Moving the Barricades to Physical Activity: A Qualitative Analysis of Open Streets Initiatives Across the United States

PURPOSE

Ciclovía, or Open Streets initiatives, are events where streets are opened for physical activity and closed to motorized traffic. Although the initiatives are gaining popularity in the United States, little is known about planning and implementing them. The goals of this paper are to explore the development and implementation of Open Streets initiatives and make recommendations for increasing the capacity of organizers to enhance initiative success.

APPROACH

Phenomenology with qualitative analysis of structured interviews was used.

SETTING

Study setting was urban and suburban communities in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

Study participants were organizers of Open Streets initiatives in U.S. cities.

METHOD

Using a list of 47 events held in 2011, 27 lead organizers were interviewed by telephone about planning, implementation, and lessons learned. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. A phenomenologic approach was used, an initial coding tool was developed after reviewing a sample of transcripts, and constant comparative coding methodology was applied. Themes and subthemes were generated from codes.

RESULTS

The most common reasons for initiation were to highlight or improve health and transportation. Most initiatives aimed to reach the general population, but some targeted families, children, or specific neighborhoods. Getting people to understand the concept of Open Streets was an important challenge. Other challenges included lack of funding and personnel, and complex logistics.

CONCLUSION

These initiatives democratize public space for citizens while promoting physical activity, social connectedness, and other broad agendas. There are opportunities for the research community to contribute to the expanse and sustainability of Open Streets, particularly in evaluation and dissemination.

Development and Reliability Testing of a Fast-Food Restaurant Observation Form

PURPOSE

To develop a reliable observational data collection instrument to measure characteristics of the fast-food restaurant environment likely to influence consumer behaviors, including product availability, pricing, and promotion.

DESIGN

The study used observational data collection.

SETTING

Restaurants were in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area.

SUBJECTS

A total of 131 chain fast-food restaurant outlets were included.

MEASURES

Interrater reliability was measured for product availability, pricing, and promotion measures on a fast-food restaurant observational data collection instrument.

ANALYSIS

Analysis was done with Cohen's κ coefficient and proportion of overall agreement for categorical variables and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for continuous variables.

RESULTS

Interrater reliability, as measured by average κ coefficient, was .79 for menu characteristics, .84 for kids' menu characteristics, .92 for food availability and sizes, .85 for beverage availability and sizes, .78 for measures on the availability of nutrition information,.75 for characteristics of exterior advertisements, and .62 and .90 for exterior and interior characteristics measures, respectively. For continuous measures, average ICC was .88 for food pricing measures, .83 for beverage prices, and .65 for counts of exterior advertisements.

CONCLUSION

Over 85% of measures demonstrated substantial or almost perfect agreement. Although some measures required revision or protocol clarification, results from this study suggest that the instrument may be used to reliably measure the fast-food restaurant environment.

Lessons learned from community-based approaches to sodium reduction

PURPOSE

This article describes lessons from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative encompassing sodium reduction interventions in six communities.

DESIGN

A multiple case study design was used.

SETTING

This evaluation examined data from programs implemented in six communities located in New York (Broome County, Schenectady County, and New York City); California (Los Angeles County and Shasta County); and Kansas (Shawnee County).

SUBJECTS

Participants (n = 80) included program staff, program directors, state-level staff, and partners.

MEASURES

Measures for this evaluation included challenges, facilitators, and lessons learned from implementing sodium reduction strategies.

ANALYSIS

The project team conducted a document review of program materials and semistructured interviews 12 to 14 months after implementation. The team coded and analyzed data deductively and inductively.

RESULTS

Five lessons for implementing community-based sodium reduction approaches emerged: (1) build relationships with partners to understand their concerns, (2) involve individuals knowledgeable about specific venues early, (3) incorporate sodium reduction efforts and messaging into broader nutrition efforts, (4) design the program to reduce sodium gradually to take into account consumer preferences and taste transitions, and (5) identify ways to address the cost of lower-sodium products.

CONCLUSION

The experiences of the six communities may assist practitioners in planning community-based sodium reduction interventions. Addressing sodium reduction using a community-based approach can foster meaningful change in dietary sodium consumption.