| Have community members perform park audits |
CPAT, PARA |
The CPAT and PARA are most advantageous when having lay community members perform park audits, as both require low literacy levels and can be completed in a short time frame. If the community comprises predominately low-income members, the PARA may be of particular interest, because it was originally developed for use in low-income communities. The EAPRS, POST, and BRAT-DO are not ideal for use by lay community members unless extensive training is provided.
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| Obtain a quick assessment of a park’s potential to promote physical activity |
PARA, POST |
The PARA was the shortest measure reviewed (ie, 1 page) and can be completed in less than 10 min for a medium-sized park (ie, less than 1 city block). The POST is a little longer in length than the PARA (ie, 2.5 pages vs 1 page) and includes a more detailed assessment of park features and amenities than the PARA. However, we estimate the amount of time to conduct a park audit using the POST is not much longer than an audit using the PARA.
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| Obtain a comprehensive assessment of a park’s features |
EAPRS, BRAT-DO |
The EAPRS is the most comprehensive measure and includes detailed assessment for almost any type of park feature that may be present. However, data collectors using this measure will need extensive training, and the time needed to assess each park will likely take substantially longer than assessments made with shorter audit measures. The BRAT-DO, while less detailed than the EAPRS, strikes a good balance between detail of assessment, level of training for data collectors, and time to complete the audit. Moreover, it has better overall reliability estimates than the EAPRS. The decision to use either the EAPRS or BRAT-DO for a specific project should be determined based on the ultimate goal of the park audit and available resources to train data collectors and perform the park assessments.
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| Assess a park’s potential to promote child or adolescent physical activity |
CPAT |
The CPAT is ideal to assess a park’s potential to encourage child or adolescent physical activity, because this measure was specifically developed with a focus on assessing play areas for both children and adolescents. The EAPRS and BRAT-DO are also useful tools to evaluate a park’s potential to promote physical activity among children and adolescents because of their detailed assessment of park features designed for children. However, these measures are considerably longer than the CPAT and require a higher level of skill and literacy. Moreover, the EAPRS has lower inter-rater reliability estimates than both the CPAT and BRAT-DO. Accordingly, unless an extensive level of detail is needed, we recommend the CPAT be used to assess a park’s potential to encourage child and adolescent physical activity.
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| Assess a park’s potential to promote physical activity among people of all ages |
CPAT, BRAT-DO, EAPRS, PARA, POST |
All 5 of the audit tools reviewed were designed to assess a park’s potential to promote physical activity among people of all ages (although the CPAT placed a greater emphasis on children and adolescents). When selecting an audit tool to use for a specific project, we encourage data collectors to consider other factors that may influence the type of assessment needed (eg, skill needed, length of tool, characteristics of data collectors).
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| Obtain a middle-of-the-road assessment when considering factors of time to complete the assessment, skill required, validity, reliability, and level of detail needed |
CPAT, BRAT-DO |
The CPAT and BRAT-DO are well-balanced measures that can be used by researchers, public health practitioners, and community members alike. These 2 measures have good reliability estimates, include a moderate-to-high level of detail, and can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. Therefore, we recommend both of the measures for researchers and practitioners looking to conduct a general assessment of a park’s potential to encourage physical activity. |
