QUARTER 1: January - March 2014 | USC-PRC Notes
"Promoting Health through Physical Activity"
Topics in this issue
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
New Website Addresses Obesity Prevention among Latinos
Parks and Recreation Commit to Health Through Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Standards
City Cycling: Health Versus Hazard
Upcoming Events and Observances: April, May, June
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON:
Schatz, Begich Introduce Bill to Make Communities and Streets Safer
Impacts of the 2014 Ominbus Spending Bill on Public Health Research and Practice
RESEARCH NOTES:
Predicting Outdoor Recreation Area Use in a Southeastern US County: A Signal Detection Analysis
Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in Older Women: The Women’s Health Initiative
Taking Up Physical Activity in Later Life and Healthy Ageing: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES:
Practitioner's Guide for Advancing Health Equity
Special Issue: Twenty-Five Years of Healthy Communities: Part 1-- National Civic Review Marks 25 Years of Healthy Communities
PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES:
It’s Time to Move it -- Blue Zones Makes Great Strides in Lives of Sioux City Kids, Adults
In Sprawling Texas, Walkability Gains a Toehold
St. Louis County Council Approves Complete Streets Policy
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
April, May, June
USC PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER UPDATE:
Updates from Sumter County on the Move!
Update from the National Physical Activity Plan—Save the Date for the 2015 National Physical Activity Plan Congress
Update on QuitConnect: A National Smoker’s Registry for Proactive Re-Engagement
Updates from the South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SC-CPCRN)
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
New Website Addresses Obesity Prevention among Latinos
Salud America! launched Growing Healthy Change last week, a "first-of-its-kind clearinghouse of Latino-focused resources and stories to promote changes-healthier marketing and improved access to healthy food and physical activity, etc.-for Latino kids." According to Salud America! director Amelie Ramirez, the site-which includes map creation capabilities, success story examples, and other resources-is a "critical tool to showcase the latest healthy changes for Latino kids that are popping up across the country."
[Source: Salud Today and Salud America!]
Parks and Recreation Commit to Health Through Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Standards
On February 25, The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), in collaboration with Partnership for a Healthier America and Alliance for a Healthier Generation, launched the Commit to Health campaign to bring the Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) standards to community park and recreation programs throughout the U.S. During the five-year campaign, the HEPA standards will be implemented and evaluated at approximately 2,000 sites (like public parks and recreation centers). The HEPA standards were created in 2011 and have been adopted by a range of organizations that provide out-of-school time programs for children; the Alliance for a Healthier Generation will assist in the implementation of the HEPA standards and to help provide technical assistance to participating sites. At the launch, Barbara Tulipane, NRPA President and CEO said, “Commit to Health is just one more way parks and recreation can help make a significant and measurable impact in the health of their communities and help children grow up healthy, regardless of their social opportunity.”
[Source: PRWeb]
City Cycling: Health Versus Hazard
While research supports the physical and mental health benefits of active transport, including cycling, there are a host of considerations for potential riders to weigh, including possibly their personal safety. In order to explore issues of city cycling safety, urban planning, and transport engineering, reporter Lesley Evans Ogden traveled to 7 cities across Europe and Canada, riding a bike and getting an inside view on the experience of cyclists. Through her report on city cycling Ogden shares personal experiences, describes public health research, and examines policy differences between North America and Europe including differences in regulations for cycling safety, equity and their impact on public health.
[Source: Mosaic Science and CNN]
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OBSERVANCES:
APRIL
Cancer Control Month
April 1-30, 2014
National Minority Health Awareness Month
April 1-30, 2014
National Public Health Week
April 7-13, 2014
Medical Fitness Week
April 21-27, 2014
National Start! Walking Day
April 4, 2014
National Walk to Work Day
April 4, 2014
World Health Day
April 7, 2014
World T'ai Chi & Qigong Day
April 26, 2014
MAY
American Stroke Month
May 1-31, 2014
Clean Air Month
May 1-31, 2014
National Arthritis Month
May 1-31, 2014
Older Americans Month
May 1-31, 2014
National Bike Month
May 1-31, 2014
National Cancer Research Month
May 1-31, 2014
National Employee Health and Fitness Month
May 1-31, 2014
National High Blood Pressure Education Month
May 1-31, 2014
National Osteoporosis Awareness Prevention Month
May 1-31, 2014
National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
May 1-31, 2014
National Physical Education and Sports Week
May 1-7, 2014
Screen-Free Week
May 5-11, 2014
National Women's Health Week
May 11-17, 2014
National Bike to Work Week
May 12-13, 2014
National Bike to School Day
May 7, 2014
National Bike to Work Day
May 16, 2013
JUNE
National Trails Day
June 7, 2014
World Environment Day
June 5, 2014
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON:
Schatz, Begich Introduce Bill to Make Communities and Streets Safer
On February 6, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) introduced the Safe Streets Act of 2014, legislation that would improve the safety of roads and expand access for all users. The Safe Streets Act would require all states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) to adopt complete street policies for federally funded projects within two years, and consider the safety of all users when designing new roads or improving existing roads. The goal of the legislation is to provide broad access to sidewalks, bike lanes, and other street safety features that help road users share the space and travel safely. A bipartisan House version has been introduced by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio).
[Source: Brian Schatz, US Senator]
Impacts of the 2014 Ominbus Spending Bill on Public Health Research and Practice
In January, Congress passed their Fiscal Year 2014 bill, which included a number of updates to public health program funding. Among the updates are the following: $1 billion increase to NIH to continue funding current projects and fund an additional 385 research studies; the first official allocation to the Prevention and Public Health Fund (created by the Affordable Care Act); and $80 million to launch the new Community Prevention Grants program, which will fund projects by municipal governments, school districts, business, and transportation providers.
[Source: House.gov and Tom Harkin, US Senator]
RESEARCH NOTES:
Predicting Outdoor Recreation Area Use in a Southeastern US County: A Signal Detection Analysis
To understand more about the combination of individual-level factors associated with use of outdoor recreation areas (ORA) (community parks and trails) in community-dwelling adults, researchers at the USC PRC examined data from a random-digit dial survey of a socioeconomically diverse Southeastern US county. The analysis included 829 adults with self-reported data on physical activity level, use/perceived safety of ORAs, and sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. Signal detection analysis, a non-parametric recursive partitioning technique, was used to identify cutpoints for defining subgroups of respondents based on ORA use (the dependent variable). Seven subgroups were defined ranging from 77.2% ORA use (younger, met physical activity recommendations) to 31.8% ORA use (older, perceived ORAs to be less safe). The results suggest that gendered and ethnically-targeted ORA promotion campaigns might not be necessary. Instead, efforts could focus on increasing awareness of ORA facilities among older, less active adults.
Source: Schoffman DE, Wilcox S, Kaczynski AT, Child S, Barr-Anderson DJ, Sharpe PA, Forthofer M. (2014) Predicting Outdoor Recreation Area Use in a Southeastern US County: A Signal Detection Analysis. Journal of Community Health
Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in Older Women: The Women’s Health Initiative
While broad epidemiologic investigations have demonstrated a link between sedentary behavior and mortality, women (especially older and minority women) have been underrepresented in these samples and more exploration with these subgroups was needed. Researchers used a large sample (92,234 women) from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, to examine the relationship between sedentary time and total; cardiovascular disease (CVD); coronary heart disease (CHD); and cancer mortality. Self-reported sedentary time was divided into 4 categories, and the highest and lowest categories were compared for mortality risk. Compared with women who reported the least sedentary time, women reporting the highest sedentary time had increased risk of all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, CHD mortality, and cancer mortality. Additionally, there was a linear relationship between greater amounts of sedentary time and mortality risk after controlling for multiple potential confounders.
Source: Seguin R. et al. (2014). Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in Older Women: The Women’s Health Initiative. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Taking Up Physical Activity in Later Life and Healthy Ageing: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
While previous research has examined the impacts of physical activity on the aging of mid-life adults, less is known about the impacts of physical activity in later life. Researchers examined the impact of physical activity on a cohort of older adults, and its impact on healthy aging, defined as survival without developing major chronic disease, depressive symptoms, physical or cognitive impairment. The analysis used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a prospective cohort of 3,454 initially disease-free community dwelling older adults were followed for 8 years to assess disease status and self-reported physical activity. The results show that physical activity was associated with overall improved health in later life, but also that significant health benefits were experienced by individuals who became active during the study period, relatively later in life.
Source: Hamer M, Lavoie KL, Bacon SL. (2014) Taking up physical activity in later life and healthy ageing: the English longitudinal study of ageing. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES:
Practitioner's Guide for Advancing Health Equity
Evidence from research demonstrates the impact of the environment on health and well-being as well as the unequal access to health-promoting resources across neighborhoods and regions of the country. However, there is much more that needs to be learned about the translation of this research into practical changes. The purpose of the Health Equity Guide is to assist practitioners with addressing the well-documented disparities in chronic disease health outcomes. The guide offers tools for practitioners as well as lessons learned from case studies of field work, and is designed to help practitioners with all levels of experience. Section 4 of the guide, “Maximizing Active Living Strategies to Advance Health Equity” is devoted to environmental change for physical activity promotion.
[Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Division of Community Health]
Special Issue: Twenty-Five Years of Healthy Communities: Part 1-- National Civic Review Marks 25 Years of Healthy Communities In January, the National Civic League released the first of two special issues of the National Civic Review to celebrate 25 years of the Healthy Communities movement. The Healthy Communities movement has worked to reshape the way that people think about health and wellness, aiming to improve health and equity by changing the places where people live, learn, work and play. The special editions, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, include articles written about and by philanthropic leaders of the Convergence Partnership whose innovative collaborative efforts have helped catalyze the Healthy Communities movement. Articles highlight achievements of the movement, including the collaborations between philanthropists to start ground-breaking conversations about place-based environmental and policy change. Part 2 of the series is forthcoming. [Source: National Civic Review]
PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES:
It’s Time to Move it -- Blue Zones Makes Great Strides in Lives of Sioux City Kids, Adults
Since January 2013, Sioux City, Iowa has been one of 19 Blue Zone demonstration sites in Iowa, working to create multilevel changes for the health of all citizens. Blue Zone demonstration communities receive assistance in developing and implementing strategies for affecting social, environmental, and policy changes for improving community health. Blue Zones were created by author Dan Buettner who explored and described places around the world where people live long and healthy lives. The project is designed to engage people in healthier behaviors (physical activity and healthy eating) but also to encourage community service and foster new relationships between neighbors. Iowa began identifying Blue Zone demonstration sites in 2011 as part of Governor Terry Branstand’s “Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative”.
[Source: Sioux City Journal]
In Sprawling Texas, Walkability Gains a Toehold
Dallas has not traditionally been a pedestrian-friendly city, but in the past five years, subtle changes to the landscape and shifting demographics have pushed the city onto a new path. While there have been some pockets of mixed land-use and walkable areas of Texas for a while, an influx of young adults to the state between 2010-2013 helped to bring attention to the issue of walkability. In addition to a younger generation of residents supporting walkability, AARP Texas has been advocating on behalf of a growing number of older adults requesting better pedestrian safety and community planning that will allow for less suburban driving. Similar trends of shifting preferences for walkable neighborhoods have also been noted in Houston, suggesting that perhaps neighborhood planning will adjust to fulfill this unmet need in Texas in the coming years.
[Source: Ken 5 News, San Antonio]
St. Louis County Council Approves Complete Streets Policy
In January, cycling and advocates celebrated a small victory as the St. Louis City Council approved a bill to incorporate Complete Streets policy into road improvement plans, after two previous versions of the bill were rejected. The policy stipulates that access for bikers and pedestrians along roadways be "considered, not mandated" when drawing up road improvement plans, and that any such upgrade requires council approval before being implemented. While the language of the approved bill has been adjusted through series of versions, the policy still represents an important step towards increased safety for bikers and pedestrians in the city.
[Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
APRIL
ACSM’s 18th Annual Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition
April 1-4, 2014
Atlanta, GA
AAHPERD National Convention & Exposition
April 1-5, 2014
St. Louis, MO
Be Active: 5th International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health (ICPAPH)
April 8-11, 2014
Rio de Janerio, Brazil
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association 20th Annual Symposium
April 10-12, 2014
Atlanta, GA
Symposium on Therapeutic Recreation and Adapted Physical Activity
April 14-16, 2014
St. Charles, IL
35th Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
April 23-26, 2014
Philadelpia, PA
MAY
National Outdoor Recreation Conference
May 13-16, 2014
San Francisco, CA
2014 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
May 21-24, 2014
San Diego, CA
ACSM's 61th Annual Meeting and 5th World Congress on Exercise is Medicine
May 27-31, 2014
Orlando, FL
45th Annual Conference of the Environmental Research Design Association
May 28-31, 2014
New Orleans, LA
European Congress on Obesity
May 28-31, 2014
Sofia, Bulgaria
JUNE
49th Annual Canadian Transportation Research Forum Conference
June 1-4 2014
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
2014 Annual National Wellness Conference
June 23-26, 2014
Minneapolis, MN
USC PRC UPDATES:
Update on Sumter County on the Move!
The last wave of enrollees in the study to evaluate Sumter County on the Move!, the USC Prevention Research Center’s group-based walking intervention study, will complete their measurements over the next few months. The project is investigating whether strategies for mobilizing, supporting, and reinforcing existing social networks are effective for increasing physical activity levels among residents of Sumter County, SC. Although formal analyses are not complete, initial reports are that participants enjoy their group and are increasing their walking. In response to community member requests, program materials are now available for use by Sumter County residents, and USC PRC researchers are tracking utilization of these materials. For more information, visit: www.sumtercountymoves.org.
Update from the National Physical Activity Plan—Save the Date for the 2015 National Physical Activity Plan Congress
The National Physical Activity Plan Alliance is proud to announce the dates for the upcoming 2015 National Physical Activity Plan Congress. The Congress will celebrate five years of the Plan and invites members from all sectors to join! The Congress will include keynote speakers and plenary sessions with experts in the field, poster sessions highlighting initiatives related to the NPAP, and awards to Champions of the NPAP. More importantly, the meeting will focus on the future of the Plan. One of the primary objectives of the Congress is to facilitate discussion on the revision of the NPAP and allow individuals from all sectors influence the next edition of the NPAP.
Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.
Date: Monday, February 23 - Tuesday, February 24, 2015
More details will be posted on the National Physical Activity Plan website.
Update on QuitConnect: A National Smoker’s Registry for Proactive Re-Engagement
Drs. James Thrasher (Associate Professor Health Promotion Education and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health) and Scott Strayer (Professor, USC School of Medicine) have been moving forward with their CDC SIP funded project: “Design, implementation and evaluation of a national quitline registry to enhance smoking cessation in the United States”. The registry, “QuitConnect,” will provide smokers with access to a variety of cessation resources in one location. Participants will be given opportunities to engage in a variety of research studies to determine best practices for promoting smoking cessation. Currently, three stakeholder focus groups have been conducted and the results reported to the North American Quitline Consortium partner workgroup. Focus group participants discussed the feasibility of the registry, the benefits and barriers to implementation, and communication strategies. The research team is now developing the registry platform and recruiting quitline partners for the pilot study. In the pilot, quitline callers will be contacted via email or text with one of four randomized invite messages. The team will then examine which message/ delivery combinations are most effective in recruiting participants to the QuitConnect registry.
Updates from the South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SC-CPCRN)
The South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SC-CPCRN) team uses evidence-based and community-engaged approaches for the dissemination and implementation of cancer prevention and control messages, programs, and interventions. Recent publications include a joint cross-network, cross-site (CPCRN-Healthy Aging Research Network) manuscript published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and a Federally Qualified Health Center-based farmers’ market article identifying social networks that was published in the American Journal of Community Psychology.
Alia, K.A., Freedman, D.A., Brandt, H.M. & Browne, T. (2013, Dec 19 Epub). Identifying Emergent Social Networks at a Federally Qualified Health Center-Based Farmers' Market. American Journal of Community Psychology.
Writer: Danielle Schoffman
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This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U48-DP-001936 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.
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