Rating neighborhoods for older adult health: results from the African American Health study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Social theories suggest that neighborhood quality affects health. Observer ratings of neighborhoods should be subjected to psychometric tests.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>African American Health (AAH) study subjects...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2008-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/35 |
| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Social theories suggest that neighborhood quality affects health. Observer ratings of neighborhoods should be subjected to psychometric tests.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>African American Health (AAH) study subjects were selected from two diverse St. Louis metropolitan catchment areas. Interviewers rated streets and block faces for 816 households. Items and a summary scale were compared across catchment areas and to the resident respondents' global neighborhood assessments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Individual items and the scale were strongly associated with both the catchment area and respondent assessments. Ratings based on both block faces did not improve those based on a single block face. Substantial interviewer effects were observed despite strong discriminant and concurrent validity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Observer ratings show promise in understanding the effect of neighborhood on health outcomes. The AAH Neighborhood Assessment Scale and other rating systems should be tested further in diverse settings.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1471-2458 |