Myron Floyd

Drs. Hipp and Floyd, graduate students Alberico and Huang, and their community partners will contribute to the following dissemination activities of PARC3 and PARC. 1. Presentations to different audiences – 6 min a. New/Non-traditional dissemination (e.g., webinar through Recreation Resources Services) b. Journal articles (min 2) c. Conferences / traditional outlets (e.g., National Recreation and Parks Association and The Academy of Leisure Sciences) • Where appropriate, provide support to partner organizations to share study findings • Participate in monthly research team meeting calls • Participate in one PARC in-person meeting (ALC 2020 in Orlando) • Participate in the development of PARC video • Contribute to pursuing funding opportunities

Mounting evidence suggests that exposure to natural environments has promising human health benefits. Although research is accumulating, additional investigations involving different measures of green space and multiple health outcomes are needed. As public health, medical, and land management organizations increasingly promote contact with nature for health benefits, and prescribe nature for health, there is urgent need for more scientific evidence to guide policy and practice. This proposal requests support to conduct secondary analyses on three data sets focused on green space characteristics and population health.

In many regions of the country, policy and environmental changes have led to increased physical activity and lower obesity among children. Unfortunately, racial and ethnic and income disparities in childhood overweight and obesity remain and in some instances have widened. To reduce disparities, close examination of how policies and practices related to the built environment can intervene against childhood obesity for highest risk populations is needed. Therefore, we propose to examine patterns of park use among children from different racial and ethnic groups. Parks are widely available and affordable community resources that can increase routine physical activity among children during non-school hours (or out of school time). Although several studies show that parks and related environmental factors tend to increase the likelihood that children will be physically active, few studies include comparisons by race/ethnicity within low income communities.

Increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the U.S. remains a significant public health concern. Being overweight or obese is associated with increased risk for diabetes, heart disease and a range of other chronic diseases. Research shows that minority and low-income populations are disproportionately affected by obesity compared to the general population. This project, “A Multi-Level Approach to Prevent Obesity: Extension and Engagement in Four North Carolina Counties”, identifies several strategies to prevent obesity in four counties in North Carolina: Lee, Edgecombe, Halifax, and Northampton. By partnering with local Extension offices, health departments, parks and recreation departments, schools, and faith communities, we aim to: 1) increase opportunities for individual education around healthy eating and physical activity, drawing on research-based Extension programming such as EFNEP, SNAP-Education and Faithful Families Eating Smart and Moving More; 2) increase partnerships and supporting coalitions that are focused on increasing access to healthy foods and places to be active; 3) increase the number of organizations (faith communities and schools) and food retail establishments (corner stores and farmers’ markets) that implement healthy food standards or increase access to fresh and local foods; and 4) increase the availability of places to be active through Active Routes to School programs, shared use practices in community organizations, and standards that encourage physical activity in Afterschool setting. Through a comprehensive approach, based on the socio-ecological model, we aim to better understand the role Extension can play in preventing obesity, particularly in low-income and minority communities in North Carolina.

The scope of work under this agreement will consist of a collaborative effort to create a comprehensive evidence-based framework to guide marketing and promotion, planning for interpretive services, stewardship and partnership development, and philanthropy to engage African Americans partner organizations in support of national park units with African American themes. To assist the NPS in developing strategies for connecting to African American audiences, this task agreement will focus on four major collaborative functions: 1) social science research to investigate perceptions and meanings of national park sites and themes among selected African American partner organizations and visitor groups; 2) development and technical support of marketing and branding activities to African American partner organizations, visitor groups, and other relevant stakeholders; and 3) development of education and training curricula and programs to build capacity among African American partner organizations to collaborate with the NPS in stewardship and philanthropy in support of national park units with African American themes; and 4) evaluation of marketing, branding, and training activities.

Inefficiencies in the U.S. health care system create barriers to providing the highest quality of prevention and treatment services, particularly for vulnerable communities. What the U.S. spends for health care relative to improvements in population health highlights symptoms of a failing system. Physical activity (PA) has been identified as one of four key modifiable risk behaviors contributing to chronic diseases. Despite evidence that increased PA reduces preventable chronic diseases, health care professionals including primary care doctors may lack knowledge to effectively counsel patients on activity and program options for PA. Community parks and recreation services can play a much larger role in providing both prevention and treatment, offering an alternative and a more cost effective and efficient preventive medical approach. Park Rx programs seek to strengthen the connection between the healthcare system and parks and recreation services. In such programs, physicians and other healthcare providers prescribe to patients’ use of parks and recreation services for prevention and treatment for a range of chronic diseases. This project is a collaborative effort between NC State, two to four Federally Qualified Health Centers, and the NC Division of Public Health (NCDPH), Chronic Disease and Injury Section. We will also engage two key partners: North Carolina Parks and Recreation Association (NCRPA) and Recreation Resources Service (RRS), a state-level technical assistance program that supports public parks and recreation department in all 100 NC counties. These two organizations could potentially coordinate partnerships between parks and recreation departments in the project counties and the volunteer focus group participants. This project will develop an app that would allow FQHC staff and their patients to identify opportunities for physical activity programs and facilities in the patient's community that matches their interest, physical abilities/disabilities, and leisure skills.

This research is a collaborative effort between NC State and the NPS that will develop an inventory of historical and current RDI programs, initiatives, services, and activities designed to help NPS realize its vision and achieve its goals in the following areas: Relevancy, Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity. Specifically, the inventory will describe and examine strategies, population(s) targeted, staff, funding, and other resources, external partnerships, and outcomes including whether the activity is site specific or whether it can be replicated. The goal is to design it so that it can be transferred into an online interactive format.

The purpose of this award is to collaborate with researchers from the University of California at San Diego, Johns Hopkins University, and Georgia Tech to plan a Physical Activity Research Center. The Center will conduct studies for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to identify and inform built environment policies and practices that are most important for increasing physical activity among children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

In many regions of the country, policy and environmental changes have led to increased physical activity and lower obesity among children. Unfortunately, racial and ethnic and income disparities in childhood overweight and obesity remain and in some instances have widened. To reduce disparities, close examination of how policies and practices related to the built environment can intervene against childhood obesity for highest risk populations is needed. Therefore, we propose to examine patterns of park use among children from different racial and ethnic groups. Parks are widely available and affordable community resources that can increase routine physical activity among children during non-school hours (or out of school time). Although several studies show that parks and related environmental factors tend to increase the likelihood that children will be physically active, few studies include comparisons by race/ethnicity within low income communities.

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and North Carolina State University (Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management) share the goal of bringing relevant research in parks and recreation management, planning, and practice to the parks and recreation practitioner. Because of this the NRPA and NCSU wish to collaborate and share resources and efforts where possible in order to further their common objectives and interests. This project will support NC State to produce an annual summary of research from the scientific literature related to parks and recreation management. The NRPA will published the research through avenues such as the NRPA website, social media channels and Parks and Recreation Magazine.