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Abstract #153137

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Sally J. Lawrence, MPH, Lisa Craypo, MPH, RD, Krista Stiffler, MPH, Sarah Stone-Francisco, MPH, and Sarah Samuels, DrPH. Samuels & Associates, 1222 Preservation Park Way, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-271-6799, sally@samuelsandassociates.com

Physical activity and nutrition are both inextricably linked to healthy living. Communities across the country have acknowledged and are starting to address disparities in access to healthy foods, but communities must also acknowledge the importance of neighborhood-level disparities in access to safe places for residents to play and be active. The six low-income communities participating in The California Endowment's Healthy Eating, Active Communities Initiative (HEAC) are working to improve access to physical activity in neighborhoods, through policy and environmental change. A multi-method evaluation is being employed to capture changes from the beginning to end of the 4-year initiative. The author will present baseline findings from 1) stakeholder surveys with more than 30 key community leaders and participants in each community's HEAC interventions, 2) spatial analysis of key physical activity assets, such as density of park space, and 3) observational neighborhood physical activity analyses. A synthesis of the data from all three sources will be presented to provide a multidimensional picture of disparities in community access to adequate physical activity spaces. Baseline findings will be linked to policies and environmental change strategies that grantees are using to promote physical activity in their neighborhoods.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply three methods of evaluating neighborhood environments to identify disparities in access to physical activity opportunities.
• Analyze neighborhood-level data to identify three policy solutions to communities lacking physical activity opportunities.
• List five ways communities can use evaluation data to increase community awareness and support for policies that promote physical activity.

Keywords: Physical Activity, Environment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout
• Multimedia recording