Associations of park access, park use and physical activity in parks with wellbeing in an Asian urban environment: a cross-sectional study

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Angelia Sia¹  Lu Ying²  Ann W. Hsing³  Ng Xian Yi⁴  Wee Hwee Lin⁴  Rob M. van Dam⁴  Joel Koo⁴  Borame Dickens⁴  Alex R. Cook⁴  Nicholas A. Petrunoff⁴  Falk Müller-Riemenschneider⁵ 

[1] Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, National Parks Board Singapore, 1E Cluny Rd., Singapore 11 Botanic Gardens, 259569, Singapore, Singapore;Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Hospital System, 1E Kent Ridge Road, NUHS Tower Block, Level 9, 119228, Singapore, Singapore;Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA;Department of Medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA;Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, 117549, Singapore, Singapore;Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, 117549, Singapore, Singapore;Digital Health Center , Berlin Institute of Health, Charite University Medical Centre Berlin, Kapelle-Ufer 2, 10117, Berlin, Germany;

关键词: Parks;    Urban green space;    Park access;    Park use;    Physical activity;    Wellbeing;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12966-021-01147-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRelationships between park access, park use, and wellbeing remain poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to investigate: (1) perceived and objective park access in relation to park use and physical activity in parks; and; (2) perceived and objective park access, park use and physical activity in parks and their associations with wellbeing.MethodsAn interviewer-assisted survey collected data on perceived time to walk to parks, park use time, park physical activity time and wellbeing (using a scale containing nine domains) amongst adult participants of the Singapore Multi-Ethnic Cohort. Geospatial maps of parks and the “walkable” street networks were created for the city-state of Singapore to objectively determine distances to accessible points on park boundaries. Multiple linear regression models estimated the importance of park access to park use and associations of park access and park use with wellbeing, adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsParticipants’ (n = 3435) average age was 48.8 years (SD, 12.8), 44.8% were male and 72.6% were of Chinese ethnicity. Better perceived but not true park access was significantly associated with greater park use. Park access (perceived or true) was not associated with physical activity time in parks. Greater participant park time and physical activity time in parks were associated with higher wellbeing scores (p < 0.001). The differences in wellbeing scores between the reference groups, who spent negligible time in parks, and the highest quartiles of time in parks (10.8 h/month) and physical activity in parks (8.3 h/month) were 3.2 (95% CI 2.1–4.4) and 4.2 (95% CI 4.1–6.3) points out of 100 respectively. These associations were similar for most domains of wellbeing, with clear dose-response relationships.ConclusionsWhile perceived park access was strongly associated with park use and well-being, true park access was not, and neither park access measure was associated with park physical activity. Future studies could investigate the influence of park attributes on park use, physical activity in parks and wellbeing. The consistent associations of park use and particularly physical activity in parks with wellbeing suggest that promoting park use, and especially physical activity in parks, is a promising strategy for improving wellbeing in urban settings.

【 授权许可】

CC BY