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Subjective Happiness Scale

The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) is a 4-item scale of global subjective happiness. Two items ask respondents to characterize themselves using both absolute ratings and ratings relative to peers, whereas the other two items offer brief descriptions of happy and unhappy individuals and ask respondents the extent to which each characterization describes them. The SHS has been validated in 14 studies with a total of 2,732 participants.

Author of Tool: 
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S.

Analytic Audit Tool and Checklist Audit Tool

To understand the relationships between street-scale environments and rates of physical activity, it is crucial to develop reliable methods of measurement. Community audits are commonly used to test the possibilities to walk and/or cycle in the environments. Audit tools were collected from the peer-reviewed literature, the Internet, and via experts from a variety of backgrounds. Two versions of an audit instrument were created: an analytic (with Likert scale and ordinal response choices) and a checklist (with dichotomous response choices) audit tool. Audits were conducted in St. Louis,...

Author of Tool: 
Brownson, R. C., Brennan Ramirez, L. K., Hoehner, C. M., Cook, R. A.

Systematic Pedestrian and Cycling Environmental Scan (SPACES) Instrument

The Systematic Pedestrian and Cycling Environmental Scan (SPACES) Instrument is based on a study (Pikora et al., 2006) which collected information related to the physical environment in a 408-km2 area of metropolitan Perth. Hepburn Avenue, Lord Street Beechboro, Point Resolution and the coast form the borders for the area. Approximately 2,000 kilometres of road network were audited during February and March 2000 using SPACES. Some areas were audited twice to act as a quality control measure.

Author of Tool: 
Pikora, T., Giles-Corti, B., Bull, F., Knuiman, M., Jamrozik, K., Donovan, R.

Twin Cities Walking Survey

The Twin Cities Walking Survey was developed for a Round 2 Active Living Research grant in St. Paul, Minnesota, for which Ann Forsyth is the principal investigator. At the 2004 ALR conference, all round 2 grantees with projects focused on community and correlates of physical activity gathered for a meeting to discuss common measures. The Twin Cities Walking Study is the result of that discussion. Ann Forsyth’s crew led the effort to compile this instrument mostly because they were the first in the field. It takes approximately 45 minutes to complete the survey as an interview. Pilot...

Author of Tool: 
Kathryn H. Schmitz

Irvine Minnesota Inventory

Understanding the impact of the built environment on physical activity levels requires reliable methods to measure potentially relevant built environment features. The Irvine Minnesota Inventory was designed to measure a wide range of built environment features that are potentially linked to active living, especially walking. The Irvine Minnesota inventory includes 160 items, which cover four domains: accessibility (62 items), pleasurability (56 items), perceived safety from traffic (31 items), and perceived safety from crime (15 items). The inventory includes both a paper version and a...

Author of Tool: 
Kristen Day, Marlon Boarnet, Mariela Alfonzo, Ann Forsyth.

Measurement Instrument for Urban Design Quantities Related to Walkability

An operational definitions and measurement protocols for six intangible qualities of the urban environment, specifically: imageability, visual enclosure, human scale, transparency, complexity, and tidiness; was developed in order to study relationships between the built environment and walking behaviour.

Author of Tool: 
Reid Ewing, Otto Clemente, Susan Handy, Emily Winston, Ross C. Brownson

Young Child PTSD Checklist

Author of Tool: 
Michael Scheeringa, MD, MPH

Young Child PTSD Screen

The structure of six items was based upon the desire to identify youth who have at least five PTSD symptoms. When young children are diagnosed with a developmentally sensitive algorithm (Scheeringa et al., 2003; Scheeringa, Zeanah, and Cohen, 2010), the average number of symptoms ranges from seven to 10, and clinical intervention trials typically require at least five symptoms for inclusion (Cohen et al., 2004; Scheeringa et al., in press).

The YCPS has not been used in a study yet. These wordings are derived from years of experience of conducting interviews and designing diagnostic...

Author of Tool: 
Michael Scheeringa, MD, MPH

System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time

SOFIT (System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time) 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. Physical activity engagement is one of the main health-related goals of physical education and it is needed in order for students to become physically fit and physically skilled. Participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during class is highly dependent upon how physical education subject matter is delivered (i.e., lesson context)...

Author of Tool: 
Thomas L. McKenzie, Ph.D.

Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS)

See the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) website below for more information on tools and training opportunities.

Author of Tool: 
Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, Margaret Clawson, MPH, Erica Davis, Brian Saelens, PhD, Jim Sallis, PhD

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