Observational studyPreventive medicine2020
Playground features and physical activity in U.S. neighborhood parks.
Observational study in Preventive medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Environmental Physical Activity Cues and Children's Active vs. Sedentary Recreation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Use behavior and spatial characteristics of National Fitness Routes in China: an in situ observational study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Observational
- Do Playgrounds Help Develop Children's Fundamental Movement Skills? Using Direct Video Observations to Investigate.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Factors associated with insufficient outdoor play and physical activity participation among Chinese children aged 6-10 years: evidence from a two-wave survey.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Use of Accelerometry and Global Positioning System (GPS) to Describe Children's Park-Based Physical Activity Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Youth.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Article
- Park proximity and all-day and time-specific physical activity and sedentary behaviour in older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- The Effects of the LiiNK Intervention on Physical Activity and Obesity Rates among Children.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Meteorological gaps in audits of pedestrian environments: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Association Between Park Use and Moderate-to-Vigorous Activity During COVID-19 Years among a Cohort of Low-Income Youth.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2024Article
- Unearthing Inequities in the Relationship between Multiple Sociodemographic Factors and Diverse Elements of Park Availability and Quality in a Major Southern Metropolitan Region.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Designing stepping-stones landscapes: a 2D perspective does not lead to more standardization than an in-situ perspective.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Park Area and Physical Activity Among Children and Adolescents: Findings From the Healthy Communities Study.Journal of physical activity & health · 2023Article
- Association of Playground "Playability" With Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure.Preventing chronic disease · 2023Article
- Playground Design and Physical Activity.American journal of preventive medicine · 2023Article
- Development and reliability testing of an audit toolbox for the assessment of the physical activity friendliness of urban and rural environments in Germany.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Motivating playgrounds: understanding how school playgrounds support autonomy, competence, and relatedness of tweens.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2022Article
- What do adults want in parks? A qualitative study using walk-along interviews.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Does play-based experience provide for inclusiveness? A case study of multi-dimensional indicators.Child indicators research · 2022Article
- Enabling Better Physical Activity and Screen Time Behaviours for Adolescents from Middle Eastern Backgrounds: Semi-Structured Interviews with Parents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Understanding children's preference for park features that encourage physical activity: an adaptive choice based conjoint analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
All people need to engage in routine physical activity and children require it daily. Playgrounds are settings designed for children to be physically active, yet there has been little research assessing which play elements and structures are associated with more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among both youth and adults. We conducted a national study of neighborhood parks with the goal of identifying factors that promote more MVPA. We selected a nationally representative sample of 162 parks between 3 and 22 acres in 25 U.S. cities with a population >100,000. We used direct observation to measure MVPA in 147 playgrounds during spring and summer of 2016, documented playground characteristics and assessed hours of use and MVPA by age group and gender. We analyzed data using descriptive statistics and generalized linear models. The most common play elements and structures were slides and ladders (92% of parks) and swings (81%); elements supporting balancing, crawling, spinning, sand and water play were in <30% of playgrounds. Each additional play element was associated with about 50% more users and 50% more MVPA. Spinning structures and splash pads were associated with more playground use and more MVPA. Playgrounds with signage advertising park programs and on-site restrooms had more person-hours of use, but only half the parks had restrooms and <30% had signage. To address insufficient physical activity, upgrades to playgrounds should include restrooms, structures that support a wide variety of movements, and elements that also encourage adults to be active.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.