Parks promoting physical activity: synthesis of findings from interventions in seven national parks.
BACKGROUND
We synthesized the results of 7 National Park Service pilot interventions designed to increase awareness of the health benefits from participation in recreation at national parks and to increase physical activity by park visitors.


METHODS
A content analysis was conducted of the final evaluation reports of the 7 participating parks. Pooled data were also analyzed from a standardized trail-intercept survey administered in 3 parks.


RESULTS
The theme of new and diverse partnerships was the most common benefit reported across the 7 sites. The 2 parks that focused on youth showed evidence of an increase in awareness of the benefits of physical activity. Many of the other sites found high levels of awareness at baseline (approaching 90%), suggesting little room for improvement. Five of the 7 projects showed evidence of an increase in physical activity that was associated with the intervention activities. Multivariate analyses suggested that the media exposure contributed to a small but significant increase in awareness of the importance of physical activity (6%) and number of active visits (7%).


CONCLUSIONS
Enhancements and replication of these programs represents a promising opportunity for improving partnerships between public health and recreation to increase physical activity.
Hoehner
Christine M
CM
Dept. of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Brownson
Ross C
RC
Allen
Diana
D
Gramann
James
J
Behrens
Timothy K
TK
Floyd
Myron F
MF
Leahy
Jessica
J
Liddle
Joseph B
JB
Smaldone
David
D
Spain
Diara D
DD
Tardona
Daniel R
DR
Ruthmann
Nicholas P
NP
Seiler
Rachel L
RL
Yount
Byron W
BW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011998:Recreation; D040241:Social Marketing; D014481:United States