Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales using adolescent survey data from urban and rural Scotland

This work was supported by NHS Health Scotland and the University of St Andrews.Background:  Despite the well-established need for specific measurement instruments to examine the relationship between neighborhood conditions and adolescent well-being outcomes, few studies have developed scales to measure features of the neighborhoods in which adolescents reside. Moreover, measures of neighborhood features may be operationalised differently by adolescents living in different levels of urban/rurality. This has not been addressed in previous studies. The objectives of this study were to: 1) establish instruments to measure adolescent neighborhood features at both the individual and neighborhood level, 2) assess their psychometric and ecometric properties, 3) test for invariance by urban/rurality, and 4) generate neighborhood level scores for use in further analysis. Methods:  Data were from the Scottish 2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey, which included an over-sample of rural adolescents. The survey responses of interest came from questions designed to capture different facets of the local area in which each respondent resided. Intermediate data zones were used as proxies for neighborhoods. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha. Invariance was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Multilevel models were used to estimate ecometric properties and generate neighborhood scores. Results:  Two constructs labeled neighborhood social cohesion and neighborhood disorder were identified. Adjustment was made to the originally specified model to improve model fit and measures of invariance. At the individual level, reliability was .760 for social cohesion and .765 for disorder, and between .524 and .571 for both constructs at the neighborhood level. Individuals in rural areas experienced greater neighborhood social cohesion and lower levels of neighborhood disorder compared with those in urban areas. Conclusions:  The scales are appropriate for measuring neighborhood characteristics experienced by adolescents across urban and rural Scotland, and can be used in future studies of neighborhoods and health. However, trade-offs between neighborhood sample size and reliability must be considered.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Social context of neighborhood and socioeconomic status on leisure-time physical activity in a Brazilian urban center: The BH Health Study

Abstract This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of leisure-time physical activity and investigate its association with contextual characteristics of the social and physical environment in different socioeconomic statuses, using a household survey in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil (2008-2009). Leisure-time physical activity was measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire; and the social and physical environment by scales arising from perception of neighborhood attributes. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was performed separately for each socioeconomic status stratum. The overall prevalence of leisure-time physical activity was 30.2%, being 20.2% amongst participants of low socioeconomic status, 25.4% in the medium and 40.6% in the high socioeconomic status group. A greater perception of social cohesion was associated with increased leisure-time physical activity only amongst participants of the lowest socioeconomic status even after adjusting for individual characteristics. The results demonstrate the importance of social cohesion for the promotion of leisure-time physical activity in economically disadvantaged groups, supporting the need to stimulate interventions for enhancing social relationships in this population

Self-rated health in urban adults, perceptions of the physical and social environment, and reported comorbidities: The BH Health Study

Abstract This study assesses the prevalence of poor self-rated health and investigates its association with individual and environmental characteristics in adults with and without reported morbidity. A household survey assessed 4,048 adults in two districts of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. We used Poisson regression with robust variance stratified by the presence of reported morbidity. Prevalence of poor self-rated health was 29.9% (42.6% in those with morbidity and 13.1% in the group without morbidity). All assessed domains were associated with self-rated health in subjects with reported morbidity. In the group without reported morbidity, the following were associated with self-rated health: social environment, socio-demographic factors, lifestyle, and psychological health. Perceived problems in the environment were associated with poor self-rated health in both groups, even after hierarchical adjustment. The results suggest the importance of investigating self-rated health stratified by reported morbidity and reinforce the need to include variables that characterize the physical and social environment

Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population

Background: Physical attributes of the places in which people live, as well as their perceptions of them, may be important health determinants. The perception of place in which people dwell may impact on individual health and may be a more telling indicator for individual health than objective neighborhood characteristics. This paper aims to evaluate psychometric and ecometric properties of a scale on the perceptions of neighborhood problems in adults from Florianopolis, Southern Brazil. Methods: Individual, census tract level (per capita monthly familiar income) and neighborhood problems perception (physical and social disorders) variables were investigated. Multilevel models (items nested within persons, persons nested within neighborhoods) were run to assess ecometric properties of variables assessing neighborhood problems. Results: The response rate was 85.3%, (1,720 adults). Participants were distributed in 63 census tracts. Two scales were identified using 16 items: Physical Problems and Social Disorder. The ecometric properties of the scales satisfactory: 0.24 to 0.28 for the intra-class correlation and 0.94 to 0.96 for reliability. Higher values on the scales of problems in the physical and social domains were associated with younger age, more length of time residing in the same neighborhood and lower census tract income level. Conclusions: The findings support the usefulness of these scales to measure physical and social disorder problems in neighborhoods.Doroteia Aparecida Höfelmann, Ana V Diez-Roux, José Leopoldo Ferreira Antunes and Marco Aurélio Pere

Overweight in men and women among urban area residents: individual factors and socioeconomic context

Abstract The present study aimed to evaluate factors associated with overweight among adults living in urban areas, with the income of the census tract as a context variable. The survey assessed individuals from two health districts of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Excess weight was determined by body mass index > 25kg/m2. Multilevel logistic regression was used. The sample comprised 2,935 individuals aged 20 to 60 years. The prevalence of overweight was 52.3% (95%CI: 49.9-54.8), similar between men and women. Higher schooling proved to be protective against overweight in women and a risk for men. Living in census tracts with higher income was associated with excess weight only in males. Report of the consumption of diet soft drinks was positively associated with overweight in both sexes. The occurrence of this event seems to be influenced by different factors or to interrelate differently in men and women

Prevalência e fatores associados ao autorrelato de deficiência: uma comparação por sexo

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil/Faculdade de Ciências da Saude e Ecologia. Vespasiano, MG, Brazil.Faculdade de Ciências da Saude e Ecologia. Vespasiano, MG, Brazil/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.Objetivo: Estimar a prevalência de deficiência e sua associação com características sociodemográficas e de saúde, estratificadas por sexo. Métodos: Estudo transversal com amostra probabilística de 4.048 residentes com idade ≥ 18 anos em dois distritos sanitários de Belo Horizonte (MG) durante o período 2008–2009. A variável resposta “deficiência” foi definida com base no autorrelato de problema nas funções ou nas estruturas do corpo. As variáveis explicativas foram sociodemográficas (“sexo”, “idade”, “cor de pele”, “estado civil”, “anos de estudos” e “renda familiar”) e de saúde (“morbidade referida”, “autoavaliação de saúde”, “qualidade de vida” e “satisfação com a vida”). Empregou-se a análise multivariada pela árvore de decisão, utilizando-se o algoritmo Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector. Resultados: A prevalência global de deficiência foi de 10,4%, maior no sexo feminino (11,9%; intervalo de confiança — IC95% 10,2–13,6) do que no masculino (8,7%; IC95% 6,8–10,5). Na análise multivariada, as variáveis que melhor discriminaram a deficiência foram “idade” e “morbidade” no sexo feminino, “baixa escolaridade” e “pior autoavaliação de saúde” no sexo masculino. O autorrelato de deficiência foi mais frequente entre mulheres em idade produtiva (40 a 59 anos) e de menor renda, e entre homens de menor escolaridade e renda. Com relação às condições de saúde, os maiores percentuais de deficiência foram observados, para ambos os sexos, entre aqueles que relataram três ou mais doenças e pior percepção de saúde. Conclusão: Os resultados reforçam a necessidade de atenção diferenciada, uma vez que mulheres em idade produtiva e homens com menor escolaridade são mais vulneráveis à ocorrência de deficiência.Objective: To estimate the prevalence of disability and its association with sociodemographic and health characteristics stratified by sex. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample including 4,048 residents aged ≥ 18 years in two health districts of Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil, during the period from 2008 to 2009. The outcome variable “disability” was established based on self-reported problems in body functions or structures. Sociodemographic characteristics (“sex,” “age,” “skin color,” “marital status,” “years of schooling,” and “family income”) and health (“reported morbidity,” “health self-assessment,” “quality of life,” and “life satisfaction”) were the explanatory variables. We applied the multivariate decision tree analysis by using the Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector algorithm. Results: The overall prevalence of disability corresponded to 10.4% and it was higher in females (11.9%; confidence interval - 95%CI 10.2 - 13.6) than in males (8.7%; 95%CI 6.8 - 10.5). In the multivariate analysis, “age” and “morbidity” in females, and “low educational level” and “poor health self-assessment” in males were the variables that best discriminated disability. Disability self-reporting was more frequent among women of working age (40 to 59 years-old) and with lower incomes, as well as in men with lower educational levels and incomes. With regard to health conditions, the highest disability percentages were seen among subjects of both genders that reported three or more diseases and worsened perception of health. Conclusion: Results reinforce the need for a distinct approach, since women of working age and men with lower educational level are more vulnerable to the occurrence of disability

Influence of individual and socio-environmental factors on self-rated health in adolescents

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine if individual and socio-environmental characteristics can influence the self-rated health among Brazilian adolescents.METHODS: It included 1,042 adolescents from 11 to 17 years old who participated in the Beagá Health Study (Estudo Saúde em Beagá), a multistage household survey in an urban setting. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between the self-rated health and the following explanatory variables: sociodemographic factors, social support, lifestyle, physical and psychological health.RESULTS: Good/very good and reasonable/poor/very poor self-rated health were reported by 88.5 and 11.5% of adolescents, respectively. The data on sociodemographic factors (SES), social support, lifestyle, psychological and physical health were associated with poor self-rated health (p ≤ 0.05). The associated variables were: age 14 - 17 years (OR =1.71; 95%CI 1.06 - 2.74), low SES (OR =1.68; 95%CI 1.05 - 2.69), few (OR = 2.53; 95%CI 1.44 - 4.46) and many quarrels in family (OR = 9.13; 95%CI 4.53 - 18.39), report of unkind and unhelpful peers (OR = 2.21; 95%CI 1.11 - 4.43), consumption of fruits CONCLUSIONS: Poor self-rated health among adolescents was associated with individual and socio-environmental characteristics related to family, school and neighborhood issues. Quantifying the self-rated health according to the theoretical framework of the child's well-being should help in arguing that self-rated health might be a strong indicator of social inequities for the studied population.</sec