ROLE OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BEHAVIORS OF RURAL

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究旨在研究活动的差异，体育活动的机会，以及农村和城市居住中学生的建筑环境方面。本研究将以社会生态学方法为指导，并将采用混合方法设计。社会生态学方法关注支持健康行为的人际，组织，社区和环境因素。对于拟议的研究，将首先进行定性研究，从社区利益攸关方、父母及其子女那里收集有关一个农村和一个城市社区的体育活动机会和建筑环境方面的数据。这将为调查问卷的建设提供信息，以评估适合这两个地点的建筑环境。其次，将进行定量研究，收集客观测量的身体活动和心血管健康的450名中学生在同一个农村（n = 225）和城市（n = 225）社区。参与的儿童还将提供有关个人内部，人际和社区层面的信息（即，体育活动的机会和建筑环境的各个方面）是体育活动的障碍和机会的因素。最后，还将收集关于体育活动机会和建筑环境特征的客观数据（利用地理信息系统收集）。这项研究将涉及两个主要目标：1）比较社区环境的各个方面，以支持身体活动的规划和建筑环境的形式，这些环境在城市化地区和农村地区的中学生之间存在差异，和2）探讨体育活动的环境支持和建筑环境特征与中学心血管健康和体育活动之间的关系生活在城市化地区和农村县的儿童。拟议的工作与疾病预防控制中心的两个总体目标直接相关，这两个目标与疾病预防控制中心的核心使命有关：（1）生命各个阶段的健康人，（2）健康场所的健康人，方法是提供与宣传促进农村和城市环境中儿童身体活动干预措施有关的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The present study seeks to examine differences in activity, opportunities for physical activity, and aspects of the built environment across rural and urban dwelling middle school children. This study will be guided by a social-ecological approach and will utilize a mixed-methods design. A social-ecological approach focuses attention on interpersonal, organizational, community, and environmental factors which support healthy behaviors. For the proposed research, a qualitative study will be conducted first which will collect data from community stakeholders, parents and their children regarding opportunities for physical activity and aspects of the built environment in one rural and one urban community. This will inform the construction of a questionnaire to assess the built environment which is appropriate for both locations. Secondly, a quantitative study will be conducted to collect objectively measured physical activity and cardiovascular fitness in 450 middle school children in the same rural (n = 225) and urban (n = 225) communities. Participating children will also provide information concerning intra-personal, inter-personal, and community level (i.e., opportunities for physical activity and aspects of the built environment) factors that are barriers and opportunities for physical activity. Finally, objective data (collected using GIS) concerning proximity to opportunities for physical activity and features of the built environment will be collected. This study will address two primary aims: 1) To compare aspects of the community environment in the form of programming and built environment that support physical activity which differ across middle school children living in an urbanized area and a rural county, and 2) To examine associations between environmental supports for physical activity and features of the built environment with cardiovascular fitness and physical activity in middle school children living in an urbanized area and a rural county. The proposed work is directly relevant to two of the CDC's overarching goals related to its core mission; 1) Healthy People in Every Stage of Life, 2) Healthy People in Healthy Places by providing information pertinent to the dissemination of physical activity promoting interventions for children in rural and urban environments.