Understanding children’s preference for park features that encourage physical activity: an adaptive choice based conjoint analysis

Abstract

Background Parks are a key setting for physical activity for children. However, little is known about which park features children prefer and which features are most likely to encourage them to be active in parks. This study examined the relative importance of park features among children for influencing their choice of park for engaging in park-based physical activity. Methods Children (n = 252; 8-12 years, 42% male) attending three primary schools in Melbourne, Australia completed a survey at school. They were required to complete a series of Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint analysis tasks, with responses used to identify the part-worth utilities and relative importance scores of selected park features using Hierarchical Bayes analyses within Sawtooth Software. Results For the overall sample and both boys and girls, the most important driver of choice for a park that would encourage them to be active was presence of a flying fox (overall conjoint analysis relative importance score: 15.8%; 95%CI = 14.5, 17.1), followed by a playground (13.5%; 95%CI = 11.9, 15.2). For the overall sample, trees for climbing had the third highest importance score (10.2%; 95%CI = 8.9, 11.6); however, swings had 3rd highest importance for girls (11.1, 95%CI = 9.3, 12.9) and an obstacle course/parkour area had the 3rd highest importance score for boys (10.7, 95%CI = 9.0, 12.4). For features with two levels, part-worth utility scores showed that the presence of a feature was always preferred over the absence of a feature. For features with multiple levels, long flying foxes, large adventure playgrounds, lots of trees for climbing, large round swings, large climbing equipment, and large grassy open space were the preferred levels. Conclusion To ensure parks appeal as a setting that encourages children to engage in physical activity, park planners and local authorities and organisations involved in park design should prioritise the inclusion of a long flying fox, large adventure playgrounds, lots of trees for climbing, large round swings and obstacle courses/parkour areas.

Associations between Park and Playground Availability and Proximity and Children’s Physical Activity and Body Mass Index: The BEACH Study

“…As previously indicated, children living in the neighborhoods (1250 m street-network buffer) with the highest number of playgrounds could achieve 22 min more of TPA per weekday. As is known, the availability of playgrounds can be positively related to PA in children [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Our findings concur with a previous Australian study [ 21 ], showing that the upgrade of a park, including an all-abilities playground (among other park improvements), was related to an increase in park visitation among children.…”

“…It seems that the park attractiveness would be more related to the park use than the distance. Furthermore, current evidence shows that the presence of certain features within parks, such as playgrounds, is related with PA among children [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. In line with this idea, a study from Australia [ 47 ] indicated that the presence of playgrounds at the nearest public open space to home was positively related to children’s MVPA.…”

“…Parks include specific attributes and features that can be important to encourage PA in different age groups. The literature indicates that the presence of playgrounds is one of the most attractive park features to the population of children [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. A playground is usually an outdoor area designed for children to play and is located in public parks or other public open spaces.…”

Enabling Better Physical Activity and Screen Time Behaviours for Adolescents from Middle Eastern Backgrounds: Semi-Structured Interviews with Parents

“…One key finding of this study is that despite proximity to parks and other sports facilities, the parents demonstrated extreme reluctance to allow park visitation in their absence. It must be noted that this finding is not unique to ME parents, and while most of the previous literature has concerned children younger than 13 years of age, these concerns are not being voiced by the parents of adolescents as well [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Reluctance to allow unaccompanied park visits has been reported to be more pronounced in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.…”

Motivating playgrounds: understanding how school playgrounds support autonomy, competence, and relatedness of tweens

“…A previous study concluded that motivation for being active outdoors was positively associated with the amount of space provided (Islam et al, 2016 ). Other studies of children’s park use have shown that the variety of play equipment and opportunities for children’s play are positively associated with use and PA (Cohen et al, 2020 ; Sylvester et al, 2014 ; Veitch et al, 2021 ).…”