Effects of Light Rail Transit on Physical Activity: A Natural Experiment

轻轨交通对身体活动的影响：一项自然实验

• 批准号: 8734421
• 负责人: Harold Willis Kohl
• 金额: $ 60.93万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-12 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8734421
• 关键词: Accounting; Active Biological Transport; Adult; Affect; Area; Behavior; Behavior Therapy; Behavioral Sciences; Biometry; Cardiovascular Diseases; Choice Behavior; Chronic Disease; Cities; Clinical; Communities; Data; Demographic Factors; Destinations; Effectiveness; Engineering; Environment; Environmental Risk Factor; Epidemiology; Ethnic Origin; Evaluation; Frequencies; Funding; Future; Goals; Health; Household; Individual; Intervention; Investments; Life; Light; Long-Term Effects; Low income; Malignant Neoplasms; Measures; Mediator of activation protein; Minority; Modeling; Natural experiment; Nature; Neighborhoods; Obesity; Occupational; Participant; Pathway interactions; Patient Self-Report; Pattern; Perception; Physical activity; Play; Policies; Policy Maker; Population; Prevalence; Public Health; Race; Recreation; Research; Research Infrastructure; Rest; Risk Factors; Role; Schools; Soccer; Social Environment; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; Specialist; Stress; Subgroup; Swimming; System; Target Populations; Techniques; Texas; Time; Transportation; Travel; United States; Variant; Walking; Work; base; behavior influence; contextual factors; design; diaries; evidence base; follow-up; improved; infrastructure development; interest; intervention effect; light effects; public health relevance; social; socioeconomics; success; uptake

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Physical inactivity is a known risk factor for obesity and related chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Substantial variations exist in physical activity and obesity by various factors such as socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Recent research has clarified the multiple domains of physical activity (discretionary, household, transport-related and occupational) as well as the role that the built environment can play in supporting or impeding physical activity. It is now clear that transport-related physical activity, i.e. activity undertaken to get to a destination, can help play a major role in achieving recommended levels of physical activity. Public transit is a natural candidate for study in this regard because use of transit almost invariably requires some degree of activity to travel to and from the stops, such as walking or biking. The purpose of the proposed time-sensitive project is to evaluate, in the context of a natural experiment, the short and long-term effect of a new light rail transit (LRT) system on adult's physical activity in Houston, Texas. We are particularly interested in understanding this effect in the low-income, ethnically diverse adul population residing along the LRT line. This study is possible because of an ongoing expansion of the city's LRT system. To accomplish this goal, we propose the following three specific aims in 1,400 residents living within a half-mile of the new rails lines and 500 living beyond walking distance of the lines: (1) Evaluate the short-term (<12 months) and long-term (24 & 36 months) impact of accessibility to a new LRT line on LRT and overall transit use; (2) Evaluate the short- and long-term impact of LRT use on transit-related and overall physical activity levels; and (3) Using travel choice modeling techniques, examine the factors (such as demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors) influencing individuals' LRT mode choice decision, as well as the relation between individuals' LRT mode choice and active-travel behavior choices. We will assess typical travel patterns and transit use with travel diaries; self-reported physical activity; measure resident perceptions of the neighborhood environment; conduct on-the-ground neighborhood audits; and develop GIS-based profiles of the built environment of study neighborhoods. A subgroup of 1000 participants (500 each in intervention and control areas) will wear accelerometers for one week to provide a direct measure of physical activity. Baseline data will be collected prior to the lines' opening in late December 2013, with follow-up occurring once a year for three years. This proposed project improves substantially upon related prior studies. First, with a follow-up of three years post-LRT opening, we will be able to determine sustainability of changes to physical activity. Second, our target population is primarily minority and lower income, a collectively understudied group regarding physical activity. The population is also representative of demographic changes projected to occur in the rest of the Unites States. Third, we have a strong interdisciplinary team of consisting of specialists in epidemiology and public health, biostatistics, behavioral science and transportation engineering.

描述（由申请人提供）：缺乏身体活动是肥胖和相关慢性疾病（包括心血管疾病和某些癌症）的已知风险因素。由于社会经济地位和种族/民族等各种因素，体力活动和肥胖存在很大差异。最近的研究已经澄清了身体活动的多个领域（自由裁量，家庭，交通相关和职业）以及建筑环境在支持或阻碍身体活动方面的作用。现在很清楚，与交通有关的身体活动，即为到达目的地而进行的活动，可以帮助实现建议的身体活动水平。公共交通是这方面研究的一个自然候选者，因为使用公共交通几乎总是需要一定程度的活动来往返于车站，如步行或骑自行车。建议的时间敏感的项目的目的是评估，在自然实验的背景下，一个新的轻轨交通（LRT）系统对成人的身体活动在得克萨斯州休斯敦的短期和长期的影响。我们特别有兴趣了解这种影响，在低收入，种族多样化的成年人口居住沿着轻轨线。这项研究是可能的，因为城市的轻轨系统正在扩大。为达致这个目标，我们建议在1，400名居住在新铁路缐半英里范围内及500名居住在步行距离以外的居民中，实施以下三个具体目的：（12个月以下）和长期（24和36个月）新轻轨线路的可达性对轻轨和整体交通使用的影响;（2）评估使用轻轨对交通相关和整体身体活动水平的短期和长期影响;（3）利用出行选择模型技术，（如人口、社会经济和环境因素）影响个人的轻轨交通方式选择决策，以及个人轻轨交通方式选择与积极出行行为选择之间的关系。我们将评估典型的旅行模式和交通使用与旅行日记;自我报告的身体活动;测量居民对邻里环境的看法;进行实地邻里审计;并开发基于GIS的研究社区建筑环境的配置文件。一个由1000名参与者组成的小组（干预和控制区域各500名）将佩戴加速度计一周，以直接测量身体活动。基线数据将在2013年12月下旬热线开通前收集，随访每年一次，为期三年。该项目的提出大大改善了相关的先前研究。首先，在轻轨开通后的三年随访中，我们将能够确定身体活动变化的可持续性。其次，我们的目标人群主要是少数民族和低收入人群，这是一个关于体育活动的集体研究不足的群体。人口也代表了预计在美国其他地区发生的人口变化。第三，我们拥有一支强大的跨学科团队，包括流行病学和公共卫生，生物统计学，行为科学和交通工程方面的专家。