J Public Health Manag Pract

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of a park awareness campaign on park use in six community parks.DesignOne group pretest-posttest design.SettingSix community parks located in a South Carolina county.ParticipantsChildren, adolescents, and adults observed in community parks.InterventionA one-month awareness campaign that culminated in single 1.5-hour events at six parks in April 2011 and May 2011.Main Outcome MeasuresThe System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) was used to objectively measure park use in May 2010 (baseline) and May 2011 (post campaign). Zero-inflated Poisson models tested whether the number of total park users and the number of park users engaged in sedentary, walking, and vigorous activities differed by observation date.ResultsPark use was significantly greater at baseline than post campaign (97 versus 84 users, respectively, \u3c72=4.69, P=.03). There were no significant differences in the number of park users engaged in sedentary (\u3c72=2.45, P=.12), walking (\u3c72=.29, P=.59), and vigorous (\u3c72=.20, P=.65) activities between baseline and post campaign.ConclusionsAlthough only 97 and 84 people were observed across all parks at baseline and post campaign, a total of 629 people were observed during the six separate 1.5-hour campaign park events. This suggests there is potential for greater park utilization in these communities, and important questions remain on how to conduct effective awareness campaigns and how to harness interest in park events for the purpose of contributing to future community-wide physical activity and health promotion efforts.U48 DP001936/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United StatesU48 DP005000/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States2018-09-01T00:00:00Z27997474PMC5474219vault:2365