Prescribing Physical Activity in Parks to Improve Health and Wellbeing: Protocol of the Park Prescription Randomized Controlled Trial

Falk Müller-Riemenschneider, Nick Petrunoff, Angelia Sia, Anbumalar Ramiah, Alwyn Ng, Jane Han, Michael Wong, Tai Bee Choo and Léonie Uijtdewilligen
Additional contact information
Falk Müller-Riemenschneider: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, Singapore 117549, Singapore
Nick Petrunoff: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, Singapore 117549, Singapore
Angelia Sia: Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, National Parks Board Singapore, 1E Cluny Rd., Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore 259569, Singapore
Anbumalar Ramiah: Health for Life Centre, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Alexandra Health Pte Ltd. 90 Yishun Central, Singapore 768828, Singapore
Alwyn Ng: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, Singapore 117549, Singapore
Jane Han: Health for Life Centre, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Alexandra Health Pte Ltd. 90 Yishun Central, Singapore 768828, Singapore
Michael Wong: Health for Life Centre, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Alexandra Health Pte Ltd. 90 Yishun Central, Singapore 768828, Singapore
Tai Bee Choo: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, Singapore 117549, Singapore
Léonie Uijtdewilligen: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Block MD1, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, Singapore 117549, Singapore

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: Previous studies in primary care settings showed that brief advice prescribing physical activity for inactive patients could be an effective way to promote physical activity. Park prescription interventions confer health benefits associated with exposure to nature and increased physical activity by recommending park use specifically to increase physical activity in parks. The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of a park prescription intervention for increasing time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) assessed by accelerometry. Middle-aged Singaporeans who were insufficiently active and who met health screening criteria were recruited via existing community health screening programs and allocated to one of two groups. Intervention participants received a prescription of physical activity in parks, an information pack, access to a weekly group exercise program in parks and telephone counselling ( n = 80). Control participants received physical activity materials ( n = 80). The primary outcome (mean difference between both groups in time spent in MVPA minutes per week measured by accelerometer) will be assessed at six months. Secondary outcomes include self-reported health behaviors, self-reported mental wellbeing and objectively-measured physical health. This is the first randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of a park prescription intervention for increasing health-enhancing MVPA.

Keywords: middle-aged; park; urban green space; physical activity; randomized controlled trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1154/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1154/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:6:p:1154-:d:150224

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().