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Placement of Outdoor Exercise Equipment and Physical Activity: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Two Parks in Southern California

Author

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  • Mojgan Sami

    (Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Development, California State University, Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., #KHS-121, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA)

  • Megan Smith

    (Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-1250, USA)

  • Oladele A. Ogunseitan

    (Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-3957, USA)

Abstract

To reduce the burden of chronic disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded the Orange County Partnerships to Improve Health (OC-PICH) project in Orange County, California. One of the strategies included adding outdoor exercise equipment (OEE) in two parks in Garden Grove and Anaheim. Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, we evaluated park users’ physical activity levels before and after OEE installation using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC). The OEE was installed along a walking path in Edison Park (Anaheim) and grouped within a single area (a “fitness zone”) in Garden Grove Park. In both parks, there were significantly greater odds of high-intensity physical activity overall after the installation—19% higher odds in Anaheim, and 23% higher odds in Garden Grove. However, the fitness zone area in Garden Grove had substantially higher odds of increased physical activity post-intervention (OR = 5.29, CI: 3.76–7.44, p < 0.001). While the increases in physical activity levels are consistent with past studies that link OEE to higher levels of physical activity among park users, our findings also suggest that the location and placement of equipment within a park may be an important factor to consider when improving park amenities for physical activity.

Suggested Citation

  • Mojgan Sami & Megan Smith & Oladele A. Ogunseitan, 2020. "Placement of Outdoor Exercise Equipment and Physical Activity: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Two Parks in Southern California," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-11, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2605-:d:344151
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hunter, Ruth F. & Christian, Hayley & Veitch, Jenny & Astell-Burt, Thomas & Hipp, J.Aaron & Schipperijn, Jasper, 2015. "The impact of interventions to promote physical activity in urban green space: A systematic review and recommendations for future research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 246-256.
    2. Hsueh-wen Chow & Dai-Rong Wu, 2019. "Outdoor Fitness Equipment Usage Behaviors in Natural Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Cuina Zhang & Ruobing Li & Yun Xia & Yixing Yuan & Hasan Dinçer & Serhat Yüksel, 2020. "Analysis of Environmental Activities for Developing Public Health Investments and Policies: A Comparative Study with Structure Equation and Interval Type 2 Fuzzy Hybrid Models," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-23, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hsueh-Wen Chow & Kun-Tang Chang & I-Yao Fang, 2021. "Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Outdoor Fitness Equipment Intervention in Achieving Fitness Goals for Seniors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Greta Helen Bladh, 2022. "Spatial Bodies: Vulnerable Inclusiveness within Gyms and Fitness Venues in Sweden," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-24, October.
    3. Ying Xu & Sarah Ann Wheeler & Alec Zuo, 2022. "The Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Participation and Physical Activities in Parks: A Systematic Review of the Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-20, October.

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