321184
Community perspectives on using school campuses for health and wellness activities: Findings from the Shared Use Agreement Community Survey
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Ruth Bell, MS, HFS,
Cardiovascular and School Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
David Sloane, PhD,
Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Tahirah Farris, AICP,
Sol Price School of Public Policy-REACH Demonstration Project Evaluation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Many underserved neighborhoods do not have resources that promote health and well-being. Shared use agreements (SUA) between schools and community based organizations offer a unique opportunity for access to community clinics, green space, recreational facilities and cooking classes. Funded by the CDC, Community Health Councils in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the University of Southern California conducted the SUA survey to document community members’ perspectives regarding gaps and opportunities. The survey targeted adults over 18 who live within the half-mile radius of local schools using a combination of convenience sampling strategies in both English and Spanish. Over 10 weeks, 890 surveys were collected - 60% of the sample was female, with 35% African-American, 58.5% Latino/Hispanic and 41% reported they primarily speak Spanish at home. The sample was evenly split across age categories and 48% reported having a child in local schools. The majority (88%) believe schools should be open for wellness activities. Although most people felt safe on school campuses, about a third of respondents (35%) reported they never attend school-related events. 78.5% of respondents reported having a park within walking distance from their home; however 41% felt the park was unsafe. Some local high schools have existing wellness centers but respondents with children in schools were more likely to use existing centers compared to those without (p=.000). These findings suggest community support for new or expanded wellness activities at local schools and will be used to inform shared use policies.
Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Learning Objectives:
Describe community perspectives about health and wellness on school campuses.
Discuss community driven assessment processes
Explain the ways in which community-driven findings were used for developing appropriate local resources
Keyword(s): Community-Based Partnership & Collaboration, Wellness
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Over the last 10 years, I have lead several community-based participatory assessment efforts focused on health disparities and health equity. My interests and focus has been primarily on engaging vulnerable communities in research related/evaluation processes and methods. I have co-authored a few peer-reviewed manuscripts.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
