Screening for Park Access during a Primary Care Social Determinants Screen

Nooshin Razani, Dayna Long, Danielle Hessler, George W. Rutherford and Laura M. Gottlieb
Additional contact information
Nooshin Razani: UCSF Center for Nature and Health, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, 5220 Claremont Ave, Oakland, CA 94608, USA
Dayna Long: Department of Pediatrics, University of California, 550 16th Street, Box 0110, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Danielle Hessler: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, 550 16th Street, Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
George W. Rutherford: Department of Pediatrics, University of California, 550 16th Street, Box 0110, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Laura M. Gottlieb: UCSF Center for Health and Community, 3333 California St., Suite 465, Campus Box 0844, San Francisco, CA 94143-0844, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-9

Abstract: While there is evidence that access to nature and parks benefits pediatric health, it is unclear how low-income families living in an urban center acknowledge or prioritize access to parks. Methods: We conducted a study about access to parks by pediatric patients in a health system serving low-income families. Adult caregivers of pediatric patients completed a survey to identify and prioritize unmet social and economic needs, including access to parks. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to explore associations between lack of access to parks and sociodemographic variables. We also explored the extent to which access to parks competed with other needs. Results: The survey was completed by 890 caregivers; 151 (17%) identified “access to green spaces/parks/playgrounds” as an unmet need, compared to 397 (45%) who endorsed “running out of food before you had money or food stamps to buy more”. Being at or below the poverty line doubled the odds (Odds ratio 1.96, 95% CI 1.16–3.31) of lacking access to a park (reference group: above the poverty line), and lacking a high school degree nearly doubled the odds. Thirty-three of the 151 (22%) caregivers who identified access to parks as an unmet need prioritized it as one of three top unmet needs. Families who faced competing needs of housing, food, and employment insecurity were less likely to prioritize park access ( p < 0.001). Conclusion: Clinical interventions to increase park access would benefit from an understanding of the social and economic adversity faced by patients.

Keywords: pediatrics; social determinants of health; built environment; mental health; stress; park use; urban greenspace; urban nature; poverty; health inequity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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