Accurate measurement of the social context in which individuals live and interact is important for understanding many important well-being outcomes. Despite the relevance of neighborhood context and activity space data for social, behavioral, and medical research, several issues challenge the collection of data. First, precise spatial measures of neighborhood context and activity spaces are difficult to collect, particularly in settings without comprehensive number address systems. A second challenge to collecting neighborhood context and activity space data is that instruments have not taken full advantage of the visual cues, maps, and imagery that are likely to increase respondent spatial recall. This project's aims directly address these challenges. First, the project designs an innovative computer assisted interview (CAI) instrument that can easily be used by both interviewers and respondents. The instrument will be able to measure the location of features at whatever level of precision the respondent provides, from exact points to general spatial locations with higher degrees of uncertainty. Second, this project formally compares the quality of data collected using the CAI instrument to data collected using a standard paper-based instrument. Third, to demonstrate how these data can be used to advance knowledge, we test hypotheses comparing the overlap in residential neighborhood context and activity spaces among important population subgroups at our study site. The degree to which residential neighborhood context differs from activity spaces is an important factor because expanded activity spaces can be theorized as a mechanism of change. Our tests of hypotheses may suggest additional research in activity spaces as factors behind differentials in marriage, fertility, health-seeking, and othe behaviors that are rapidly changing in many developing settings. The project is able to meet these aims by taking advantage of the recent affordability of two important technologies: highly detailed field-based geographic information systems (GIS) and multi-touch displays. We expect this new tool to improve measurement methods for investigators who collect neighborhood context and activity space data.

Public Health Relevance

creates and evaluates a computer assisted interview instrument for collecting activity space and neighborhood context data. Accurately measuring multiple aspects of social context is important for understanding many well-being outcomes

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21HD073758-02
Application #
8677934
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (SSPB)
Program Officer
Bures, Regina M
Project Start
2013-06-15
Project End
2015-03-31
Budget Start
2014-04-01
Budget End
2015-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$141,517
Indirect Cost
$26,437
Name
Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
Department
Social Sciences
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
943360412
City
Tempe
State
AZ
Country
United States
Zip Code
85287
Yabiku, Scott T; Glick, Jennifer E; Wentz, Elizabeth A et al. (2017) Comparing Paper and Tablet Modes of Retrospective Activity Space Data Collection. Surv Res Methods 11:329-344