R01HL151429

Neighborhood Park Youth Sports Program Fee Waiver and Intensive Family Outreach to Promote Physical Activity in Low-Income Children Ages 6-12 Years

Neighborhood parks hold great potential as attractive and accessible settings to promote and enhance physical activity (PA) among racially/ethnically diverse low-income youth. However, little park-based intervention research has been conducted to explore how this potential might be realized. No previous park-level intervention has experimentally evaluated youth sports program fee waivers or intensive park outreach strategies to increase child enrollment and participation in park-based youth sports programs.

The proposed research combines these promising intervention strategies into a single intervention and uses a gold-standard randomized controlled study design. It focuses on a low-income, racially/ethnically diverse sample at highest risk for developmental declines in physical activity. The proposed study evaluates the effects of a park-level intervention to increase moderate/vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and decrease sedentary time among low-income racially/ethnically diverse children ages 6-12 years.

Neighborhood parks (N=24) will be randomized for a 2-year period to one of two experimental conditions: 1) intensive outreach and youth sports program fee waiver; or 2) comparison condition: current outreach and youth sports program fee structure. The intervention outreach and fee waiver components are expected to support parents to enroll their child in park-based youth sports programs by decreasing social/cultural and economic barriers to child enrollment and participation.

The evaluation cohort will consist of 432 children ages 6-12 years who reside in one of the 24 park neighborhoods randomized to the experimental conditions. Measurements from individual children will be collected at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months.

Specific aims of this research are:

Specific Aim 1: To evaluate the effects of a park-level intervention on changes in child MVPA over 6, 12, and 24 months.

Specific Aim 2: To evaluate the effects of a park-level intervention on changes in child sedentary behavior over 6, 12, and 24 months.

Exploratory Aim 3: To evaluate the effects of a park-level intervention on changes in parent light activity and sedentary behavior over 6, 12, and 24 months.

Hypothesis 1: Children who live in a neighborhood where the park is randomized to intensive park outreach and fee waiver will have larger increases in MVPA and decreases in sedentary behavior at 6, 12, and 24 months relative to children who live in a comparison neighborhood.

Hypothesis 2: Parents of children who live in a neighborhood where the park is randomized to intensive park outreach and fee waiver will have larger increases in light PA and decreases in sedentary behavior at 6, 12, and 24 months relative to parents of children who live in a comparison neighborhood.

Impact: The proposed research will provide evidence about the effectiveness of a park-based intervention that includes intensive park outreach and youth sports program fee waivers on changes in child physical activity in low-income, diverse urban communities. It will provide critical information needed to support policies and programs that reduce disparities in physical activity among high-risk youth.

Regents Of The University Of Minnesota

TO FOSTER HEART AND VASCULAR RESEARCH IN THE BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, CLINICAL AND POPULATION SCIENCES, AND TO FOSTER TRAINING TO BUILD TALENTED YOUNG INVESTIGATORS IN THESE AREAS, FUNDED THROUGH COMPETITIVE RESEARCH TRAINING GRANTS. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, USE SMALL BUSINESS TO MEET FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS, FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE-SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH COOPERATIVE R&D BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESSES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL R&D.

93.837 - Cardiovascular Diseases Research

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) [HHS - NIH]

Minneapolis, Minnesota 554541087 United States

Single Zip Code

Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required) (PA-20-183)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 383% from $771,533 to $3,730,288.