The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #56635

Alan David Penman, MD, MSc, MPH, Office of Epidemiology, Mississippi State Department of Health, 570 East Woodrow Wilson, Jackson, MS 39215, (601) 576-7842, apenman@msdh.state.ms.us

Rationale: Lack of availability of parks, walking trails, bike paths, and exercise/recreational facilities may be important barriers to cardiovascular health. An additional barrier may be the widespread availability of fast-food facilities, which offer inexpensive, high-fat food. Objectives: (1) To locate (using GPS*) and map (using GIS† software) all parks, walking trails, bike paths, exercise/recreational facilities, and fast-food facilities within the Jackson metropolitan area; (2) To compare and correlate the distribution of facilities with measures of the socioeconomic status (SES) of the resident population. [*GPS: Global Positioning System; †GIS: Geographic Information System] Methods: Restaurant listings were obtained from the Bureau of Environmental Health. For each facility, a physical address and GPS (latitude/longitude) reading were obtained. GIS software (ArcView 3.2, ESRI, Redlands, CA) was used to map the facilities. Sociodemographic and socioeconomic data were obtained from the Bureau of the Census. All data were analyzed at the block group level. Results: Facilities are not distributed evenly across the metropolitan area. There are more parks but fewer fitness centers in lower SES areas, with a direct relationship between SES and the concentration of fitness centers. There is an inverse relationship between SES and the concentration of parks when median household income is used as a measure of SES. Only 13 (32%) of the 41 parks surveyed had walking trails. Many parks were small, poorly maintained, and not suitable for jogging, running, or biking. The distribution of fast-food facilities did not show a consistent trend.

Learning Objectives:

• The learner will take into account the availability and accessibility of fitness/recreational facilities, parks, and walking trails in communities when developing health education and promotion policies and interventions to prevent CVD.

Keywords: Geographic Information Systems,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.