Public spaces and physical activity in adults: insights from a mixed-methods study

Abstract

Public spaces could promote health equity by providing a place for people to engage in physical activity. Whereas most studies show a positive association between public spaces and physical activity, there are still mixed results, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The objectives of this mixed-methods study were: (i) to assess the quantitative association between access to public spaces and physical activity; (ii) to assess the modification of the association by public spaces quality, area-level walkability, and social stratifiers; (iii) to explain the quantitative results using qualitative data. Quantitative data were obtained with a household survey in two arid-climate Mexican cities in 2017-2018. physical activity was measured with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Access to public spaces was measured in buffers centered on survey blocks, walkability with area-level indicators, and public spaces quality with the Physical Activity Resources Assessment. Qualitative data were obtained with semi-structured interviews and neighborhood observation. No quantitative association between access to public spaces and physical activity was found, as well as no interactions between access to public spaces and other variables. Walkability was positively associated with physical activity. Qualitative analysis showed that local public spaces were rarely used by adults because they were perceived as small, unequipped, unattractive, and unsafe. The results shed light on the relationship between public spaces and physical activity, highlighting the improvements in design and upkeep of public spaces that are necessary to achieve their potential health benefit.

Characteristics of public spaces in BSD City-gated community

“…However, it was found to be significant in the case of markets and mosques (Table 3). Previous research has shown that accessibility does not have a significant relationship with community visits to parks [11]. However, the survey results of this study show that some park visitors do not consider accessibility at all when visiting City Park 1.…”

“…This means that visitors who consider the number of activities in public spaces also consider the completeness of the supporting facilities in them. This is also supported by previous research which explains that the number and type of facilities in a public space can significantly influence the high number of community visits and activities carried out in it [11]. Thus, public space must be supported by complete supporting facilities so that it can accommodate various kinds of activities and attract the interest of gated and non-gated residents in BSD to carry out activities in public spaces.…”

Prevalência de diabéticos, hipertensos e atividade física em Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

“…Visto que a maioria dos estudos mostra uma associação positiva entre espaços públicos e atividade física. [20][21] As limitações de generalização dos dados, de fontes secundárias, também decorrem de que todas as informações obtidas são autorreferidas em entrevista telefônica e os indivíduos que não possuem uma linha telefônica fixa e não são residentes das capitais de Estados brasileiros não são incluídos no estudo. Entretanto, isso é amenizado por meio da utilização de fatores de ponderação dos dados, que buscam calcular os percentuais, considerando as diferenças nas variáveis demográficas da amostra do VIGITEL em relação às características da população total, com a pósestratificação.…”

Association between physical activity and comorbid anxiety/depression in 46 low- and middle-income countries

“…Our study is by far the largest and the first multicountry study on PA and comorbid anxiety/depression from LMICs, where frontline treatments for depression and anxiety (e.g., antidepressants, psychotherapy) are generally limited ( World Health Organization, 2013 ). Furthermore, in LMICs, there is a high rate of out-of-pocket expenditures ( Van Doorslaer et al, 2007 ), and a lack of access to easily accessible, low-cost, attractive, and safe PA facilities in- and outdoors ( Bojorquez et al, 2021 ; Vancampfort et al, 2019 ). There has been a number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effect of PA on mental health outcomes ( Firth et al, 2020 ) and the majority were restricted to depression ( Kruisdijk et al, 2019 ; Lewis et al, 2014 ; Ström et al, 2013 ) and anxiety ( Powers et al, 2015 ; Rosenbaum et al, 2015 ) alone.…”