disparities, and contributed to a community-facing report and a dissemination event with local community members and leaders.

Community scientists can be trained to collect reliable, detailed microscale pedestrian environment data at scale, offering a feasible approach for large-scale observational health research. Integrating community engagement into data collection may also enhance the relevance and impact of built environment research by supporting local awareness and advocacy.