QUARTER 3: July - September 2014 | USC-PRC Notes
"Promoting Health through Physical Activity"
Message from the USC PRC Director
This Newsletter represents the last in our current funding cycle. Our Newsletters will continue for our next five-year cycle. We would like to take this opportunity to get input from YOU – our readers! Later in the newsletter you will see a link to a brief survey (really brief, I promise!). I hope you will take a few minutes to complete the survey and give us feedback. We will use your feedback to help plan for our next funding cycle.
Thank you,
Sara Wilcox, PhD
USC PRC Director
Topics in this issue
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
To Make Children Healthier, a Doctor Prescribes a Trip to The Park
How Low-Income Commuters View Cycling
Exercise and Fitness Are a Matter of Patriotic Duty. Ask the U.S. Surgeon General
Upcoming Events And Observances: October, November, December
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON:
Innovation in Surface Transportation Act
USDOT Announces New Initiative to Improve Safety For People Bicycling and Walking
RESEARCH NOTES:
Designing Active Communities: A Coordinated Action Framework for Planners and Public Health Professionals
Assessing Environmental Support for Better Health: Active Living Opportunity Audits in Rural Communities in the Southern United States
How Community Environment Shapes Physical Activity: Perceptions Revealed Through the PhotoVoice Method
How Might We Increase Physical Activity Through Dog Walking?: A Comprehensive Review of Dog Walking Correlates
REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES:
Modes Less Traveled—Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008–2012
Retreat is Not an Option
PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES:
Baltimore Students Can Now Follow Neon Footprints
Through 'Lost Lots,' an Effort to Make L.A. More of a Park Place
Raised Bike Lanes: Coming to a City Near You
Spartanburg County, City Commit $1.75 Million to Trails System
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
October, November, December
USC PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER UPDATE:
Feedback on USC PRC Newsletter Requested
Update from Sumter County on the Move!
USC PRC Researchers Receive $2.9 Million Grant For a Study of Overweight and Obese Pregnant Women
USC PRC Researchers Funded for 2 CDC SIP Projects
Update from the National Physical Activity Plan
Update from QuitConnect
Updates from the South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SC-CPCRN)
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
To Make Children Healthier, a Doctor Prescribes a Trip to the Park
Dr. Robert Zarr, is on a mission to promote physical activity in his overweight and obese pediatric patients, using specific instructions for how they can increase their physical activity in their neighborhoods. Dr. Zarr is a pediatrician at Unity Health Care, a clinic that serves low-income and uninsured families in Washington, D.C, and he has adapted a creative approach to prescribing low- to no-cost physical activity plans to his patients. One of these approaches includes an extensive mapping project that he undertook with the help of the National Park Service and volunteers from George Washington University's School of Public Health, park rangers and other doctors. The project mapped all parks in the area, rated them based on facilities, and stored them all in a searchable database by zip code that can be linked to patients' electronic medical records. Dr. Zarr works with his patients to understand their current schedules, activity patterns, and preferences, then writes them a “park prescription” to get them started on a physical activity plan in their local parks.
[Source: NPR]
How Low-Income Commuters View Cycling
While data from the U.S. Census suggests that active commuting by bicycle is increasing in some areas of the country, the data also suggest that bicycle commuting is far less common in lower income neighborhoods. With these data in mind, a team of researchers and students from American University in Washington, D.C. surveyed more than 260 commuters in 2012 and 2013 to collect information about their commuting practices and their attitudes towards bicycle commuting. The three main findings of the surveys were: “1) Poor respondents spend more time commuting; 2) Most people, poor and non-poor alike, still want cars; 3) Cycling just isn't popular among the urban poor (yet).” For more details on the findings of the surveys and the authors’ recommendations for future policy and advocacy actions, see the full article here.
[Source: City Lab]
Exercise and Fitness Are a Matter of Patriotic Duty. Ask the U.S. Surgeon General
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, the U.S. Acting Surgeon General Rear Adm. Boris Lushniak explained that he thinks that physical inactivity is the major public health issue of the country, and requires more attention. Lushniak stated the importance of physical activity in terms of other national issues, stating that “We have to treat health as a natural resource. We have to put it up on the same level as the economy.” Lushniak also suggested that it is crucial to promote low- and no-cost opportunities for physical activity, such as daily walking. The interview was part a Washington Post series, Health Beyond Health Care, which can been seen here.
[Source: PHIT America]
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OBSERVANCES:
OCTOBER
Healthy Lung Month
October 1-31, 2014
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October 1-31, 2014
National Physical Therapy Month
October 1-31, 2014
International Walk to School Month
October 1-31, 2014
International Day of the Older Persons
October 1, 2014
National Child Health Day
October 1, 2014
International Walk to School in the USA Day
October 8, 2014
World Food Day
October 16, 2014
World Osteoporosis Day
October 20, 2014
NOVEMBER
American Diabetes Month
November 1-30, 2014
Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month
November 1-30, 2014
Walk to Work Day [Australia]
November 7, 2014
World Diabetes Day
November 14, 2014
National Family Health History Day
November 27, 2014
DECEMBER
NONE
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON:
Innovation in Surface Transportation Act
On September 18, a bipartisan group of five senators came together to introduce a transportation bill that would give local communities more access to and control over a share of the federal transportation dollars that flow to their states. The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act would create a program to award merit-based grants to local communities to complete projects addressing the needs seen to be most pressing by grass-roots teams. The program would be run jointly by state DOTs and local jurisdictions, allowing them to compete for a small portion of a state’s federal transportation formula funds. For the full bill, see here.
[Source: U.S. Congress, Transportation for America]
USDOT Announces New Initiative to Improve Safety For People Bicycling and Walking
At the Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place conference in September, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) officials announced a pledge to help improve safety for people bicycling and walking. USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a new federal initiative to make roads safer for people bicycling and walking. According to a USDOT release, the 18-month campaign will begin with road safety assessments conducted by USDOT field offices in every state, and will produce multiple resources to help communities build streets that are safer for people walking, bicycling, and taking public transportation. The campaign will focus on changes to policy and street design.
[Source: Smart Growth America]
RESEARCH NOTES:
Designing Active Communities: A Coordinated Action Framework for Planners and Public Health Professionals
Community design elements can have health promoting or health inhibiting features, and a coordinated effort by community planners and public health experts is needed to ensure the implementation of optimally designed communities. To learn more about facilitating this collaborative effort, researchers recruited policy and public health experts to participate in a concept-mapping process. The participants generated a list of 72 actions that can be taken by planners and public health professionals as they engage in a collaborative design effort. Potential implications of the proposed Collaborative Action Framework include a more effective design process and increased physical activity in community members.
Bergeron K., Levesque L. 2014. Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
Assessing Environmental Support for Better Health: Active Living Opportunity Audits in Rural Communities in the Southern United States
Leisure-time physical activity tends to be low in the rural South of the U.S., and more information is needed on the built and policy environments of these areas. Researchers trained community members to use previously validated tools to assess eight rural communities in Alabama and Mississippi for aspects of their built environments including street segments, town-wide characteristics, and town programs and policies. The survey results showed that there were environmental barriers to physical activity in all of the communities, such as very limited access to sidewalks (only available in 10-40% of the segments assessed). The surveys also revealed that parks and playgrounds were the most widely available physical activity resource, and that there were few policies in place in either state to support physical activity outside of the school setting. The authors conclude that the surveys were successfully implemented by community workers, and that they revealed viable targets for future community interventions.
Robinson J.C. 2014. Preventive Medicine.
How Community Environment Shapes Physical Activity: Perceptions Revealed Through the PhotoVoice Method
While many aspects of the environment shape the physical activity of individuals, there is less known about the sociocultural, political, and economic influences than other aspects (such as the physical environment). To fill this gap in knowledge about influences on physical activity, researchers used the PhotoVoice method to collect information about how the experience and perception of an individual’s community impacts his/her ability to be physically active. The results showed that themes about the physical (56.6%) and sociocultural environments (31.4%) were raised much more often than political (6.1%) or economic (5.9%) themes. Participants also identified nuanced barriers to physical activity both through their quotes and their photographs. The combination of wide-spread and nuanced barriers to physical activity necessitate an ecological approach to physical activity promotion, including inter-sectoral policies and programs.
Belon A.P., et al. 2014. Social Science & Medicine.
How Might We Increase Physical Activity Through Dog Walking?: A Comprehensive Review of Dog Walking Correlates
A variety of evidence has shown that dog walking is associated with higher levels of physical activity in adults. This comprehensive review examined cross-sectional, observational trials and qualitative interviews to determine correlates of dog walking to inform future intervention development. The review demonstrated good evidence of the impact and strength of the dog-owner relationship, such that adults perceive support and motivation for walking from their obligation to their dog. However, more evidence is needed to better understand the individual owner and dog factors that influence intention to walk, as well as further investigation of the potential benefits of dog walking to the broader neighborhood (e.g., increased perceived neighborhood safety, increased social capital).
Westgarth C., Christley R.M., Christian H.E. 2014. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES:
Modes Less Traveled—Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008–2012
This report offers data on population-level trends in active commuting in the U.S, using data from the American Community Study. Among the results in the report is information about the trends for walking and biking rates in a variety of settings (e.g., cities and college campuses), between age groups (e.g., younger workers vs. older workers), and between genders (e.g., men and women). Of interest, the report found that the number of U.S. workers who traveled to work by bicycle increased from about 488,000 in 2000 to about 786,000 in 2008–2012, a larger percentage increase than that of any other commuting mode. For the full report, see here.
[Source: U.S. Census]
Retreat is Not an Option
Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan national security organization made up of over 450 retired admirals and generals, recently released a report on the alarmingly high number of young adults in the U.S. The report described previously unreleased state-by-state data from the U.S. Department of Defense, showing that more that 70 percent of 17-24 year olds are currently ineligible to serve in the military. Obesity is the leading medical disqualifier. Mission: Readiness is focusing their future efforts on the prevention of lifestyle factors that are leading to medical ineligibility, including work in schools to improve the food environment and to promote physical activity. For the full report, see here.
[Source: Mission:Readiness]
PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES:
Baltimore Students Can Now Follow Neon Footprints
City officials in Baltimore are taking new steps to promote their Safe Routes to School Program by painting neon footprints to guide children along the streets that they walk/bike to school on. The guiding footprints were implemented after meetings with parents and principals to determine the safest routes for children to travel. This year, Baltimore program will also feature a newly produced video that provides children with instructions on safely crossing streets.
[Source: WYPR]
Through 'Lost Lots,' an Effort to Make L.A. More of a Park Place
In an effort to provide more access to Los Angeles residents, the L.A. Neighborhood Land Trust is working to promote a growing idea of using abandoned lots, underused streets, and traffic medians as possible sites for new small parks. Currently, nearly half of the city’s 3.8 million residents do not live within a 10-minute walk of a park. In the past two years, the L.A. Recreation and Parks Department has acquired land for 24 “pocket parks” and 20 more are on the way, most of which are located in low income and densely populated neighborhoods. Officials and activists see the pocket park trend as a reflection of the growing movement to make L.A. a friendlier city for biking and walking.
[Source: LA Times]
Raised Bike Lanes: Coming to a City Near You
Raised bike lanes offer cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians extra safety protection and have long been used as a key component of bike infrastructure in European cities such as Copenhagen. However they have been much less utilized in the U.S. until recent years. In the past 5 years, raised bike lanes have been installed in cities such as Milwaukee, Chicago, and Brooklyn. The latest project is an installation in San Francisco, as part of the upcoming Mission & Valencia Green Gateway, a project that resulted from a partnership between San Francisco’s Public Utility Commission (SFPCU), Planning Department and the Department of Public Works. “This one-block bikeway heralds a completely new type of bicycle infrastructure to our city, one that will become more common in the next few years,” the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition says.
[Source: Urbanful]
Spartanburg County, City Commit $1.75 Million to Trails System
County and city officials in Spartanburg, South Carolina recently committed to make yearly contributions for the next 5 years to the development of a trails system in the area, totaling $1.75 million for the project. “If we want to increase ridership and encourage walking, we have to create trails and bicycle lanes that make people feel safe,” said Ned Barrett, trails coordinator at Partners for Active Living, a non-profit organization in Spartanburg that establishes places, programs, policies and partnerships that advance a nutritious and active lifestyle for Spartanburg County residents. The financial commitment from county and city officials comes as victory after many years of work to facilitate the collaboration, largely guided by leaders from Partners for Active Living.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
OCTOBER
88th Annual ASHA School Health Conference
October 9-11, 2014
Portland, OR
Gerontological Society of America 67th Annual Meeting
November 5-9, 2014
Washington, D.C.
142nd American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Exposition
November 15-19, 2014
New Orleans, LA
European Public Health Association (EUPHA) Annual Conference
November 19-22, 2014
Glasgow, Scotland
International Council on Active Aging Conference 2014
November 13–15, 2014
Orlando, FL
USC PRC UPDATES:
Feedback on USC PRC Newsletter Requested
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Update on Sumter County on the Move!
Follow-up data collection has been completed for the study to evaluate Sumter County on the Move!, the USC Prevention Research Center’s group-based walking intervention study. 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. Participants in the 59 walking groups were 296 individuals who lived or worked in Sumter County, SC, ranged from 18 to 86 years of age (mean age=49 years); 85% were female; 67% where Black or African American and 31% were White. Preliminary results suggest that participation in the program was associated with increases in goal-setting behaviors, increases in social support for exercise, and very small increases in physical activity at the 6-month follow-up. Further analyses are underway. Program materials are available at: www.sumtercountymoves.org.
USC PRC Researchers Receive $2.9 Million Grant For a Study of Overweight and Obese Pregnant Women
USC researchers, Dr. Sara Wilcox (PRC Director and Professor of Exercise Science) and Dr. Jihong Liu (PRC Faculty Affiliate and Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics), have been awarded a $2.9 million grant for a five-year study on the best methods to help overweight and obese women have a healthy weight during pregnancy and after the birth of their children. Nearly three-quarters of African American women and half of non-Hispanic white women of childbearing age living in the United States are overweight or obese and nearly half (46 percent) of pregnant U.S. women exceed the recommended range of weight gain, designated by the Institute of Medicine, during pregnancy. To date, few studies have been successful at helping obese and overweight women who are pregnant gain a healthy weight during pregnancy, and many of the previous interventions have also had little racial minority representation. The intervention being tested in the study will include white and African American women and will include a physical activity component, along with helping women develop healthy diet and nutrition choices, Wilcox said. See the full story here.
USC PRC Researchers Funded for 2 CDC SIP Projects
The USC PRC has been funded to participate as a collaborating center in two CDC-funded thematic networks. Dr. Daniela Friedman, a PRC Faculty Affiliate and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, is the Principal Investigator on both of these five-year projects. The Healthy Brain Initiative Network (HBIN, SIP 14‐002,) is a new CDC-funded network that will advance research in the areas of cognitive health and healthy aging and support student training opportunities. The refunding of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN, SIP 14-011) will allow the South Carolina team to continue to engage community partners and stakeholders in research, training, and technical assistance to increase the cancer prevention and control evidence base and translate multi-level, community-clinical interventions into practice.
Update from the National Physical Activity Plan
To mark the 5 year anniversary of the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP), the NPAP Alliance (the Alliance) is working to revise and update the Plan. During this process, the Alliance is requesting public comment on the NPAP. A broad array of professional groups and the general public are invited to participate in a brief survey regarding revisions/updates to the existing version of the Plan. Comments gathered from the public comment survey will be used during the revision/update process. Provide feedback and help ensure the continued growth and success of the NPAP! An additional opportunity to influence the next edition of the NPAP will be at the National Physical Activity Plan Congress, to be held in Washington D.C. on February 23-24, 2015. A key component of the Congress will be sector-based breakout sessions in which attendees will discuss revisions to the NPAP.
Update from QuitConnect
The CDC SIP funded project: “Design, implementation and evaluation of a national quitline registry to enhance smoking cessation in the United States” (PIs: Dr. James Thrasher, Associate Professor, Health Promotion Education and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health; and Dr. Scott Strayer, Professor, USC School of Medicine), is nearing completion. The registry website, called “QuitConnect”, has been developed and is live. The QuitConnect team partnered with Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York to send invitation messages to clients of the New York State Quitline. Quitline Clients received one of five randomly assigned invitation messages (including a control message; two economic incentives; a message linked to the national “Tips” campaign; and a message focusing on research participation) that were sent out via either email or text. The QuitConnect team will now determine which combination of message and delivery method was most successful and cost effective, and plan to have results in the next few weeks. The team has also developed a template for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that can be used to outline potential partnerships between QuitConnect and other state quitlines.
Updates from the South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SC-CPCRN)
New Publications by SC-CPCRN Authors:
1. Friedman, D.B., Brandt, H.M., Freedman, D.A., Arp Adams, S., Young, V.M., Ureda, J.R., McCracken, J.L., & Hebert, J.R. (2014). Innovative and community-driven communication practices of the South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network. Preventing Chronic Disease, 11 (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140151).
2. Jankowski, C.M., Ory, M.G., Friedman, D.B., Dwyer, A., Birken, S.A., & Risendal, B. (2014 Epub). Searching for maintenance in exercise interventions for cancer survivors. Journal of Cancer Survivorship: Research and Practice (DOI: 10.1007/s11764-014-0386-y).
Implications of SC-CPCRN Work:
An SC-CPCRN manuscript by Darcy Freedman et al. published in Preventive Medicine has been included as key evidence for implementing farmers’ markets in low income neighborhoods in the County Health Rankings system. Additional information can be found at: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/policies/farmers-marketsstands-low-income-neighborhoods.
Updates from the CDC Healthy Aging Research Network (HAN)
The CDC HAN was funded continuously from 2001-2014, and the USC PRC was an active member center over this 14-year period. In addition to expanding the evidence-base of aging and public health research, the CDC HAN also produced a wide range of tools and products that are particularly well-suited for aging services and public health providers. These tools and products are in the broad areas of environment and policy change, cognitive and mental health, and older adult health promotion and are available at: http://www.prc-han.org/.
Writer: Danielle Schoffman
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The USC Prevention Research Center is a member of the CDC Prevention Research Center's National Network, consisting of 33 Centers in the U.S. For more information about the PRC National Network, visit http://www.cdc.gov/prc.
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.
The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
