Grant: Operating Grant: Advancing Theoretical & Methodological Innovations in Hlth Res

This project aims at developing and testing novel measurement tools that will allow to better understand how people move throughout the urban places, to what extent they are physically active when they do so, and how they feel. We will use electronic measurement devices that will tell us where people are at any given time (GPS), how much energy they spend (accelerometers), and how they feel at given times (electronic questionnaires). All this information will further be linked to an information system that contains data on the nature of the environment people are using. The resulting measures will be pilot tested to evaluate how BIXI, a bike-sharing program in Montreal, is used, and how its use impacts people's physical activity levels and well-being. We will also use the same measurement tools with children who have cardio-vascular health problems. It will provide them information on their living environment that will help them be physically active, while providing data for researchers to better understand how children, environments and health relate.