Community Health Environment Scan Survey (CHESS): a novel tool that captures the impact of the built environment on lifestyle factors

Abstract

Background: Novel1

¹This study was performed on behalf of the Community Interventions for Health (CIH) collaboration.

efforts and accompanying tools are needed to tackle the global burden of chronic disease. This paper presents an approach to describe the environments in which people live, work, and play. Community Health Environment Scan Survey (CHESS) is an empirical assessment tool that measures the availability and accessibility, of healthy lifestyle options lifestyle options. CHESS reveals existing community assets as well as opportunities for change, shaping community intervention planning efforts by focusing on community-relevant opportunities to address the three key risk factors for chronic disease (i.e. unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use).

Methods: The CHESS tool was developed following a review of existing auditing tools and in consultation with experts. It is based on the social-ecological model and is adaptable to diverse settings in developed and developing countries throughout the world.

Results: For illustrative purposes, baseline results from the Community Interventions for Health (CIH) Mexico site are used, where the CHESS tool assessed 583 food stores and 168 restaurants. Comparisons between individual-level survey data from schools and community-level CHESS data are made to demonstrate the utility of the tool in strategically guiding intervention activities.

Conclusion: The environments where people live, work, and play are key factors in determining their diet, levels of physical activity, and tobacco use. CHESS is the first tool of its kind that systematically and simultaneously examines how built environments encourage/discourage healthy eating, physical activity, and tobacco use. CHESS can help to design community interventions to prevent chronic disease and guide healthy urban planning.

• physical activity
• nutrition
• tobacco use
• chronic disease
• environmental assessment
• built environment

Notes

¹This study was performed on behalf of the Community Interventions for Health (CIH) collaboration.

²At least 75% of all streets within the 400 m had to be covered in order for the scan to be complete for each radius.

³In consultation with a local researcher from Mexico City, fast food was defined as Americanized fast food, those outlets selling hamburger, pizza, hot dogs, and so on. Local researchers were not interested in looking at indigenous fast foods.