Examination of Built Environment Instruments Addressing Health Promoting Behaviors for People with Disabilities

Despite an increasing realization of the importance of quantifying the effect of environmental factors on the lives and well-being of people with disabilities, existing instruments used to measure the built environment lack integration. Further, no consensus exists on which subject domains and methodological features are critical for measuring the impact of environmental factors on people with disabilities. This presentation will identify the commonalities and disparities across existing built environment measurement tools which measure health promotion accessibility and community livability for people with disabilities. Design factors demonstrating conflicting utility among groups are identified. A website, providing information on tool methodological features, including instrument development methods, research design, reliability/validity, instrument development literature, and tool web links is illustrated.

Results indicate that though the instruments demonstrate common domains across the areas of accessibility of community health promoting resources, walkability, and livability, differences exist across instrument development methodology, item design, and response categories. Recommendations are made on what instrument domains can be integrated into a comprehensive tool, which instruments are best developed into hybrid form, and how instruments can prioritize key challenges facing people with disabilities.