TY - JOUR
T1 - The mediating role of perceived crime in gender and built environment associations with park use and park-based physical activity among park users in high poverty neighborhoods
AU - Derose, Kathryn P.
AU - Han, Bing
AU - Park, Sujeong
AU - Williamson, Stephanie
AU - Cohen, Deborah A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number R01HL114283 ( ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01925404 ). This manuscript was also partially supported by the National Cancer Institute of the NIH under award number R01CA218188 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. The authors declare no financial conflicts of interest.
Funding Information:
We thank collaborators at the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and in particular: Mark Mariscal, Sophia Pina-Cortez, and Kevin Regan. We also acknowledge the important role played by the promotoras (bilingual community health promoters) from AltaMed Health Services in helping to collect the data and Terry Marsh and Laura Raaen of RAND in managing fieldwork. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number R01HL114283 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01925404). This manuscript was also partially supported by the National Cancer Institute of the NIH under award number R01CA218188. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. The authors declare no financial conflicts of interest. None.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - Women use parks less for physical activity than men, and explanations include gendered concerns regarding personal safety and access to walking paths. This study conducted mediation analyses to examine the effects of gender and presence of park walking path on park use, participation in park programs, and park-based physical activity through the hypothesized mediator (perception of crime). The sample included 3213 park users from 48 parks in high poverty neighborhoods in Los Angeles surveyed between 2013 and 2015; park-level factors were assessed through systematic observations of study parks. Women reported fewer park visits than men in the last 7 days (β = −0.17, p = 0.02) and had significantly higher perceived crime (β = 0.12, p < 0.0001) and perceived crime partially mediated the gender association with park visits (βgender, direct = −0.09, p = 0.19; βgender, indirect = −0.07, p < 0.0001). Similarly, the existence of a walking path in the park was significantly related to increased park use (β = 0.27, p = 0.006) and a lower level of perceived crime (β = −0.25, p = 0.0034) and perceived crime partially mediated the association of walking path with park visits (βwalking path, direct = 0.18, p = 0.10; βwalking path, indirect = 0.15, p = 0.005). The associations between gender, walking path, and park-based exercise and program participation were not meaningfully mediated by perceived crime. Among park users in majority Latino, high poverty neighborhoods, addressing crime concerns are likely necessary to increase park use among women and adults whose parks do not have a walking path. For park-based exercise and participation in park programs, gendered preferences regarding park-based physical activity should be explored.
AB - Women use parks less for physical activity than men, and explanations include gendered concerns regarding personal safety and access to walking paths. This study conducted mediation analyses to examine the effects of gender and presence of park walking path on park use, participation in park programs, and park-based physical activity through the hypothesized mediator (perception of crime). The sample included 3213 park users from 48 parks in high poverty neighborhoods in Los Angeles surveyed between 2013 and 2015; park-level factors were assessed through systematic observations of study parks. Women reported fewer park visits than men in the last 7 days (β = −0.17, p = 0.02) and had significantly higher perceived crime (β = 0.12, p < 0.0001) and perceived crime partially mediated the gender association with park visits (βgender, direct = −0.09, p = 0.19; βgender, indirect = −0.07, p < 0.0001). Similarly, the existence of a walking path in the park was significantly related to increased park use (β = 0.27, p = 0.006) and a lower level of perceived crime (β = −0.25, p = 0.0034) and perceived crime partially mediated the association of walking path with park visits (βwalking path, direct = 0.18, p = 0.10; βwalking path, indirect = 0.15, p = 0.005). The associations between gender, walking path, and park-based exercise and program participation were not meaningfully mediated by perceived crime. Among park users in majority Latino, high poverty neighborhoods, addressing crime concerns are likely necessary to increase park use among women and adults whose parks do not have a walking path. For park-based exercise and participation in park programs, gendered preferences regarding park-based physical activity should be explored.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105846
DO - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105846
M3 - Article
C2 - 31518627
AN - SCOPUS:85073429715
VL - 129
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
SN - 0091-7435
M1 - 105846
ER -