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Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia

ISSUE ADDRESSED: In Australia, the role of local governments authorities (LGAs) are diverse, ranging from waste collection to the provision of recreational facilities, such as parks. One strategy to improve parks is outdoor exercise equipment (OEE), and provide free, community‐based physical activit...

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Autores principales: Leavy, Justine E., Jancey, Jonine, Crawford, Gemma
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9790546/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35262244
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.588
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author Leavy, Justine E.
Jancey, Jonine
Crawford, Gemma
author_facet Leavy, Justine E.
Jancey, Jonine
Crawford, Gemma
author_sort Leavy, Justine E.
collection PubMed
description ISSUE ADDRESSED: In Australia, the role of local governments authorities (LGAs) are diverse, ranging from waste collection to the provision of recreational facilities, such as parks. One strategy to improve parks is outdoor exercise equipment (OEE), and provide free, community‐based physical activity opportunities. We undertook an observational study to capture a profile and behaviour of park visitors and OEE users in 2012 and 2019. METHODS: We compared observational data at two parks using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) in March and June 2012 and 2019. Data were collected 6:30‐7:30 AM and 5:30‐6:30 PM weekdays; 8:30‐9:30 AM and 3:30 to 4:30 PM weekends. Two trained staff collected data concurrently. RESULTS: Total n = 1654 visitors were observed, most at Park One (68.0%; n = 1117), half were male (50.9%; n = 841). There were significant differences in the gender of visitors across the two parks (P < 0.001). Most visitors observed were young adults (42.6%; n = 705; P < 0.001). In 2012, 3.9% (n = 65) of all observed park visitors used the OEE, in 2019, this increased to 4.8 % (n = 78). CONCLUSIONS: The adage ‘Build it, and they will come’ did not resonate with the two parks' local community. The key challenge is attracting people to local parks making OEE use attractive and easy. SO WHAT? There is a demand for the provision of active environments that are accessible and inexpensive. LGAs may hold the key to delivering this infrastructure supported by diverse strategies to engage and promote the benefits of being physically active for all ages.
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spelling pubmed-97905462022-12-28 Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia Leavy, Justine E. Jancey, Jonine Crawford, Gemma Health Promot J Austr Standard Issue ‐ Advancing Health Promotion Practice ISSUE ADDRESSED: In Australia, the role of local governments authorities (LGAs) are diverse, ranging from waste collection to the provision of recreational facilities, such as parks. One strategy to improve parks is outdoor exercise equipment (OEE), and provide free, community‐based physical activity opportunities. We undertook an observational study to capture a profile and behaviour of park visitors and OEE users in 2012 and 2019. METHODS: We compared observational data at two parks using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) in March and June 2012 and 2019. Data were collected 6:30‐7:30 AM and 5:30‐6:30 PM weekdays; 8:30‐9:30 AM and 3:30 to 4:30 PM weekends. Two trained staff collected data concurrently. RESULTS: Total n = 1654 visitors were observed, most at Park One (68.0%; n = 1117), half were male (50.9%; n = 841). There were significant differences in the gender of visitors across the two parks (P < 0.001). Most visitors observed were young adults (42.6%; n = 705; P < 0.001). In 2012, 3.9% (n = 65) of all observed park visitors used the OEE, in 2019, this increased to 4.8 % (n = 78). CONCLUSIONS: The adage ‘Build it, and they will come’ did not resonate with the two parks' local community. The key challenge is attracting people to local parks making OEE use attractive and easy. SO WHAT? There is a demand for the provision of active environments that are accessible and inexpensive. LGAs may hold the key to delivering this infrastructure supported by diverse strategies to engage and promote the benefits of being physically active for all ages. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022-03-17 2022-10 /pmc/articles/PMC9790546/ /pubmed/35262244 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.588 Text en © 2022 The Authors. Health Promotion Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
spellingShingle Standard Issue ‐ Advancing Health Promotion Practice
Leavy, Justine E.
Jancey, Jonine
Crawford, Gemma
Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia
title Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia
title_full Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia
title_fullStr Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia
title_short Build and they will come: A follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia
title_sort build and they will come: a follow‐up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in western australia
topic Standard Issue ‐ Advancing Health Promotion Practice
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9790546/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35262244
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.588
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