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- Title
Healthy Parks Healthy People as an Upstream Stress Reduction Strategy.
- Authors
Aiko Yoshino; Wilson, Jackson; Velazquez, Edgar J.; Johnson, Eric; Márquez-Magañac, Leticia
- Abstract
One of the primary goals of the Healthy Parks Healthy People (HPHP) program, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, is to offer group-based physical activities in natural settings. These activities are for racially and ethnically diverse groups of individuals as an "upstream" strategy for improving health. This study investigated the health impact of selected two-hour HPHP Bay Area events that targeted low-income racial and ethnic minority groups using physiological and self-reported measures of stress and related variables. Study participants (N=52) in the selected HPHP Bay Area events donated saliva and filled out psychological measures of perceived stress (PSS-4; Cohen et al.) and mood state (I-PANAS-SF; Thompson, 2007) at the beginning and the end of a two-hour guided walk in green spaces. Moreover, a measure of perceived restoration (SRRS; Han, 2007) was completed at the end of the walk. Study participants wore a physical activity self-monitoring device (Garmin Vivofit 2) to capture their step count and heart rate during the event. Stress, both measured by the analysis of salivary cortisol and self-reported perceived stress, significantly decreased over the course of the event (p<.05) and there was a significant increase in positive mood (p<.05). The monitoring device also indicated that individuals were engaged in moderate levels of physical activity during the guided walks (x _ =8,990 steps, HR 95 bpm). The results encourage further development of nature-based health interventions to mitigate stress. Such interventions may be especially appropriate for low-income, urban, racial and ethnic minority groups that likely experience increased levels of stress due to social inequities and poor living conditions.
- Subjects
PARKS; PUBLIC health; RACIAL minorities; MINORITIES; PSYCHOLOGICAL stress
- Publication
Recreation, Parks & Tourism in Public Health, 2018, Vol 2, p35
- ISSN
2474-1825
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2979/rptph.2.1.03