This document provides a comprehensive description of the data collection process, instruments, data cleaning and analysis for the INTERACT study, to be used for future reference, manuscripts, and presentations.
The INTerventions, Equity, Research, and Action in Cities Team (INTERACT) is a pan-Canadian research collaboration of scientists, urban planners, public health officials, community partners, and engaged public uncovering how the design of our cities is shaping the health and well-being of all Canadians. Since 2017, INTERACT has developed and implemented mixed methods natural experiment studies together with partners, including cohort studies in four Canadian cities: the All Ages and Abilities Cycling Network in Victoria; the City Greenways Plan in Vancouver; the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Saskatoon; and the Réseau Express Vélo, as well as the array of greening, place-making, traffic-calming, and transportation interventions in Montreal. INTERACT was first established through a CIHR team grant and is co-led by three principal investigators: Yan Kestens (Université de Montréal), Meghan Winters (Simon Fraser University), and Daniel Fuller (University of Saskatchewan).
In 2021, INTERACT received CIHR Project Grant funding for an additional five years to continue work on its overarching goal, to evaluate the impact of built environment interventions on health and health equity. Building on our past work and reflecting the challenges cities face today, INTERACT aims to further action toward healthy cities, with greater attention to socio-political context, implementation, and equity.
The goals of the INTERACT program is to measure the impact of changes to sustainable transportation interventions in physical activity, social connectedness, and well-being, and inequities in these outcomes. Across all INTERACT study sites, we aim to:
Learn more at www.teaminteract.ca
In 2016, Vancouver, Victoria, and Saskatoon conducted a concept mapping exercise with city stakeholders on factors that contribute to the success of interventions. Results of this work has been published here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113383
Montreal conducted a concept mapping exercise with community and members of the general public who were part of the INTERACT Montreal cohort in 2019. Results are currently under review.
In 2022, as part of INTERACT 2nd phase, a team of researchers is looking at how health and equity are considered in the planning and design of sustainable transportation interventions, through a policy document analysis and key informant interviews on whether equity and health were considered and how.
Results of this work were submitted for publication in 2024. Methods can be found on the INTERACT OneDrive: “INTERACT Policy Context”.
During the first phase of INTERACT, spatial data on interventions was collected locally. The catalog of GISc layers available on Cedar is here: https://teaminteract.ca/wp-content/uploads//2019/08/GIS_metadata.html
Several data sources were used for this; some are specific to each INTERACT site while others are from national or provincial data sets.
As part of INTERACT’s second phase, a team of researchers is mapping the socio-spatial patterning of interventions in the 4 INTERACT cities. Methods can be found on the INTERACT OneDrive: “INTERACT Objective 2 Socio-spatial patterning”
Montreal’s ecological transition and resilience policies call for an array of greening, place-making, traffic-calming, and transportation interventions. INTERACT is focused on studying interventions that meet the following criteria: 1) changes to the built environment; 2) funded by public institutions (such as the City of Montreal, municipalities); and 3) located within the realm of the public space.
These interventions include the Réseau Express Vélo (REV), a large-scale network of separate cycling infrastructure, that will be implemented from 2019 through to 2027.
Ethics Review and Approval
All participants provided consent via online or a hard copy form. For w1 and w2 data: Ethics approval was received from the Comité d’évaluation de la recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CÉR CHUM 16.397).
For wave 3 (2022): The project was transferred to Université de Montréal, where ethical approval was received from their review board (CERSES, 2021-1225). All participants who participated in wave 3 reconsented with the CERSES Ethics Form.
Study Boundaries
INTERACT Montreal’s study boundary includes all of the Island of Montreal (Agglomération de Montréal), the City of Laval, the City of Longueuil, the City of Brossard and the City of Saint-Lambert. Within the Island of Montreal is the City of Montreal (19 boroughs), as well as 15 separate municipalities (villes liées).
| Study Instrument | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
| Health Survey | June 8, 2018 | March 5, 2019 |
| VERITAS | June 8, 2018 | March 5, 2019 |
| Sensedocs | July 1, 2018 | Feb 9, 2019 |
| Ethica | June 8, 2018 | April 4, 2019 |
Built environment context
1) Cycling Infrastructure
Réseau Express Vélo: The REV was announced in 2018, and public consultations were organized to help design the network. No segments were built or open in 2018.
Bike network: The cycling infrastructure totalled (approx) 233 km in Laval, 857 km in Montreal, and 137 km in Longueuil.
Bixi: In 2018, the network had 6,250 bikes and 540 stations spread out across Montreal, Longueuil and Westmount.
2) Transit Infrastructure
No major transit changes. Construction for the REM project started in April 2018, construction for the Pie IX BRT continued. These construction projects did not have significant changes to the transit network in 2018-2019.
3) Changes to Green Spaces
In the summer of 2017, Parc Frédérick-Back opened. The former quarry and landfill site was gradually transformed into a large park, located in centre of the Complexe environnemental de Saint-Michel (CESM).
4) Changes to Public Space
In Montreal in 2018, there were over 50 pedestrian and shared streets in 2018, and over 40 parklets.
To be eligible, participants had to be adults (aged 18 or older), living on the Island of Montreal, the City of Laval, Longueuil, Brossard or Saint-Lambert. They had to understand French or English well enough to complete a 20-minute survey and did not plan on leaving the Montreal Area in the next 2 years. They had to leave their home at least once a week.
The initial objective was 3,000 participants.
Generally, participants were recruited through convenience sampling, with additional recruitment efforts aimed at reaching priority populations. We used multiple approaches for recruitment:
Letter campaign: Mailing lists were rented from Canada Post. In Montreal, a mailed letter campaign with 3 types of options was sent to 15,000 people: a personalized letter with a postcard followed by a reminder postcard 2 weeks later (n=5000; group A), a personalized letter with a color card without a reminder (n=5000; group B), or a nonpersonalized postcard only (n=5000; group C). Letters were sent out by a third-party mail provider from the Canada Post Marketing program. Mailings were stratified by postal code to enable group identification based on the participants’ postal code. This approach yielded a much lower response rate than expected, the team did not pursue a larger mail-out campaign.
Social media: We used the INTERACT Twitter account (@teaminteractca) and Facebook page for promotion. In Montreal, the Centre de recherche du CHUM Facebook account also posted INTERACT content. In an effort to recruit underrepresented groups, messaging was adapted to younger people, and Facebook advertising was boosted in low-income postal codes. Facebook group administrators of community groups and nonprofit organizations in Montreal were contacted to post an invitation to the study.
News Media: The study was advertised through unpaid media coverage, through press releases to local media outlets, and by contact with journalists. In Montreal, the study was featured on news outlets such as La Presse and Le Devoir, CBC Montreal, Montreal Gazette, and TVA Nouvelles. This was the most cost-effective approach to recruitment; other than staff time, there were no costs associated with this method.
Newspaper Advertisement: In Montreal, information about the study was published in the Société de transport de Montréal section of the Journal Métro, free of charge.
Partner Communications: The research staff leveraged partner mailing lists, newsletters, and web-based spaces to promote the study. Efforts were made to reach community organizations working closely with citizens. Local teams also took advantage of institutional networks to share information, such as using listservs and university portals to advertise the study. In Montreal, staff emailed INTERACT’s advisory committee, Centraide-funded organizations in the Montreal area, and Tables de quartier with ready-to-send graphics adapted to geography/demographic group. Despite follow-up emails, few organizations responded to emails. However, the organizations who responded by sharing the information on social media channels and newsletters were helpful in reaching new participants.
Snowball Recruitment: Refer a friend campaigns were launched using MailChimp. The participants were sent an email to share with a friend. Participants received a CAD $10 (US $7.69) gift card for every 2 referred friends who had signed up.
Other: We participated in a variety of community events to promote this study. In Montreal, the team participated in city and community events, distributed flyers at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, and visited local food banks. At these events, we collected email addresses for follow-up with interested people. We designed and distributed posters to advertise the study. In Montreal, posters were placed in universities, community centers, and municipal buildings.
Participants were entered into a draw to win a $500 prize (choice of an iPad mini, a Louis Garneau bicycle, or a stay at Manoir Hovey in North Hatley) or one of 20 $100 VISA gift cards. Participants who signed up for surveys, Ethica, and Sensedoc received 3 tickets in the draw; participants who signed up for surveys and Ethica received 2 tickets; and those who only signed up for surveys received 1 ticket.
All participants provided consent via online form (available in French and English) before answering any questions on the survey platform.
Participants first completed the eligibility questionnaire to ensure they met the criteria to participate in the longitudinal study (see inclusion/exclusion criteria). In this questionnaire, participants could choose the participation option for that wave:
1 | Full participation: Surveys, smartphone app, and wearable sensor
2 | Partial participation : Surveys and a smartphone app
4 | Basic participation: Surveys
The INTERACT Health Questionnaire is made up of core questions, asked across all sites and local questions, driven by city partner needs. Core questions focus on INTERACT’s key health outcomes: physical activity, social participation, and well-being. The core questionnaire also includes questions on socio-demographic data, general health, use of activity monitors, housing type, and neighbourhood.
Health questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#health_questionnaire_title
Issues
tracking3A/
tracking3B, tracking4 and
tracking5 were asked on the Ethica app if the participant
chose to participate with Ethica (participant type 1 and 2). Participant
types 4 were asked tracking3A/ tracking3B,
tracking4 and tracking5 in the Health
Questionnaire.The VERITAS questionnaire collects spatial and social information on participants.
Time Reference: Participants were asked about the places they visited “At least once a month”
VERITAS questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#veritas_questionnaire_title
Issues:
Due to questionnaire coding, participants had to enter a postal
code when entering addresses for residential history
(historical_address_pc) even if the address was outside of
Canada. To bypass this, wrong postal codes may have been entered (for
ex. H0H 0H0).
In the French VERITAS questionnaire, an error in question 58
(deterioration_geom) made it identical to the previous
question, 57 (improvement_geom). This error was in effect
from June 8th to July 18th
In the English VERITAS questionnaire, the option for friend was
missing in the Add a Person form (people_relation). This
error was in effect from June 8th to September 18th.
The Ethica app gathers data from the embedded sensors of participant smartphones to provide information about daily mobility (GPS and Wi-Fi) and physical activity (accelerometer and gyroscope). It also occasionally prompts participants with short survey questions (EMA). The app also collects data about phones’ battery status. The data are collected for 1 minute every 5 minutes.
Au email was sent to participants with instructions on how to download Ethica.
The Ethica study was #395 (ENG) and #396 (FRA). The Ethica app captured:
GPS
WiFI
Accelerometer
Activity Recognition
Pedometer
Battery
Gyroscope
EMA surveys
EMA questions and schedule : https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#ema_title
The SenseDoc is a multisensor device used for mobility (GPS) and physical activity (accelerometer) tracking in the INTERACT study. Participants are asked to where the device for 10 consecutive days, from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed. They are given a form to track wear time each day. The location data in the SenseDoc are provided by a GPS receiver at 1Hz, continuously as long as the device was charged and on. The accelerometer is programable and was set to measure at 50Hz continuously.
In Montreal, we planned on distributing SenseDocs to only a sub-sample of 500 participants picked at random among those who chose to use the SD. SenseDocs were mostly distributed to participants while they were active on Ethica.
Participants were invited to come to the CRCHUM to pick up the device, or asked to suggest a more convenient location for them. Staff delivered the devices by bicycle or transit to those who could not come to CRCHUM.
Participants received oral instructions on how to use the device, as well as an informational booklet and participation log. They were asked to specify the date and time they put the device on and the time they removed it. Each SD kit included: a belt, a SD, a charger and the information booklet.
| status | Eligibility | Health | Veritas | Ethica | SenseDoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New participant | 1536 | 1155 | 833 | 572 | 163 |
| Total | 1536 | 1155 | 833 | 572 | 163 |
| Study Instrument | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
| Health Survey | Sept 7, 2020 | Feb 2, 2021 |
| VERITAS | Sept 7, 2020 | Feb 2, 2021 |
| Sensedocs | Sept 29, 2020 | Jan 28, 2021 |
| Ethica | Sept 21, 2020 | Feb 8, 2021 |
Covid Context
Data collection was planned for spring 2020, but was delayed due to the start of the COVID pandemic. Data collection occurred between September 7th, 2020 and February 2nd, 2021. Data collection stopped earlier than expected due to the curfew (8pm-5am) in place in Québec as of January 9th 2021, which altered normal mobility patterns.
On September 28th, 2020, Montreal became a Red Zone, where:
For precise timeline of COVID-related measures in Quebec, refer to: https://www.inspq.qc.ca/covid-19/donnees/ligne-du-temps
Built environment context
Montreal’s climate and resilience policies call for a range of actions for sustainable built environment interventions. Among these major changes, INTERACT will be measuring the impact of changes to the built environment.
1) Cycling Infrastructure
May 2020: During the summer and early fall, the City of Montreal created Corridors sanitaires, some of which were labelled as Voies actives et sécuritaires. These Safe activity corridors were implemented to give more space to pedestrians and cyclists while respecting physical distancing measures in the context of COVID-19.
City of Montreal data on Corridors sanitaires are available here: https://www.donneesquebec.ca/recherche/dataset/vmtl-corridors-sanitaires/resource/e35f0625-6d2e-4f4d-a989-cf174c75fe24
Réseau Express Vélo: In June 2019, the first route of the REV opened on Souligny. In November 2020, the REV on Saint-Denis opened officially.
Bike network: According to Vélo Québec’s État du Vélo (2020), the cycling infrastructure totalled: Laval: 292 km Montreal: 1001 km Longueuil: 190 km.
Bixi: In 2020, the network has 7270 regular bikes and 610 regular stations + 70 electric stations and 1000 e-bikes spread out across Montreal, Westmount, Montréal-Est, Mont-Royal, Longueuil and Laval.
2) Transit Infrastructure
Construction for the REM project and SRB Pie IX continued. In March 2020, the Deux-Montagnes line between Du Ruisseau Station and Central Station (tunnel under Mont-Royal) was closed for REM construction and service was replaced with bus and metro service.
3) Changes to Green Spaces
In 2021, the tree canopy area declined to 7,488 ha (2019 canopy index of 21,5%; 2021, 20,6%). Despite planting more trees, the City has had to cut close to 50,000 trees between 2017 and 2021 due to the Emerald ash borer.
More data available here: https://observatoire.cmm.qc.ca/grand-montreal-en-statistiques/
4) Changes to Public Space
In June 2019, the new Champlain Bridge opened connecting Montreal to the Southshore. It includes a multifunctional path (piste multifonctionnelle) for pedestrians and cyclists.
In September 2019, Université de Montréal’s Campus MIL opened. The new campus includes new public spaces, parks, cycling infrastructure and a connection from Parc-Extension to Outremont, over the train tracks.
To be eligible, participants had to be adults (aged 18 or older), living on the Island of Montreal, the City of Laval, Longueuil, Brossard or Saint-Lambert. They had to understand French or English well enough to complete a 20-minute survey and did not plan on leaving the Montreal Area in the next 2 years. They had to leave their home at least once a week. Due to the pandemic, returning participants were eligible, as long as they still lived in Canada.
The recruitment window was from September 2020 to January, we encouraged participants to finish their questionnaires during January and closed surveys on February 2nd.
We aimed to follow up with wave 1 participants (1155 people), and recruit participants primarily in neighbourhoods at risk of gentrification (based on the Grube-Cavers measure https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098014524287).
Given the over-representation in wave 1 of participants who were women (68% in W1), born in Canada (82% in W1), white (88% in W1), had university degrees (81% in W1) and lived in the centre of the Island of Montreal, we focused our efforts in W2 to recruit participants from outside of these demographic and geographic groups.
Specifically, we worked with community groups for support in recruiting participants, like Joujouthèque Saint-Michel, and Concertation Saint-Léonard. Recruitment approaches included: Facebook ads; emails to returning participants; follow up calls to returning participants; community outreach through neighbourhood organizations and partners. In-person events were not possible due to the COVID context.
Participants were entered into a draw to win a laptop, one of 20 $150 Amazon giftcards or one of 5 boxes of books (20 books donated by Renaud-Bray were split into 5 boxes of four books). Participants who signed up for surveys, Ethica, and Sensedoc received 3 tickets in the draw; participants who signed up for surveys and Ethica received 2 tickets; and those who only signed up for surveys received 1 ticket.
All participants provided consent via online form before answering any questions on the survey platform. Returning participants were asked to re-consent. A consent form (FIC) for participants was available in French and English. Both new and returning participants consented before starting questionnaires due to the updates to prizes.
Participants first completed the eligibility questionnaire to ensure they met the criteria to participate in the longitudinal study (see inclusion/exclusion criteria). In this questionnaire, new and returning participants could choose the participation option for that wave:
1 | Full participation: Surveys, smartphone app, and wearable sensor
2 | Partial participation : Surveys and a smartphone app
4 | Basic participation: Surveys
The INTERACT Health Questionnaire is made up of core questions, asked across all sites and local questions, driven by city partner needs. Core questions focus on INTERACT’s key health outcomes: physical activity, social participation, and well-being. The core questionnaire also includes questions on socio-demographic data, general health, use of activity monitors, housing type, and neighbourhood. Health questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#health_questionnaire_title
Questions were the same for new and returning participants, with some exceptions: i.e. demographic information that does not change (for ex. whether they were born in Canada) was not asked to returning participants.
Key additions at w2 were:
The VERITAS questionnaire collects spatial and social information on participants.
Returning participants who had completed Veritas at Wave 1 received a pre-seeded survey with their answers from w1. They were first asked to review the people in their social network, then were asked to review places they visited. To do this: they were shown the seeded places from w1, and asked whether they still visited that place and to update the place form. They were then asked about other or new locations they visited at least once a month.
Participants who reported moving between W1 and W2 were given an empty VERITAS.
Time Reference: Due to the Covid context, the time prompt was changed from w1. Participants were asked about the places they visited “At least once in the past month”
CAUTION: An error in programming for returning participants made it so new locations were not recorded. We therefore only have data on pre-populated locations, entered at w1. This means analysis comparing places from wave 2 and other waves is not possible.
VERITAS questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#veritas_questionnaire_title
The Ethica app gathers data from the embedded sensors of participant smartphones to provide information about daily mobility (GPS and Wi-Fi) and physical activity (accelerometer and gyroscope). It also occasionally prompts participants with short survey questions (EMA). The app also collects data about phones’ battery status. The data are collected for 1 minute every 5 minutes.
Au automated email was sent to participants with instructions on downloading Ethica.
The Ethica study was #1082 and #1083. The Ethica app captured:
GPS
WiFI
Accelerometer
Activity Recognition
Pedometer
Battery
EMA surveys: Questions on where participant’s phone was located (pocket, table, bag, etc), mood questions, mode used for the first trip of the day, sleep quality, and encouraging messages.
EMA questions and schedule : https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#ema_title
In the EMA questions, major changes from wave 1:
Mental Health Continuum questions were replaced by quotes and fun facts
Questions on sleep quality were added.
On November 18th, the mood_who question was modified
to add a response option:
The SenseDoc is a multisensor device used for mobility (GPS) and physical activity (accelerometer) tracking in the INTERACT study. Participants are asked to where the device for 10 consecutive days, from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed. They are given a form to track wear time each day. The location data in the SenseDoc are provided by a GPS receiver at 1Hz, continuously as long as the device was charged and on. The accelerometer is programable and was set to measure at 50Hz continuously.
Due to the pandemic context, delivery of devices was challenging. The majority were delivered to the participants’ homes by a research coordinator. All SenseDoc components were sanitized before delivery and a disinfectant wipe was included with the package.
| status | Eligibility | Health | Veritas | Ethica | SenseDoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New participant | 331 | 218 | 147 | 38 | 13 |
| Returning participant | 438 | 383 | 230 | 136 | 32 |
| Total | 769 | 601 | 377 | 174 | 45 |
| Study Instrument | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
| Health Survey | July 6, 2022 | Jan 23, 2023 |
| VERITAS | July 6, 2022 | Jan 23, 2023 |
| Sensedocs | Oct 21, 2022 | Jan 23, 2023 |
| Ethica | July 6, 2022 | Feb 17, 2023 |
Covid Context
The third wave of data collection for the INTERACT Study took place from July 6th 2022 to January 23rd 2023 in the Montreal area. This was at a time when all COVID measures had been lifted and the city was ‘’returning to normal’’ – festivals restarting, bars and restaurants operating at full capacity once again, etc. The recruitment period was launched on July 6, 2022 and ended on December 15, 2022 (though surveys remained open until January 23, 2023).
Built environment context
Montreal’s climate and resilience policies call for a range of actions for sustainable built environment interventions. Among these major changes, INTERACT will be measuring the impact of changes to the built environment.
1) Cycling Infrastructure
In Montreal, we were most interested in the impacts of the future Réseau express vélo (REV) on residents’ health and well-being. The REV is a 184 km bicycle lane project that links different parts of the city in a type of «bike highway». Almost all the new bike lanes are protected with physical barriers separating them from car traffic. The city has committed to plowing them in the Winter, so they remain accessible all year long. During our study period, there were four completed REV axes:
Bixi: In 2022, the network had 7,270 regular bikes and 2,395 electric bikes in Montreal, along with the cities of East Montreal, Westmount, Mount Royal, Longueuil and Laval. It had 794 stations, including 184 electric stations.
2) Transit Infrastructure
REM: Construction continued. The Tunnel des Deux-Montagnes remained closed to commute trains, and replaced by bus service.
The BRT Pie IX opened in November 2022. It involves the permanent reserved lanes with a high level of service, allowing bus traffic on Pie-IX Boulevard, between Saint-Martin Boulevard, in Laval, and the Pie IX metro station in Montreal. The 11 km long route will have 17 stations, 2 in Laval and 15 in Montreal.
To be eligible, participants had to be adults (aged 18 or older), living on the Island of Montreal, the City of Laval, Longueuil, Brossard or Saint-Lambert. They had to understand French or English well enough to complete a 20-minute survey and did not plan on leaving the Montreal Area in the next 2 years. They had to leave their home at least once a week. Returning participants were eligible if they still lived in the study area.
Given the over-representation in previous waves of participants who were women (68% in W1, 65% in W2), born in Canada (82% in W1, 81% in W2), white (88% in W1, 84% in W2), had university degrees (81% in W1 and 79% in W2) and lived in the centre of the Island of Montreal, we concentrated our efforts in W3 to recruit participants from outside of these demographic and geographic groups.
Specifically, we aimed to recruit as many participants as possible from underrepresented populations (men, immigrants, non-white people, low-income people, non-university educated, 18-24 and 75+ years old) and underrepresented neighbourhoods. We also looked at neighbourhoods where underrepresented populations live, based on City of Montreal demographic data.
Recruitment approaches included: Facebook ads; emails to returning participants; refer-a-friend campaign to existing participants; community outreach through neighbourhood organizations and partners; press release; outreach in online communities (i.e. Reddit, Discord)
All participants are automatically entered to win one of two prizes: a pair of tickets to the see the Habs play at the Bell Centre ($500 value) or one of twenty $100 VISA prepaid cards. Participants receive one entry per participation type:
Participants who joined the Refer-a-Friend campaign also received an extra entry. Both those who refer the friend and the friend who is referred received this bonus
A consent form (FIC) for all participants was available in French and English. The FIC was adapted and re-approved by Ethics on October 12, 2022 upon addition of the hockey tickets as prizes. Both new and returning participants consented before starting questionnaires.
All new and returning participants had to first complete the eligibility questionnaire to ensure they met the criteria to participate in wave 3 data collection. In this questionnaire, participants could choose the participation option for that wave:
1 | Full participation: Surveys, smartphone app, and wearable sensor
2 | Partial participation : Surveys and a smartphone app
4 | Basic participation: Surveys
The INTERACT Health Questionnaire is made up of core questions, asked across all sites and local questions, driven by city partner needs. Core questions focus on INTERACT’s key health outcomes: physical activity, social participation, and well-being. The core questionnaire also includes questions on socio-demographic data, general health, use of activity monitors, housing type, and neighbourhood. Health questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#health_questionnaire_title
Questions were the same for new and returning participants, with some exceptions: i.e. demographic information that does not change (for ex. whether they were born in Canada) was not asked to returning participants.
The health questionnaire was simplified from wave 2 to reduce burden on participants. The health questionnaire was a mix of core INTERACT questions and local Montreal-specific questions. Those were chosen with input from knowledge users.
The VERITAS questionnaire collects spatial and social information on participants.
Spatial: participants are asked to identify on a map places they go regularly, such as for shopping, services, and leisure. For each place mapped, they are presented with a place form. This form asks about details on this place (for ex: type of place, frequency of visit, mode used to get there)
Social: participants are asked about the people in their household, with who they speak about important things, and with who they like to socialize. For each person added, participants are presented with a people form. This form asks about details on the person (relation, where they live).
Returning participants who had completed Veritas at Wave 1 or 2 received a pre-seeded survey with their answers from W1 and or W2. They were first asked to review the people in their social network, then were asked to review places they visited. To do this: they were shown the seeded places from w1 and/or w2, and asked whether they still visited that place and to update the place form. They were then asked about other or new locations they visited at least once a month.
Participants who reported moving between W2 and W3 were given an empty VERITAS.
For wave 3, VERITAS was simplified and unofficially split into two parts: spatial questions, followed by social questions. This was done because social network questions were seen as more sensitive by participants, and we sought to collect complete spatial data for as many people as we could.
The VERITAS questionnaire was significantly modified from w1 and w2. Comparisons between w1/w2 and w3 should be done with caution.
The survey broadly changed in these ways:
neighbourhood_geom)hours_out,
hours_out_neighb)unsafe_areas)other_resid, other_resid_geom)location_type)public_transit, transit_geom)neighbourhood_attach)location_tmode)location_type)social_household, social_important,
social_socialize, places_peoplepeople_relation), and where they live
(people_where). Age was asked only for people within the
household.The VERITAS returning questionnaire is largely similar, but had prepopulated answers from previous waves included in individual surveys. Due to programming limitations, we could not remove the social question from the place form.
CAUTION: Seed data on social network from w1 and w2 for returning participants who had initially joined at w2 was accidentally omitted when survey was programmed. This means that some returning participants only had pre-populated past locations, and no pre-populated social network.
Time Reference: Participants were asked about the places they visited “At least once in the past month”
VERITAS questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#veritas_questionnaire_title
The Ethica app gathers data from the embedded sensors of participant smartphones to provide information about daily mobility (GPS and Wi-Fi) and physical activity (accelerometer and gyroscope). It also occasionally prompts participants with short survey questions (EMA). The app also collects data about phones’ battery status. The data are collected for 1 minute every 5 minutes.
Au automated email was sent to participants with instructions on downloading Ethica.
The Ethica study was #2342. The Ethica app captured:
GPS
WiFI
Accelerometer
Activity Recognition
Pedometer
Battery
EMA surveys: Questions on where participant’s phone was located (pocket, table, bag, etc), mood questions, mode used for the first trip of the day, and encouraging messages.
EMA questions and schedule : https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#ema_title
The SenseDoc is a multisensor device used for mobility (GPS) and physical activity (accelerometer) tracking in the INTERACT study. Participants are asked to wear the device for 10 consecutive days, from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed. They are given a form to track wear time each day. The location data in the SenseDoc are provided by a GPS receiver at 1Hz, continuously as long as the device was charged and on. The accelerometer is programable and was set to measure at 50Hz continuously.
SenseDocs were picked up at the Research Centre or delivered by the Research Coordinator.
| status | Eligibility | Health | Veritas | Ethica | SenseDoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New participant | 248 | 167 | 110 | 31 | 9 |
| Returning participant | 422 | 369 | 308 | 143 | 46 |
| Total | 670 | 536 | 418 | 174 | 55 |
| Study Instrument | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
| Health Survey | July 26, 2024 | Dec 18, 2024 |
| VERITAS | July 26, 2024 | Dec 18, 2024 |
| Sensedocs | July 29, 2024 | Dec 23, 2024 |
| Ethica | July 26, 2024 | Jan 15, 2025 |
The recruitment period was launched on July 26 and ended on December 1, though surveys remained open until December 18, 2024 to allow participants to complete their questionnaires.
Built environment context
1) Cycling Infrastructure
Réseau Express Vélo: During our study period, there were six open REV axes.
Main changes made to the REV since the last wave are:
Bike network: The cycling infrastructure totalled (approx) 1 065 km in Montreal, 200 km in Longueuil and 310 km in Laval.
Bixi: In the winter of 2023-2024, a pilot project enabled year-round access to self-service bicycles (BIXI) across seven districts. This initiative kept 150 of the 850 existing stations open and featured bikes equipped with weather-appropriate modifications. At the end of the trial period, it was announced that the BIXI service would now be offered on a year-round basis.
2) Transit Infrastructure
SRB: SRB involves a permanent reserved lane with a high level of service, allowing bus traffic on Pie-IX and connecting Saint-Martin Boulevard in Laval to the Pie-IX metro station in Montreal. The section between Boulevard Saint-Martin in Laval and Avenue Pierre-De Coubertin in Montreal is fully operational. The final section between Pierre-de-Coubertin and Notre-Dame is underway.
REM: Five of the 26 planned stations are in service, from Brossard to Central Station.
STM: The planning of the extension of the blue line is underway. The STM has also ended its “10 minutes max” service which included 31 bus lines.
3) Changes to Green Spaces
In 2024, two new parks are inaugurated in Montreal (Parc de Gorilles et Parc Leta Greydon).
To be eligible, participants had to be adults (aged 18 or older), living on the Island of Montreal, the City of Laval, Longueuil, Brossard or Saint-Lambert. They had to understand French or English well enough to complete a 20-minute survey and did not plan on leaving the Montreal Area in the next 2 years. They had to leave their home at least once a week.
The initial objective was to recruit 1,000 participants representative of neighbourhoods, gender, age, socioeconomic status (income) and race within our sampling boundary. Based on the sample composition for wave 3, we have focused our efforts on identified priority groups and neighborhoods.
Priority groups:
Priority neighbourhoods : (1) Pierrefond-Roxborro, (2) Montréal-Nord (3) Saint-Michel (4) Montréal-Est (5) Chomedey/Saint-François (Laval).
Recruitment approaches included: Meta ads; emails to returning participants; refer-a-friend campaign to existing participants; community outreach through neighbourhood organizations and partners; outreach in online communities (i.e. Facebook).
All participants who completed the health questionnaire were automatically entered for a chance to win one of 11 prizes: one of 10 $100 gift cards, or the grand prize, a $500 gift card to a retailer of their choice. Participants received an additional entry into the draw for each optional research component.
Participants who joined the Refer-a-Friend campaign also received a compensation of $10 for a $20 maximum if the referred person is a new participant and completes at least the health questionnaire in addition to providing the referrer’s name.
In 2024, we changed the participant flow from prior waves. Instead of asking participants up front about how many activities they wanted to participate in, we presented all options, and gradually invited people to join the optional activities. All study activities, except the health questionnaire were presented as optional. The study activities were:
1 | Health Questionnaire: minimum participation
2 | VERITAS Questionnaire: optional map-based survey. Participants were invited to start VERITAS right away, at the end of the health questionnaire on the Polygon platform. If they said no, they received an email 3-days later with details about VERITAS and a link to begin that survey.
3 | Avicenna (formerly Ethica): a GPS and PA tracking app. Participants were asked whether they were interested in knowing more about the Avicenna app at the end of the health questionnaire, on the Polygon platform. If yes, they received an email 5 minutes later with information on how to download the app. Coordinators sent manual reminders to people who indicated they were interested in Avicenna, but had not yet signed up.
All participants provided consent via online form (available in French and English) before answering any questions on the survey platform.
All new and returning participants had to first complete the eligibility questionnaire to ensure they met the criteria to participate in wave 4 data collection. After this questionnaire, participants were redirected to the health questionnaire.
The INTERACT Health Questionnaire is made up of core questions, asked across all sites and local questions, driven by city partner needs. Core questions focus on INTERACT’s key health outcomes: physical activity, social participation, and well-being. The core questionnaire also includes questions on socio-demographic data, general health, use of activity monitors, housing type, and neighbourhood.
Health questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#health_questionnaire_title
Flags / Issues
group_id (ethnicity question) was mistakenly asked to
returning participants. This means we may have conflicting information
from the first time they completed an INTERACT questionnaire.The VERITAS questionnaire collects spatial information on participants.
Returning participants who had completed Veritas at Wave 1 received a pre-seeded survey with their answers from w1, w2 and w3. They were shown the seeded places from w1, w2 and w3, and asked whether they still visited that place and to update the place form. They were then asked about other or new locations they visited at least once in the past month.
Participants who reported moving between W1/W2/w3 and W4 were given an empty VERITAS.
Time Reference: Participants were asked about the places they visited “At least once in the past month”
VERITAS questions can be found here: https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#veritas_questionnaire_title
The Avicenna app gathers data from the embedded sensors of participant smartphones to provide information about daily mobility (GPS and Wi-Fi) and physical activity (accelerometer and gyroscope). It also occasionally prompts participants with short survey questions (EMA). The app also collects data about phones’ battery status. The data are collected for 1 minute every 5 minutes.
Au email was sent to participants with instructions on how to download Ethica.
The Ethica study was #3729. The Ethica app captured:
GPS
WiFI
Accelerometer
Activity Recognition
Pedometer
Battery
EMA surveys: Questions on where participant’s phone was located (pocket, table, bag, etc), mood questions, mode used for the first trip of the day, fun facts, and encouraging messages.
EMA questions and schedule : https://teaminteract.ca/ressources/INTERACT_datadict.html#ema_title
The SenseDoc is a multisensor device used for mobility (GPS) and physical activity (accelerometer) tracking in the INTERACT study. Participants are asked to where the device for 10 consecutive days, from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed. They are given a form to track wear time each day. The location data in the SenseDoc are provided by a GPS receiver at 1Hz, continuously as long as the device was charged and on. The accelerometer is programable and was set to measure at 50Hz continuously.
| status | Eligibility | Health | Veritas | Ethica | SenseDoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New participant | 648 | 344 | 102 | 32 | 5 |
| Returning participant | 702 | 572 | 206 | 166 | 42 |
| Total | 1350 | 916 | 308 | 198 | 47 |