ArticleBMC public health2019
Use of SOPARC to assess physical activity in parks: do race/ethnicity, contextual conditions, and settings of the target area, affect reliability?
Article in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patterns and associations of summer thermal comfort and students' physical activity in campus green spaces.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Assessing the Impact of Sharrows on Bicyclist Behavior: A three-year natural experiment in Santa Ana, California.Journal of healthy eating and active living · 2026Article
- Using Video Cameras to Assess Physical Activity and Other Well-Being Behaviors in Urban Environments: Feasibility, Reliability, and Participant Reactivity Studies.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- The Effects of Winter Parks in Cold Regions on Cognition Recovery and Emotion Improvement of Older Adults: An Empirical Study of Changchun Parks.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Pedestrian street behavior mapping using unmanned aerial vehicles. A case study in Santiago de Chile.PloS one · 2023Article
- Use of the Superblock model for promoting physical activity in Barcelona: a one-year observational comparative study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2022Article
- A direct observation tool to measure interactions between shade, nature, and children's physical activity: SOPLAY-SN.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Article
- Assessing Park Quality with a Wearable Video Device and an Unmanned Aerial System.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- School Parks as a Community Health Resource: Use of Joint-Use Parks by Children before and during COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Placement of Outdoor Exercise Equipment and Physical Activity: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Two Parks in Southern California.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Differences in Child Physical Activity Levels at Rural Play Streets Due to Activity Type and Sex.Journal of healthy eating and active living · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSince its introduction in 2006, SOPARC (Systematic Observation of Play and Recreation in Communities) has become a fundamental tool to quantify park visitor behaviors and characteristics. We tested SOPARC reliability when assessing race/ethnicity, physical activity, contextual conditions at the time of observation, and settings of target areas to understand its utility when trying to account for individual characteristics of users.
methodsWe used 4725 SOPARC observations completed simultaneously by two independent observers to evaluate intraclass correlation and agreement rate between the two observers when trying to assess sex, age group, race/ethnicity, and level of physical activity of urban park users in different park settings. Observations were in 20 New York City parks during Spring and Summer 2017 within the PARC
resultsObservers counted 25,765 park users with high interobserver reliability (ICC = .94; %Agreement.75). Reliability scores were negatively affected by the population being observed, the intensity of physical activity, and the contextual conditions and settings of the target area at the time of observation. Specific challenges emerged when assessing the combination of physical activity and race/ethnicity.
conclusionsSOPARC training should aim to improve reliability when assessing concurrent measures such as physical activity, race/ethnicity, age, and sex. Similarly, observing crowded park areas with many active users areas may require more observation practice hours.
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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.