Playground safety disparities: Results from the Play Across St. Louis study

Zip code has been shown to be a predictor of mortality from diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Obesity and sedentary behavior place youth at an increased risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers later in life. Local school-based initiatives show overweight/obesity, low levels of physical activity, and poor cardiorespiratory fitness are highly prevalent among school-aged youth in the City of St. Louis, MO (StL). Neighborhood environment factors have been shown to influence physical activity. To date, an assessment of physical activity resources in StL has not been conducted. To address this gap, in collaboration with the StL Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Partnership, the Play Across StL (PA-StL) study is assessing the presence and condition of publicly accessible playgrounds for all 79 neighborhoods in StL using community engaged research. Google Earth was used to conduct e-windshield surveys and identified 324 playgrounds in StL by neighborhood. The Play Across Boston playground safety and conditions survey was adapted for StL with the HEAL Active Living Work Group. Playground safety assessments are currently in progress. Construction, maintenance, and overall playground safety scores, straight-line distance from geographic center of each neighborhood to the nearest playground and the nearest playground with a safety score in the top quartile will be calculated. Results from the study will be used to identify areas where there are disparities in playground safety and develop a strategic plan in partnership with businesses, local and state government, residents, and the HEAL partnership address playground safety issues.