title: Evaluating the impact of environmental interventions across 2 countries: the International Bikeshare Impacts on Cycling and Collisions Study (IBICCS) Study protocol.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few international studies examine public bicycle share programs (PBSP) health impacts. We describe the protocol for the International Bikeshare Impacts on Cycling and Collisions Study (IBICCS).
  
  
  METHODS
  A quasi-experimental non-equivalent groups design was used. Intervention cities (Montreal, Toronto, Boston, New York and Vancouver) were matched to control cities (Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia) on total population, population density, cycling rates, and average yearly temperature. The study used three repeated, cross-sectional surveys in intervention and control cities in Fall 2012 (baseline), 2013 (year 1), and 2014 (year 2). A non-probabilistic online panel survey with a sampling frame of individuals residing in and around areas where PBSP are/would be implemented was used. A total of 12,000 respondents will be sampled. In each of the 8 cities 1000 respondents will be sampled with an additional 4000 respondents sampled based on the total population of the city. Survey questions include measures of self-rated health, and self-reported height and weight, knowledge and experience using PBSP, physical activity, bicycle helmet use and history of collisions and injuries while cycling, socio-demographic questions, and home/workplace locations. Respondents could complete questionnaires in English, French, and Spanish. Two weights will be applied to the data: inverse probability of selection and post-stratification on age and sex.A triple difference analysis will be used. This approach includes in the models, time, exposure, and treatment group, and interaction terms between these variables to estimate changes across time, between exposure groups and between cities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are scientific and practical challenges in evaluating PBSP. Methodological challenges included: appropriate sample recruitment, exchangeability of treatment and control groups, controlling unmeasured confounding, and specifying exposure. Practical challenges arise in the evaluation of environmental interventions such as a PBSP: one of the companies involved filed for bankruptcy, a Hurricane devastated New York City, and one PBSP was not implemented. Overall, this protocol provides methodological and practical guidance for researchers wanting to study PBSP impacts on health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada. daniel.fuller@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gauvin
authors.forename: Anne-Sophie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Dubé
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Winters
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Teschke
authors.forename: Elizabeth T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Andi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camden
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mee
authors.forename: Steven Marc
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001900:Boston; D001955:British Columbia; D002641:Chicago; D002947:Cities; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006260:Head Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan; D009043:Motor Activity; D009519:New York City; D009864:Ontario; D015143:Philadelphia; D011156:Population Density; D011634:Public Health; D011792:Quebec; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires