Development and testing of a community audit tool to assess rural built environments: Inventories for Community Health Assessment in Rural Towns.

ABSTRACT: Rural populations face unique challenges to physical activity that are largely driven by environmental conditions. However, research on rural built environments and physical activity is limited by a paucity of rural-specific environmental assessment tools. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and testing of a rural assessment tool: Inventories for Community Health Assessment in Rural Towns (iCHART). The iCHART tool was developed in 2013 through a multistep process consisting of an extensive literature search to identify existing tools, an expert panel review, and pilot testing in five rural US communities. Tool items represent rural built environment features that influence active living and physical activity: community design, transportation infrastructure, safety, aesthet

SUBMITTER: Seguin RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5496211 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature