Systematic Exposure to Recreation Centers Increases Use by Latino Families with Young Children

Abstract

Background: Living near community recreation centers (CRC) is associated with increases in adolescent and adult physical activity, but the efficacy of efforts to increase use among Latino parents and young children is unknown. We hypothesized that Latino parent-child dyads with exposure to a CRC through culturally tailored programming would be more likely to use the facility for physical activity a year after programming ended than dyads living in the same geographic area who were not exposed to the programming.Methods: self-identified Latino parent-child dyads who had participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCt) of a culturally tailored healthy lifestyle program and completed a 12-month follow-up assessment constituted the "exposed" group (n = 66). the "unexposed" group included 62 parent-child dyads living in the same zip codes as the exposed group, all within a 5-mile radius of the CRC. Participants completed in-person structured interviews.Results: Approximately two-thirds of exposed parents reported more than monthly use of the CRC for themselves a year after programming ended, compared to one-third of unexposed Latino families with the same geographic access (c2 = 11.26, p < 0.01). Parents in the exposed group were four times more likely than the unexposed group to use the CRC with their children on a monthly basis (odds ratio = 4.18, p < 0.01).Conclusions: CRCs that develop culturally tailored programs that invite Latino families inside can increase sustained CRC use for physical activity in this population at heightened risk for childhood obesity.

Parental perception of built environment characteristics and built environment use among Latino families: a cross-sectional study

“…In particular, participants were not often aware that schools were open after hours for physical activity, but over half of participants who reported their availability used the schools for physical activity. This explanation is consistent with our previous work in this community, which found that Latino families did not think that local recreation centers were intended for their use, and that their use of local recreation centers increased once they had been taught how to engage those services [23]. In addition, 26% of participants reported that none of the queried structures existed in their built environment, which suggests that many low-income Latino and African American families may not have any of these structures in their neighborhood, may not know that they exist, and/or may not be utilizing existing neighborhood structures to support the health of their families.…”

Parents’ Perceived Barriers to Accessing Sports and Recreation Facilities in Ontario, Canada: Exploring the Relationships between Income, Neighbourhood Deprivation, and Community

“…In the studies that have considered parent-reported barriers, some have reported perceived limited availability and access to facilities as barriers to use [ 29 , 54 , 65 , 66 ]. Others have reported perceived safety due to crime [ 54 ], perceived poor quality of the facility [ 30 ], lack of programming and accommodations [ 30 , 66 ] and lack of culturally appropriate programming [ 67 ] as barriers to use. A qualitative study of parents’ barriers, Thompson and colleagues identified busy lifestyles, age of children, weather, lack of transportation and costs as key barriers to using sports and recreation facilities [ 65 ].…”

Increasing Access to Physical Activity Within Low Income and Diverse Communities: A Systematic Review

“…Among 1775 total articles, 14 publications met the criteria. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] Most studies were case reports, with 3 randomized control trials, 2 cross-sectional, and 1 cohort study. Several journals and funding sources comprised the final sample, see Table 1, and they were held mostly in the United States with one study in Canada and one in England.…”

“…24,36,37 Three other studies included ideas for sustainability but did not describe efforts to guarantee long-term success, such as a plan for how to receive local matching funds 31,35 and utilization of an existing community-based resource. 33 Culture of learning. Though all studies provided some level of assessment, the other components of this essential practice, such as collaborative sharing and learning, were only met by 9 studies.…”