Health Empowerment Zone (HEZ)

Accessibility Assets and Barriers in Chicago
Participate in mapping health related accessibility in Chicago


Map Out Accessible Chicago

The map above is a participatory mapping project to identify the accessibility of health related community assets and services in Chicago as well as mapping out barriers to accessibility that people find in their local communities. The purpose of this interactive map is to:

1. Collect local accessibility information about health promotion related resources in Chicago.
2. Help people find these health promotion sites and services such as fitness centers, health food stores etc. in their neighborhoods
3. Help people plan out how to get to these locations and how to avoid environmental barriers such as bad curb cuts, broken sidewalks, inaccessible entries.
4. Analyze the geography of health related accessibility in Chicago to better understand areas of high accessibility and which areas are in need of accessible locations.

Instructions

Here are some instructions to help you use this interactive map and add to the collective knowledge about accessibility in Chicago.

• Information: Click on marker icon to get more information about that location
• Add Markers: in the upper right corner there is an ADD button. Press this and you will get options for adding markers.
• You can add a barrier or an accessible facility by entering the address or by pressing the link “map select a location”
• Click on the location that you want to input. You can use the satellite tab in the upper right corner to help you find specific locations, such as on a sidewalk
• Next to the word marker at the bottom of the pop-up, there is a pull down menu in which you can choose which type of marker you’d like to input.
• You can add more details about a site, such as a description, pictures, audio or video.
• Click Submit to finish.
• Layers: You can turn layers off and on at the bottom of the map
• Search: Find specific locations on the map
• Errors/Additions: if you find information that is incorrect or if you’d like to add information to an existing point, please email yeisen2@uic.edu and he will make the changes.

This longitudinal study funded by the National Institutes of Health uses a community-based participatory research (CBPR) model to improve access to the built environment for persons with mobility disabilities. The Health Empowerment Zone (HEZ) is a 3 X 3 mile area surrounding the University of Illinois at Chicago. The study is being conducted in two phases.

 

Phase I (completed) involved the assessment of the physical environment within the Health Empowerment Zone.  Environmental assessments were conducted to determine the accessibility of sidewalks, transportation, grocery stores, fitness facilities and parks.  The Health Empowerment Zone Environmental Assessment Tool (HEZEAT) was developed and validated for use on outdoor paths.  Longitudinal data was collected for physical activity levels, nutritional intake, secondary health conditions and access to the community.

 

Phase II (ongoing) will evaluate the effectiveness of empowerment training in aiding individuals to make their environments more accessible and lead healthier lifestyles. The intervention group will receive training on ADA rights, healthy eating and using accessibility assessment tools. The intervention group will assess 4 key health areas: fitness facilities, grocery stores, transit, and their neighborhood to determine their level of accessibility.  After using these 4 key health areas for six weeks, the intervention group will re-assess the facilities to evaluate accessibility. Health behavior data will be recorded both pre and post intervention to determine the effectiveness of the empowerment training.  GPS devices will be used to objectively record the travel paths of participants in order to better understand the environmental barriers that people with mobility limitations experience and whether travel paths changed as a result of the intervention.

HEZ Toolkit

Hez Training Manual   This manual was used to train participants in the Health Empowerment Zone research study to become Community Accessibility Specialists.  This manual serves as a guide for helping people with disabilities eat healthy, be physically active, and at the same time contains resources for advocating for changes to the accessibility of communities.

 

Accessibility Guidelines and Resources from DBTAC Supplement to the training manual, these are additional resources to help people understand their rights and advocate for themselves.  Also included are example complaint letters and forms that people can fill out to get free public transportation if they meet the criteria.

 

Quick Pathways Accessibility Tool (Q-PAT) The Q-PAT (formerly HEZ-EAT) is a path accessibility audit that was developed through a Delphi process with top experts in the fields of design and accessibility.  The tool contains detailed items about outdoor paths and other outdoor onsite characteristics.

 

Shortened Environmental Accessibility Checklists   These instruments are used to evaluate the accessibility of an individual’s community.  They are meant to be used by individuals with mobility disabilities.  There is one for fitness centers, grocery stores, sidewalks, fixed route services and para-transit services.  These are short checklists that take about 15-20 min to complete.

 

Papers and Presentations

 

APHA 2009 APASS Poster   Recent poster presented at the annual APHA conference in 2009.  The focus of this poster was to use GIS to explore Access to Physical Activity Supporting Spaces.  Higher levels of physical activity have been associated with greater access to local parks, fitness centers, transportation and grocery stores. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine this relationship among people with mobility limitations.

 

 

 

APHA Secondary Conditions Presentation Presented by James Rimmer, PhD at the 2009 APHA conference.  This study examined the relationship between community accessibility and secondary conditions in a cohort of predominantly African American women.  The presentation shows longitudinal data from surveys done every 6 months at 3 different time points.

 

Future Research

 

ILGISA 2009 Poster on GPS in Public Health   Presented by Yochai Eisenberg, MUPP at the Fall 2009 Illinois GIS Association Conference.  The presentation shows how GPS was used by people with disabilities and how researchers can use the data to examine travel behavior, walking trips and community participation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funding

 

The Health Empowerment Zone Study (HEZ) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is funded by the National Institutes of Health and Human Development (NIH) (Grant #5R01HD052891).