Information for Users: Please read the Proper Use Disclaimer for directions on using tools and measures posted here.
We have tools and measures that are suitable for researchers, practitioners, and community advocates to use in assessing the built and social environments for physical activity. Please see the Overview of Tools and Measures for Active Environments and Physical Activity to see which one(s) may be most appropriate for your work.
Instruments denoted with an asterick (***) were supported by Active Living Research.
Community Audit Tools
Table Comparing Community Audit Tools
A summary table comparing several of the audit tools listed below, in terms of which features they measure, is available.
Analytic Audit Tool and Checklist Audit Tool
Saint Louis University
The Analytic and Checklist Audit Tools were developed to measure features of the street-scale environment related to recreational- and transportation-based physical activity.
Systematic Pedestrian and Cycling Environmental Scan (SPACES) Instrument
The University of Western Australia
SPACES is a comprehensive instrument that is designed to measure the physical environmental factors that may influence walking and cycling in local neighbourhoods.
Twin Cities Walking Survey***
University of Minnesota
The Twin Cities Walking Survey is a compilation of measures from a variety of sources to measure quality of life, perceptions of neighborhood environment, physical activity, psychosocial predictors of physical activity, demographics, and pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Irvine Minnesota Inventory***
University of California, Irvine
University of Minnesota
The Irvine Minnesota Inventory can be used to facilitate in-person measurement of a broad range of built environment characteristics that are potentially linked to active living.
Measurement Instrument for Urban Design Quantities Related to Walkability***
University of Maryland
The Measurement Instrument for Urban Design Quantities provides operational definitions and measurement protocols for five urban design qualities of streetscapes.
Physical Activity Resource Assessment (PARA) Instrument
University of Houston
The PARA instrument is a brief, one-page instrument to systematically document and describe the type, features, amenities, quality and incivilities of a variety of physical activity resources.
Pedestrian Environment Data Scan (PEDS) Tool***
University of Maryland
The PEDS instrument was developed to measure environmental features that relate to walking in varied environments in the US. It is an adaptation of Terri Pikora’s SPACES to the US environment, focusing solely on the pedestrian environment.
SOPLAY: System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth
San Diego State University
SOPLAY is a validated direct observation tool for assessing physical activity and associated environmental characteristics in free play settings (e.g., recess and lunch at school).
Saint Louis Environment and Physical Activity Instrument
Saint Louis University School of Public Health
The St. Louis Environment and Phyisical Activity Instrument measures perceived environmental influences on physical activity.
Environmental Supports for Physical Activity Questionnaire
University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center
The Environmental Supports for Physical Activity Questionnaire instrument includes an assessment of the physical and social environments, including perceptions of the community environment, safety, access to recreation and shopping destinations, and conditions of the neighborhood and facilities.
Neighborhood Environment Walkability Survey (NEWS)
Neighborhood Environment Walkability Survey – Abbreviated (NEWS-A)
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
San Diego State University
The NEWS is a 98-question instrument developed to determine the perception of neighborhood design features hypothesized to be related to physical activity.
The abbreviated version of the NEWS instrument was derived based on multi-level factor analysis performed on the original NEWS instrument using a subsample of participants in the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study.
Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale - Youth (NEWS-Y)
Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center,
University of Washington
The NEWS-Y is a 67-question instrument developed to determine the perception of neighborhood design features hypothesized to be related to physical activity in youth.
Walking and Bicycling Suitability Assessment (WABSA)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health
The WABSA is a walking and bicycling audit method for communities and researchers that was developed and validated at the UNC School of Public Heath.
The Rural Active Living Assessment (RALA) Tools
Maine Rural Health Research Center, University of Southern Maine
University of Alabama
University of Mississippi
Tufts University
The RALA Tools assess the physical environment features and amenities, town characteristics, community programs, and policies that could potentially influence levels of physical activity among residents in rural communities.
Active Where? Surveys***
University of California, San Diego
San Diego State University
Seattle Children's Hospital
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Active Where? is a survey of environmental measures specific to youth physical activity and eating.
PIN3 Neighborhood Audit Instrument
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The PIN3 Neighborhood Audit Instrument is to be used street-by-street to assess characteristics that may be associated with walking and bicycling.
Park Audit Tools
BRAT-Direct Observation (BRAT-DO)***
Louisiana State University School of Public Health
The BRAT-DO Instrument is one of several that measures the environmental characteristics of parks.
Environmental Assessment of Public Recreation Spaces (EAPRS) Tool***
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
The EAPRS Measurement Tool provides a comprehensive direct observation assessment of the physical environments of parks and playgrounds.
Path Environment Audit Tool (PEAT)***
Harvard School of Public Health
University of Connecticut
PEAT is a computer-based instrument that can be used by trained observers to assess physical characteristics of community trails and paths.
Core Measures of Trail Use***
University of Southern California
IUPUI
Harvard School of Public Health
The Core Measures of Trail Use is a comprehensive core set of questionnaire items that measure perceived trail use (for recreation and transportation) and perceived factors that may influence trail use in different populations.
SOPARC: System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities
San Diego State University
RAND Corporation
SOPARC is a validated direct observation tool for assessing physical activity and associated people and environmental characteristics in park and recreation settings.
Other
School Physical Activity Policy Assessment (S-PAPA)***
S-PAPA is a tool to assess physical activity related to physical education, recess, and other physical activity opportunities at elementary schools.
Walking Route Audit Tool for Seniors (WRATS)
San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego
WRATS is an audit tool to be used by researchers and as well as laypeople to identify the best walking routes for older adults.
SOFIT: System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time
San Diego State University
SOFIT is a comprehensive tool for assessing physical education classes by providing for the simultaneous collection of data on student activity levels, the lesson context, and teacher behavior.
BEACHES: Behaviors of Eating and Activity for Children's Health - Evaluation System
San Diego State University
BEACHES is a comprehensive tool for assessing children's at home physical activity and sedentary behaviors and selected environmental (social and physical) variables that may influence these events.
Nutrition Environment Measures Survey
The Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) is tool and training program on the nutrition environment measures for researchers, community advocates, and leaders. Training sessions are regularly offered.
NCI Standardized Surveys of Walking & Bicycling Database
The NCI Standardized Surveys of Walking & Bicycling Database contains survey questions and a list of validation studies for standardized survey questions concerning walking and biking from multiple national and international physical activity surveys and questionnaires (PAQs). The purpose of this database is to provide easy access to a large number of questions assessing duration and frequency of walking and bicycling in the non-disabled adult population. The results of validation studies identified for some of the PAQs are briefly reviewed.
SAS Programs to Analyze NHANES Accelerometer Data
For those interested in analyzing the NHANES 2003-2004 accelerometer data, SAS programs created by National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers are available to perform selected data edits and create per-day and per-person summary variables. Users can modify these programs to apply alternate definitions of valid data, monitor wear periods, or activity bouts. A program is also available to convert data downloaded from ActiGraph accelerometers to the data layout used in NHANES so that the data preparation programs can be used on those data as well. l. Please note that intermediate level SAS programming skills are needed to modify the provided code and that only limited technical support is available from NCI. The SAS programs are available from the NCI website.
CDC BRFSS County-Level Variables
The CDC Behavioral Surveillance Branch (BSB) has released a county-level dataset to supplement the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) public use data file. The purpose of the supplement dataset is to identify county-level variables that are likely to be correlated with BRFSS core health outcomes and risk factors such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, asthma, physical activity, obesity, and smoking. This supplement dataset allows users to compare health behaviors and outcomes while adjusting for county-level variables. These variables include health care delivery information, health and vital statistics indicators, environmental measures, crime statistics, business indicators, and poverty/income figures. A total of 22 variables are included.
CDC BRFSS Chronic Disease and the Environment Data Available
The CDC’s Behavioral Surveillance Branch has released the 2004 and 2005 BRFSS data on Chronic Disease and the Environment. The online Chronic Disease and the Environment datasets combine BRFSS data with environmental information available from other sources such as the EPA, the United States Geological Survey, and state and local monitoring networks to compare measures of environmental quality and chronic disease.
Measures of the Food Environment
The National Cancer Institute has launched the Measures of Food Environment Web site that provides a searchable compilation of articles that include community-level measures of the food environment, as well as some of the instruments themselves.
MeterPlus
Santech, Inc. has developed MeterPlus, a user-friendly software application to screen, clean & score ActiGraph accelerometer data.
Accelerometer Data Collection and Scoring Manual for Adults and Senior Studies
The Manual is a comprehensive accelerometer data collection, data screening, and data processing manual created as part of the Neighborhood Quality of Life and the Senior Neighborhood Quality of Life Studies, both of which used mail delivery and retrieval methods.
