Abstract
The current study examined racial/ethnic differences in use of parks and park facilities and features and self-reported park use and perceptions. We conducted observations in a nationally representative sample of 193 neighborhood parks in 27 US cities over a 1-week period between April and August of 2016 using the System of Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC). To determine the propensity of different racial/ethnic groups to use parks relative to expectation based on their representation in the surrounding neighborhood, we calculated the percentages of park users of each race/ethnicity and compared these to the percentages of racial/ethnic groups residing in the neighborhood within a 1-mile radius of the park based on 2010 U.S. Census data. In the same parks, we administered an intercept survey to assess park users’ self-reported use and perceptions of the park (N = 1872). We examined racial/ethnic differences in self-reported use and perceptions of parks using GEE models that adjusted for several individual- and park-level covariates. Hispanics comprised a disproportionate percentage of observed park users. Racial/ethnic groups generally did not differ in their self-reported park use and perceptions, except for the social context of park visits. In adjusted models, Hispanics had significantly higher odds of visiting with a child family member (OR = 1.44) and lower odds of visiting alone than non-Hispanic whites (OR = .55). Findings highlight Hispanics’ greater propensity to use parks and indicate that parks may serve a communal purpose for Hispanics that they do not serve for other racial/ethnic groups.
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Notes
The response rate could not be calculated because it was not possible to determine the number of park users who were eligible to complete the survey. Instead, we report the refusal rate, which is the number of people who were invited to complete the survey and refused divided by the total number of people who were invited to complete the survey.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to Deborah Cohen (R01HL114432). The authors express their appreciation of the data collectors who observed park use and participants in surveys.
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Vaughan, C.A., Cohen, D.A. & Han, B. How Do Racial/Ethnic Groups Differ in Their Use of Neighborhood Parks? Findings from the National Study of Neighborhood Parks. J Urban Health 95, 739–749 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0278-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0278-y