Improving access to public physical activity events for disadvantaged communities in Australia

Janette L Smith; Lindsey J Reece; Catriona L Rose; Katherine B Owen

doi:10.1186/s12889-022-13981-5

Improving access to public physical activity events for disadvantaged communities in Australia

BMC Public Health. 2022 Aug 13;22(1):1542. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13981-5.

Authors

Janette L Smith^{1

2}, Lindsey J Reece¹, Catriona L Rose¹, Katherine B Owen³

Affiliations

¹ Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Level 6, Charles Perkins Centre, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
² NSW Biostatistics Training Program, NSW Ministry of Health, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia.
³ Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Level 6, Charles Perkins Centre, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia. katherine.owen@sydney.edu.au.

Abstract

Background: Physical activity has numerous health benefits, but participation is lower in disadvantaged communities. 'parkrun' overcomes one of the main barriers for disadvantaged communities, the cost of activities, by providing a free, regular community-based physical activity event for walkers, runners and volunteers. This study assesses equity of access (in terms of distance to the nearest parkrun) stratified by socioeconomic deprivation, and identifies the optimal location for 100 new events to increase equity of access.

Methods: We combined information about population location and socioeconomic deprivation, with information about the location of 403 existing parkrun events, to assess the current level of access by deprivation quintile. We then used a two-step location-allocation analysis (minimising the sum of deprivation-weighted distances) to identify optimal regions, then optimal towns within those regions, as the ideal locations for 100 new parkrun events.

Results: Currently, 63.1% of the Australian population lives within 5 km of an event, and the average distance to an event is 14.5 km. A socioeconomic gradient exists, with the most deprived communities having the largest average distance to an event (27.0 km), and the least deprived communities having the best access (living an average 6.6 km from an event). Access improves considerably after the introduction of new event locations with around 68% of the population residing within 5 km of an event, and the average distance to the nearest event approximately 8 km. Most importantly, the improvement in access will be greatest for the most deprived communities (now an average 11 km from an event).

Conclusions: There is a socioeconomic gradient in access to parkrun events. Strategic selection of new parkrun locations will improve equity of access to community physical activity events, and could contribute to enabling greater participation in physical activity by disadvantaged communities.

Keywords: Geospatial analysis; Health inequalities; Health promotion; Parkrun; Physical activity; Socioeconomic disparities.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia
Exercise*
Humans
Vulnerable Populations*