Urban Transformations and Health: Methods for TrUST-a Natural Experiment Evaluating the Impacts of a Mass Transit Cable Car in Bogotá, Colombia.
Olga L Sarmiento, Diana Higuera-Mendieta, Maria A Wilches-Mogollon, Luis A Guzman, Daniel A Rodríguez, Ricardo Morales, Daniela Méndez, Claudia Bedoya, Mario Linares-Vásquez, Maria Isabel Arévalo, Eliana Martínez-Herrera, Felipe Montes, Jose D Meisel, Andrés F Useche, Elizabeth García, Camilo A Triana, Andrés L Medaglia, Philipp Hessel, Julian Arellana, Carlos Moncada, Abby C King, Ana V Diez Roux
Author Information
Olga L Sarmiento: School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Diana Higuera-Mendieta: School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Maria A Wilches-Mogollon: School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Luis A Guzman: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Daniel A Rodríguez: College of Environmental Design and Institute for Transport Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
Ricardo Morales: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Daniela Méndez: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Claudia Bedoya: School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Mario Linares-Vásquez: Systems Engineering and Computing Department, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Maria Isabel Arévalo: Systems Engineering and Computing Department, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Eliana Martínez-Herrera: National School of Public Health, Research Group of Epidemiology, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
Felipe Montes: Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Jose D Meisel: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Ibagué, Ibagué, Colombia.
Andrés F Useche: Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Elizabeth García: School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Camilo A Triana: School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Andrés L Medaglia: Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Philipp Hessel: School of Government, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
Julian Arellana: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia.
Carlos Moncada: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Abby C King: Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States.
Ana V Diez Roux: Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Cable cars provide urban mobility benefits for vulnerable populations. However, no evaluation has assessed cable cars' impact from a health perspective. TransMiCable in Bogotá, Colombia, provides a unique opportunity to (1) assess the effects of its implementation on the environmental and social determinants of health (microenvironment pollution, transport accessibility, physical environment, employment, social capital, and leisure time), physical activity, and health outcomes (health-related quality of life, respiratory diseases, and homicides); and (2) use citizen science methods to identify, prioritize, and communicate the most salient negative and positive features impacting health and quality of life in TransMiCable's area, as well as facilitate a consensus and advocacy-building change process among community members, policymakers, and academic researchers. TrUST (In Spanish: Transformaciones Urbanas y Salud: el caso de TransMiCable en Bogotá) is a quasi-experimental study using a mixed-methods approach. The intervention group includes adults from Ciudad Bolívar, the area of influence of TransMiCable. The control group includes adults from San Cristóbal, an area of future expansion for TransMiCable. A conceptual framework was developed through group-model building. Outcomes related to environmental and social determinants of health as well as health outcomes are assessed using questionnaires (health outcomes, physical activity, and perceptions), secondary data (crime and respiratory outcomes) use of portable devices (air pollution exposure and accelerometry), mobility tracking apps (for transport trajectories), and direct observation (parks). The Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool is being used to capture residents' perceptions of their physical and social environments as part of the citizen science component of the investigation. TrUST is innovative in its use of a mixed-methods, and interdisciplinary research approach, and in its systematic engagement of citizens and policymakers throughout the design and evaluation process. This study will help to understand better how to maximize health benefits and minimize unintended negative consequences of TransMiCable.
