Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Inter-Rater Reliability of the Food Environment Audit for Diverse Neighborhoods (FEAD-N)

  • Published:
Journal of Urban Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Studies have shown that neighborhood food environments are important influences on dietary intake and may contribute to health disparities. While instruments with high reliability have been developed to assess food availability, price, and quality, few measures to assess items associated with the physical and social features of food stores have been developed. Yet, recent qualitative studies have documented aspects associated with such features of urban food stores that are barriers to food acquisition. We assessed the reliability of measures to assess multiple components of the food environment—including physical and social store features—in three geographically distinct and diverse communities in Detroit, Michigan, using the Food Environment Audit for Diverse Neighborhoods (FEAD-N). Using the FEAD-N, four trained observers conducted observations of 167 food stores over a 10-week period between October and December 2008. To assess inter-rater reliability, two trained observers independently visited, on the same day, a random subset of 44 food stores. Kappa statistics and percent agreement were used to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Overall, the instrument had mostly high inter-rater reliability with more than 75% of items with kappa scores between 0.80 and 1.00, indicating almost perfect reliability. More than half of the physical store features and 47% of the social store features had almost perfect reliability and about 37% and 47%, respectively, had substantial reliability. Measuring factors associated with the physical and social environment of food stores with mostly high reliability is feasible. Systematic documentation of the physical and social features of food stores using objective measures may promote a more comprehensive understanding of how neighborhood food environments influence health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lane SD, Keefe RH, Rubinstein R, et al. Structural violence, urban retail food markets, and low birth weight. Health Place. 2008;14:415-423.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Morland K, Wing S, Diez Roux AV. The contextual effects of the local food environment on residents’ diets: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study. Am J Public Health. 2002;92:1761-1767.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Franco M, Diez Roux AV, Glass TA, Caballero B, Brancati FL. Neighborhood characteristics and availability of healthy foods in Baltimore. Am J Prev Med. 2008;35(6):561-567.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Cannuscio CC, Weiss EE, Asch DA. The contribution of urban foodways to health disparities. J Urban Health. 2010;87(3):381-393.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Franco M, Diez-Roux AV, Nettleton JA, et al. Availability of healthy foods and dietary patterns: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89:987-904.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Kumar S, Quinn SC, Krista AM, Thomas SB. “Food is directed to the area” African Americans’ perceptions of the neighborhood nutrition environment in Pittsburgh. Health Place. 2010;doi:10:1016./j.healthplace.2010.11.017

  7. Glanz K, Sallis JF, Saelens BE, Frank LD. Healthy nutrition environments: concepts and measures. Am J Health Promot. 2005;19(5):330-333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Israel BA, James SA, Bao S, Wilson ML. Fruit and vegetable access differs by community racial composition and socioeconomic position in Detroit, Michigan. Ethn Dis. 2006;16:275-280.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Israel BA, James SA, Bao S, Wilson ML. Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit. Am J Public Health. 2005;95(4):660-667.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Morland K, Filomena S. Disparities in the availability of fruits and vegetables between racially segregated urban neighborhoods. Public Health Nutr. 2007;10(12):1481-1489.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Powell LM, Slater S, Mirtcheva D, Bao Y, Chaloupka FJ. Food store availability and neighborhood characteristics in the United States. Prev Med. 2007;44:189-195.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Larson NI, Story MT, Nelson MC. Neighborhood environments: disparities in access to healthy foods in the U.S. Am J Prev Med. 2009;36(1):74-81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Cheadle A, Psaty BM, Curry S, et al. Community-level comparisons between the grocery store environment and individual dietary practices. Prev Med. 1991;20:250-261.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Horowitz CR, KA C, Hebert PL, Lancaster K. Barriers to buying healthy foods for people with diabetes: evidence of environmental disparities. Am J Public Health. 2004;94(9):1549-1554.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Baker EA, Schootman M, Barnridge E, Kelly C. The role of race and poverty in access to foods that enable individuals to adhere to dietary guidelines. Preventing Chron Dis. 2006;3(3):A76.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Moore LV, Diez Roux AV. Associations of neighborhood characteristics with the location and type of food stores. Am J Public Health. 2006;96(2):325-331.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Cummins S, Smith DM, Taylor M, et al. Variations in fresh fruit and vegetable quality by store type, urban–rural setting and neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland. Public Health Nutr. 2009;12(11):2044-2050.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Andreyeva T, Blumenthal DM, Schwartz MB, Long MW, Brownell KD. Availability and prices of foods across stores and neighborhoods: the case of New Haven, Connecticut. Health Aff (Millwood). 2008;27(5):1381-1388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Moore LV, Diez Roux AV, Nettleton JA, Jacobs DR. Associations of the local food environment with diet quality—a comparison of assessments based on surveys and geographic information systems: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Am J Epidemiol. 2008;167:917-924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Rose D, Hutchinson PL, Bodor N, et al. Neighborhood food environments and body mass index: the importance of in-store contents. Am J Prev Med. 2009;37:214-219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Zenk SN, Odoms-Young AM, Dallas C, et al. “You have to hunt for the fruits, the vegetables”: environmental barriers and adaptive strategies to acquire food in a low-income African American neighborhood. Health Educ Behav. 2010;doi:10.1177/1090198110372877.

  22. Lee J. The salience of race in everyday life: Black customers’ shopping experiences in Black and White neighborhoods. Work Occup. 2000;27:353-376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Rose D. Captive audience? Strategies for acquiring food in two Detroit neighborhoods. Qual Health Res. 2010;doi:10.1177/1049732310387159.

  24. Aylott R, VW M. An exploratory study of grocery shopping stressors. Br Food J. 1998;101(9):683–700.

  25. Gittelsohn J, Sharma S. Physical, consumer, and social aspects of measuring the food environment among diverse low-income populations. Am J Prev Med. 2009;36(4S):S161-S165.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Odoms-Young A, Zenk S, Mason M. Measuring food availability and access in African-American communities. Am J Prev Med. 2009;36(4S):S145-S150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Treuhaft S, Hamm MW, Litjens C. Healthy Food for All: Building Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems in Detroit and Oakland. Lansing, MI: PolicyLink, Fair Food Network, and the C.S. Mott Network; 2009.

  28. Cohen DA, Schoeff D, Farley TA, Bluthenthal R, Scribner R, Overton A. Reliability of a store observation tool in measuring availability of alcohol and selected foods. J Urban Health. 2007;84(6):807-813.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Glanz K, Mullis RM. Environmental interventions to promote healthy eating: a review of models, programs, and evidence. Health Educ Behav. 1988;15:395-415.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Seymour JD, Yaroch AL, Serdula M, Blanck HM, Khan LK. Impact of nutrition environmental interventions on point-of-purchase behavior in adults: a review. Prev Med. 2004;39:S108-S136.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Gittelsohn J, Suratkar S, Song HJ, et al. Process evaluation of Baltimore healthy stores: a pilot health intervention program with supermarkets and corner stores in Baltimore City. Health Promot Pract. 2010;11(5):723–732.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Song HJ, Gittelsohn J, Kim M, Suratka S, Sharma S, Anliker J. A corner store intervention in a low-income urban community is associated with increased availability and sales of some healthy foods. Public Health Nutr. 2009;12:2060-2067.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Glanz K, Sallis JF, Saelens BE, Frank LD. Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S). Am J Prev Med. 2007;32(4):282-289.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. National Cancer Institute. Measures of the food environment. https://riskfactor.cancer.gov/mfe. Accessed June 7, 2011.

  35. Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Izumi B, Sand S, Lockett M, Odoms-Young A. Development, evolution, and implementation of a food audit. In: Israel BA, Eng E, Schulz AJ, Parker E, eds. Methods for Conducting Community-based Participatory Research for Health. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. under review.

  36. Schulz AJ, Kannan S, Dvonch JT, et al. Social and physical environments and disparities in risk for cardiovascular disease: the Healthy Environments Partnership conceptual model. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113(12):1817-1825.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion Office of Health Policy Planning and Grants Management. 2004.

  38. Zenk SN, Grigsby-Toussaint DS, Curry SJ, Berbaum M, Schneider L. Short-term temporal stability in observed retail food characteristics. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2010;42:26-32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Sloane DC, Diamant AL, Lewis L, et al. Improving the nutritional resource environment for healthy living through community-based participatory research. J Gen Intern Med. 2003;18:568-575.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Odoms-Young AM, Zenk S, Chavez N. WIC vendor access and fruit and vegetable availability in Northern Illinois. http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/foodnutritionassistance/funding/RIDGEprojectSummary.asp?Summary_ID=187. Accessed February 7, 2010.

  41. Kittler PG, Sucher K. Food and Culture in America: a Nutrition Handbook. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Grigsby-Toussaint DS, Zenk SN, Odoms-Young A, Bruggiero L, Moise I. Availability of commonly consumed and culturally specific fruits and vegetables in African-American and Latino neighborhoods. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110(746–52).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Ruggiero L, Rodriguez-Sanchez M, Oros S. Translating the Diabetes Prevention Program’s (DPP) lifestyle intervention to the community: Making The Connection Latino Pilot Study. Diabetes. 2007;56(suppl 1):A226.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Akbar JA, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Fraser G, Herring RP, Yancey A. The contribution of soul and Caribbean foods to nutrient intake in a sample of Blacks of US and Caribbean descent in the Adventist Health Study-2: a pilot study. Ethn Dis. 2007;17:244-249.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Burrowes JD. Incorporating ethnic and cultural food preferences in the renal diet. Adv Ren Replace Ther. 2004;11:97-104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Satia-Aboutia J, Galanko JA, Martin CF, Ammerman A, Sandler RS. Food groups and colon cancer risk in African-Americans and Caucasians. Int J Cancer. 2004;109:728-736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Schulz AJ, Lempert LB. Being part of the world: Detroit women’s perceptions of health and the social environment. J Contemp Ethnogr. 2004;33(4):437-465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Schulz AJ, Israel BA, Coombe C, et al. A community-based participatory planning process and multilevel intervention design: toward eliminating cardiovascular health inequities. Health Promot Pract. 2011;12(6):900–11.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Schulz AJ, Zenk S, Odoms-Young A, et al. Healthy eating and exercising to reduce diabetes: exploring the potential of social determinants of health frameworks within the context of community-based participatory diabetes prevention. Am J Public Health. 2005;95(4):644-651.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Hollis-Neely T, et al. African-American fruit and vegetable intake: income and store characteristics. Am J Prev Med. 2005;29(1):1-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Lachance LL, et al. Multilevel correlates of satisfaction with neighborhood availability of fresh fruits and vegetables. Ann Behav Med. 2009;38:45-59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Mentz G, et al. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability: methods and results for the neighborhood observational checklist. Health Place. 2007;13(2):452-465.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Cohen DA, Mason K, Bedimo A, Scribner R, Basolo V, Farley TA. Neighborhood physical conditions and health. Am J Public Health. 2003;93:467-471.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Landis JR, Koch GG. The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics. 1977;33(1):159-174.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Boarnet M, Day K, Alfonzo M, Forsyth A, Oakes M. The Irvine-Minnesota Inventory to measure built environments: reliability tests. Am J Prev Med. 2006;30(2):153-159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Gloria CT, Steinhardt MA. Texas nutrition environment assessment of retail food stores (TxNEA-S): development and evaluation. Publ Health Nutr. 2010;doi:10.1017/S1368980010001588

  57. Clifton KJ. Mobility strategies and food shopping for low-income families: a case study. J Plan Educ Res. 2004;23:402-413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Cummins S, Findlay A, Higgins C, Petticrew M, Sparks L, Thomson H. Reducing inequalities in health and diet: findings from a study on the impact of a food retail development. Environ Plan A. 2008;40:402-422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Israel BA, Schulz AJ, Parker EA, Becker AB. Review of community-based research: assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annu Rev Public Health. 1998;19:173-202.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The Healthy Environments Partnership (HEP, www.hepdetroit.org) is affiliated with the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (www.sph.umich.edu/urc). We thank the HEP Steering Committee for their contributions to the work presented here, including representatives from Brightmoor Community Center, Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Friends of Parkside, Henry Ford Health System, University of Michigan School of Public Health and Survey Research Center, and Warren Conner Development Coalition. We also thank the two anonymous peer reviewers for their insights and detailed suggestions. HEP is funded by the National institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS), no. R01 ES10936 and no. R01 ES014234. The results presented here are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIEHS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Portland State University School of Community Health, 506 SW Mill Street, Suite 450, Portland, OR, 97201, USA

    Betty T. Izumi

  2. College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 S. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL, 60612-7350, USA

    Shannon N. Zenk

  3. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA

    Amy J. Schulz, Graciela B. Mentz & Sharon L. Sand

  4. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1425 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Ricardo F. de Majo

  5. Rebuilding Communities Incorporated, Detroit, MI, USA

    Christine Wilson

  6. Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, 643 Applied Health Sciences Bldg., 1919 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

    Angela Odoms-Young

Authors
  1. Betty T. Izumi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shannon N. Zenk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Amy J. Schulz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Graciela B. Mentz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sharon L. Sand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ricardo F. de Majo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Christine Wilson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Angela Odoms-Young
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Betty T. Izumi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Izumi, B.T., Zenk, S.N., Schulz, A.J. et al. Inter-Rater Reliability of the Food Environment Audit for Diverse Neighborhoods (FEAD-N). J Urban Health 89, 486–499 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9657-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9657-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation