title: Parks promoting physical activity: synthesis of findings from interventions in seven national parks.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hoehner
authors.forename: Ross C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Brownson
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gramann
authors.forename: Timothy K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Behrens
authors.forename: Myron F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Floyd
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leahy
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Liddle
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smaldone
authors.forename: Diara D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Spain
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Tardona
authors.forename: Nicholas P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Ruthmann
authors.forename: Rachel L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Seiler
authors.forename: Byron W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Yount
mesh_terms: 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