Perception And Use Of Public Exercise Stations In Regional Parks

Write a market research on Perception and Use of Public Exercise Stations in Regional Parks within Western Australia Local Councils

Perception and Use of Public Exercise Stations in Regional Parks within Western Australia Local Councils

Participation in physical activity provides the health benefits to both physical as well as mental health and help in reducing the risk of several chronic diseases (Bauman, 2004) (Warburton, Nicol, & Bredin, 2006) (Kohl, 2001). Studies suggest that the behavior of physical activity can be both enabled as well as being limited by the built environment. Urban parks provide support to physical activity by means of their accessibility, provisions for the facilitation of active pursuits, capacity for providing opportunities for a large number of users along with their semi-permanent nature. The aim of this proposal is to discover the perception as well as the attitude of the older people towards the exercise stations in parks along with their needs in order to provide an insight that will contribute to the plans as well as designs of the parks in future so as to bring about improvement in the physical activity that is park-based for older people. Thus, this proposal is an attempt to highlight the perception as well as the use of public exercise stations in the regional parks within the local councils of Western Australia. (Introduction is 187 words)

Importance of Parks

Parks are an essential resource of the community which assists the people in the improvement of their health (Bedimo-Rung, Mowen, & Cohen, 2005). They provide a place that is safe and where people can take a walk, socialize with their friends or play different team sports. The studies that have been conducted recently show a growth in the number of people who take part in outdoor recreation (Cordell, Berz, & G.T., 2008). An increase in the public exercise stations in the park is supposed to be a strategy that impacts the perception as well as the attitude of the people towards the park in a positive way and also influences the behavior change with respect to the physical activity. 

Even though the field of studies on parks and public health has a long history assessment of the people's perception as well as attitude towards the usage of public exercise stations in parks is a topic that needs more information along with further research. The suggestion that function of parks as a treatment of insufficient activity of the people is comparatively new. However, studies have recognized several benefits of parks for well being as well as health (Bedimo-Rung, Mowen, & Cohen, 2005) (Hoehner, Brennan Ramirez, & Elliott, 2005). Studies have also examined the way the use of parks was related to meet the recommendations on public health for activities of moderate intensity that was undertaken five times in a week and time spent on each activity was 30 minutes or activity of vigorous intensity undertaken 3 times in a week which involved 20 minutes for each activity (Hoehner, Brennan Ramirez, & Elliott, 2005). On the other hand, people using the park for 10 days in a month had 3.4 times more probability of meeting the recommendations on public health in comparison to non-park users (Pate, 1995). As parks are venues of physical activity that are accessible, finding out how people perceive the public exercise stations is significant and can be considered as attitude towards the health promotion approaches. The science that associates the settings in a park with physical activity is in its nascent stage and it is still not clear what conditions and characteristics of the park will help in drawing more people for promoting physical activity of the people.

In response to the aging population worldwide (United Nations, 2009) (World urbanization prospects, 2005), several efforts have been put in for the improvement in the life as well as the life quality of older adults (World Health Organization, 2007) (Chodzko-Zajko WJ.; Proctor, D.N.; Fiatarone; Singh, M.A.; Minson, C.T.; Nigg, C,R.; Salem, G.J.; Skinner, J.S., 2009) like 'active aging' which has been promoted by the World Health Organisation with the purpose of increasing senior citizens' physical activities (World Health Organization, 2002). Several types of research have indicated that participating in physical activity regularly contributes positively as well as preventively for the maintenance of health in the older people. However, the number of people who participate in such activities is low (Mou, 2012) (Grant, Jones, McLean, & O'Neill, 2007). Environmental designs as well as policies are very effective in comparison to programs with respect to sustainability and also reaching the people in order to impact the level of physical activity of the public. Thus, improvement in the environment encourages people to participate in the activities of physical nature (Marcus & Forsyth, 1999). As the parks are located generally in the neighborhoods, they may either be free of cost or have low costs for the visitors. They are easily accessible and recognizing the significance of parks has as a place for physical activities has grown among the people who are interested in pay attention to their health (Payne, Orsega-Smith, Roy, & Godbey, 2005) (Mowen, Kaczynski, & Cohen, 2008).