Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Aug 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialPromoting physical activity in high-poverty neighborhood parks: A cluster randomized controlled trial.
Although physical activity can help mitigate or prevent multiple chronic diseases, most people in the U. S., especially high-poverty minority groups, engage in insufficient levels of physical activity. To test ways to promote more physical activity in high-poverty area public parks we conducted a randomized controlled intervention trial. ⋯ The process evaluation uncovered several barriers to program implementation, including inconsistent scheduling of classes, partly due to safety concerns among instructors. Multiple social factors interfere with leisure time physical activity among low-income populations, suggesting modest interventions may be insufficient to overcome these issues. Although new park programs can attract users, new programs alone may be insufficient to increase overall park use in low-income neighborhoods at times when the programs are not taking place.