ABSTRACT

This study seeks to examine the effect of the characteristics of park users, park characteristics, and the neighborhood environment on park visits and the resultant perceived health status of residents living in Alabama, US. One hundred and eighty-nine participants, representing residents from 49 counties in Alabama, were recruited via a random-digit dial method to complete a telephone survey related to park visits. Data collection spanned 11 months. Results from the path analysis indicated a few significant direct effects: park location and body mass index (BMI) were the only two factors significantly associated with park visits, with race being marginally significant; and work status was significantly associated with perceived health. Our findings suggest park proximity, and high BMI are related to park visits and work status is related to perceived health among Alabamians. It is recommended that more neighborhood parks are needed for promoting Alabamians to visit them more frequently.

摘要

本研究旨在检验公园使用者特征、公园特征和邻里环境对公园访问量的影响，以及由此产生的美国阿拉巴马州居民的健康状况感知。通过随机数字拨号法招募了代表阿拉巴马州 49 个县居民的 189 名参与者，以完成与公园参观有关的电话调查。数据收集历时 11 个月。路径分析的结果表明了一些显着的直接影响：公园位置和体重指数 (BMI) 是与公园访问量显着相关的仅有的两个因素，种族的影响很小；工作状态与感知健康显着相关。我们的研究结果表明公园靠近，和高 BMI 与公园参观有关，工作状况与阿拉巴马人的健康状况有关。建议需要更多的社区公园来促进阿拉巴马人更频繁地访问他们。