Journal ArticleDOI
System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC): Reliability and Feasibility Measures
TLDR
SOPARC is a reliable and feasible instrument for assessing physical activity and associated contextual data in community settings and met acceptable criteria for area contexts.Abstract:
Background: New tools are needed to examine physical activity and the contexts in which it occurs. Community parks contribute to physical activity, but measuring activity and associated variables in them is challenging because area contexts change and the numbers and characteristics of users are highly variable. Methods: We developed SOPARC (System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities) and tested its use by observing 16,244 individuals in 165 park areas. Reliabilities included 472 simultaneous measures by independent observers. Results: Correlations between observers on number of area participants was 0.99 for female and male park users. Reliabilities (i.e., percent agreement) for age (89%, females; 85%, males), race/ethnic (80%, females; 82%, males), and activity level (80%, females; 88%, males) groupings met acceptable criteria. Reliabilities for area contexts (i.e., usable, accessible, supervised, organized, equipped) exceeded 94%. Conclusions: SOPARC is a reliable and feasible instrument for assessing physical activity and associated contextual data in community settings.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Measuring the Built Environment for Physical Activity: State of the Science
TL;DR: This first comprehensive examination of built-environment measures demonstrates considerable progress over the past decade, showing diverse environmental variables available that use multiple modes of assessment.
Journal ArticleDOI
Contribution of Public Parks to Physical Activity
Deborah A. Cohen,Thomas L. McKenzie,Amber Sehgal,Stephanie Williamson,Daniela Golinelli,Nicole Lurie +5 more
TL;DR: How residents in low-income, minority communities use public, urban neighborhood parks and how parks contribute to physical activity are studied to find public parks are critical resources for physical activity in minority communities.
Journal ArticleDOI
Association of Park Size, Distance, and Features With Physical Activity in Neighborhood Parks
TL;DR: Parks with more features were more likely to be used for physical activity; size and distance were not significant predictors; parks with more facilities were more important than were park amenities.
Journal ArticleDOI
Public Parks and Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls
Deborah A. Cohen,J. Scott Ashwood,Molly M. Scott,Adrian Overton,Kelly R. Evenson,Lisa K. Staten,Dwayne E. Porter,Thomas L. McKenzie,Diane J. Catellier +8 more
TL;DR: The goal of this study was to examine the association between park proximity, park type, and park features and physical activity in adolescent girls, and found that the type, number, and specific parks features were associated with girls' nonschool metabolic equivalent–weighted moderate/vigorous physical activity.
Journal ArticleDOI
State of the Art Reviews: Measurement of Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents
TL;DR: A review of physical activity in children and adolescents can be found in this paper, where a wide range of methods have been used to measure physical activity, including self-report methods such as questionnaires, activity logs, and diaries, as well as objective measures of physical activities such as direct observation, doubly labeled water, heart rate monitoring, accelerometers, and pedometers.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Behavioral school psychology goes outdoors: the effect of organized games on playground aggression.
TL;DR: Using a reversal (ABAB) design, it was found that the games, rope jumping, and foot racing, along with an infrequently used time-out procedure, significantly reduced the frequency of inappropriate incidents.