Abstract

Citation

Oldenburg B, Sallis JF, Harris D, Owen N. Checklist of Health Promotion Environments at Worksites (CHEW): development and measurement characteristics. Am J Health Promot 2002 May-Jun;16(5):288-99.

Abstract

PURPOSE: Health promotion policy frameworks, recent theorizing, and research all emphasize understanding and mobilizing environmental influences to change particular health-related behaviors in specific settings. The workplace is a key environmental setting. The Checklist of Health Promotion Environments at Worksites (CHEW) was designed as a direct observation instrument to assess characteristics of worksite environments that are known to influence health-related behaviors. METHODS: The CHEW is a 112-item checklist of workplace environmental features hypothesized to be associated, both positively and negatively, with physical activity, healthy eating, alcohol consumption, and smoking. The three environmental domains assessed are (1) physical characteristics of the worksite, (2) features of the information environment, and (3) characteristics of the immediate neighborhood around the workplace. The conceptual rationale and development studies for the CHEW are described, and data from observational studies of 20 worksites are reported. RESULTS: The data on CHEW-derived environmental attributes showed generally good reliability and identified meaningful sets of variables that plausibly may influence health-related behaviors. With the exception of one information environment attribute, intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.80 to 1.00. Descriptive statistics on selected physical and information environment characteristics indicated that vending machines, showers, bulletin boards, and signs prohibiting smoking were common across worksites. Bicycle racks, visible stairways, and signs related to alcohol consumption, nutrition, and health promotion were relatively uncommon. CONCLUSIONS: These findings illustrate the types of data on environmental attributes that can be derived, their relevance for program planning, and how they can characterize variability across worksites. The CHEW is a promising observational measure that has the potential to assess environmental influences on health behaviors and to evaluate workplace health promotion programs.

Full Text

The full text is available at https://dx.doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-16.5.288

At A Glance

Food Environment Variables

# Type of Environment/Institution
20Total Environments/Locations
20Worksites
Measure objective perceived
Availability/Access
Food Quality
Labeling/Point of Purchase Info
Marketing/Advertising/Promotion

Physical Activity Environment Variables

# Scale
-Building
-Neighborhood

Domain(s)

Food Environment

Physical Activity Environment

Measure Type

Environmental observation

Measure Availability

Measure included in article

Download measure from drjamessallis.sdsu.edu

Number of Items

112 Reported

Study location

New South Wales, Australia

20 worksites taking place in the National Workplace Health Project intervention trial

Languages

English

Information about Development of Measure

Nothing to add

Study Design

Study Participants

Age

Not applicable

Sex

Not applicable

Race/Ethnicity

Not reported

Predominantly Low-income/Low-SES

No

Sample Size

Not Available

Study Design

Design Type

Validation/Reliability

Descriptive

Health Outcomes Assessed

None

Obesity Measures

Not applicable

BMI Measured or Self-reported

Not applicable

Covariates

Not reported

Data Reported on Race/Ethnicity

Not applicable

Data Reported on SES

Qualitative description

SES-related Variables

Not applicable

How To Use

Administration

Who Administered

Researcher-administered

How Administered

In-person

Time Required

median 35 minutes

Training Required

Yes, time not reported

Instructions on Use

Not reported

Data Analysis

Data Collection/Analysis Costs

Not available

Data Collection/Protocol

Not available

Instructions on Data Analysis

Not reported

Validity (0)

There are no validity tests reported for this measure.

Reliability (5)

Type of reliability Construct/subscale assessed Test/statistic used Result
Inter-rater Nutrition Signs Intraclass correlation coefficient 1.00
Inter-rater Vending Machine Intraclass correlation coefficient 1.00
Inter-rater Health Promotion Boards Intraclass correlation coefficient 1.00
Inter-rater Health Promotion Signs Intraclass correlation coefficient 0.80
Inter-rater Alcohol Signs Intraclass correlation coefficient 1.00