Using Citizen Scientists to Gather, Analyze, and Disseminate Information About Neighborhood Features That Affect Active
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Using Citizen Scientists to Gather, Analyze, and Disseminate Information About Neighborhood Features That Affect Active Living Sandra J. Winter1 • Lisa Goldman Rosas1,6 • Priscilla Padilla Romero2 • Jylana L. Sheats1 • Matthew P. Buman3 • Cathleen Baker4 • Abby C. King1,5
Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract Many Latinos are insufficiently active, partly due to neighborhoods with little environmental support for physical activity. Multi-level approaches are needed to create health-promoting neighborhoods in disadvantaged communities. Participant ‘‘citizen scientists’’ were adolescent (n = 10, mean age = 12.8 ± 0.6 years) and older adult (n = 10, mean age = 71.3 ± 6.5 years), low income Latinos in North Fair Oaks, California. Citizen scientists conducted environmental assessments to document perceived barriers to active living using the Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool, which records GPS-tracked walking routes, photographs, audio narratives, and survey responses. Using a community-engaged approach, citizen scientists subsequently attended a community meeting to engage in advocacy training, review assessment data, prioritize issues to address and brainstorm potential solutions and partners. Citizen scientists each conducted a neighborhood environmental assessment and recorded 366
photographs and audio narratives. Adolescents (n = 4), older adults (n = 7) and community members (n = 4) collectively identified reducing trash and improving personal safety and sidewalk quality as the priority issues to address. Three adolescent and four older adult citizen scientists volunteered to present study findings to key stakeholders. This study demonstrated that with minimal training, low-income, Latino adolescent and older adult citizen scientists can: (1) use innovative technology to gather information about features of their neighborhood environment that influence active living, (2) analyze their information and identify potential solutions, and (3) engage with stakeholders to advocate for the development of healthier neighborhoods. Keywords Physical activity Built environment Latinos Mobile technology Community engaged approach
Background & Sandra J. Winter [email protected] 1
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Suite 100, 1070 Arastradero Road, Stanford, CA 94304, USA
2
Fair Oaks Health Center, San Mateo Medical Center, San Mateo, CA, USA
3
School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA
4
Health Policy and Planning, San Mateo County Health System, San Mateo, CA, USA
5
Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
6
Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
Disadvantaged populations (e.g., minorities, immigrants, low socioeconomic status individuals) are disproportionately represented among the 60 million Americans classified as obese and thus at risk for chronic conditions such as type 2 d
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