Promoting Physical Activity in High Poverty Neighborhoods

描述（由申请人提供）：虽然日常的体育活动对最佳健康至关重要，但洛杉矶低收入社区的居民比高收入社区的居民更不可能锻炼，而且他们不太可能去附近的公园，即使公园在步行距离之内。低收入社区的公园往往更小，服务于更大的人口密度，但即使考虑到服务的规模和人口，它们的使用率仍然低于富裕社区的公园。在我们的初步研究中，我们发现，与高收入地区的公园相比，低收入社区的公园兼职工作人员较少，提供的项目和有组织的活动也较少，这些因素导致了它们的使用率较低。低收入社区的公园通常被认为不太安全，这与使用率较低有关。同时，缺乏使用和缺乏规划可能会造成缺乏安全的感觉，造成恶性循环。尽管如此，我们已经证明，当低收入社区的公园提供活动和活动时，它们可以和高收入地区的公园一样繁忙。我们假设，低收入地区的公园使用有限可归因于缺乏满足当地居民需求的有组织和可靠的活动基础设施，即基础设施

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While routine physical activity is critical to optimal health, residents of low-income Los Angeles communities are less likely to exercise than those in high-income communities, and they are less likely to use their neighborhood parks, even when the parks are within walking distance. Parks in low-income neighborhoods tend to be smaller and serve a greater population density, but even after accounting for the size and population served, they are still used less than parks in wealthier neighborhoods. In our preliminary studies we found that parks in low-income neighborhoods also had fewer part-time staff and offered fewer programs and organized activities than parks in higher-income areas, and these factors accounted for their lower use. Parks in low-income neighborhoods are often perceived as less safe, a characteristic associated with lower use. Simultaneously, the lack of use and dearth of programming may contribute to a perception of lack of safety, creating a vicious cycle. Nonetheless, we have documented that when parks in low-income neighborhoods offer events and activities, they can be just as busy as parks in higher-income areas. We hypothesize that limited park use in low- income areas can be attributed to the lack of organized and reliable infrastructure of activities that meet the needs of local residents, an infrastructure that is more reliable and often taken for granted in higher income neighborhoods. The proposed study has three specific aims: 1) Using a full factorial design, compare whether park use and population physical activity in low-income neighborhoods increase with the availability of a) more organized physical activity classes, including zumba, line dancing, and aerobics indoors and outdoors and/or b) a loyalty program approach that rewards frequent park users. 2) Determine whether either of these two approaches changes the perception of park safety and neighborhood safety. 3) Identify the cost effectiveness of both approaches in terms of dollars spent to generate increased physical activity in parks as measured through systematic observation. Our study will document all the steps required for implementing and maintaining two physical activity promotion interventions-- one a standard approach offering traditional organized physical activity programs, the other an innovative application of popular customer loyalty programs. We will determine their impact on physical activity and their cost-effectiveness.