PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTH PARTNERSHIPS AMONG PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA Candice M. Bruton, MA Myron F. Floyd, PhD Jason N. Bocarro, PhD Karla H. Henderson, PhD Jonathan Casper, PhD Michael Kanters, PhD Department of Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Management NC State University 2010 Leisure Research Symposium Minneapolis, Minnesota October 29, 2010

 < 50% of Americans met the guideline of 30 minutes of daily moderate intensity physical activity  Multi-sectoral partnerships: a key strategy in promoting physical activity  Public park and recreation agencies and health partnership participation Background

Why Partnerships?  Ability to achieve common goals. (Andereck, 1997)  Response to rising service demands and reduced or flat budgets ( Mowen et al., 2009).  Multi-sectoral health partnerships address a multifaceted problem.  National study of P & R health partnership practices (Mowen et al., 2009).

Purpose  To examine the relationship between organizational and personal factors and health partnership participation among NC public park and recreation departments.

Methods  N =216 NC governmental units.  On-line survey: May  Chi-square analyses employed. Primary Outcome Measure:  Formal partnership participation: YES or NO Definition: a group that shares resources and that can act as a formal agent.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES LEVELS & CLASSIFICATIONS High, Medium, Low Male, Female High, Medium, Low High, Low Yes, No Organizational Factors Operating Budget Capital Budget Population Size Staff Size Director Characteristics Gender Years of Experience Years Current Position CPRP Status Targeted Populations Effort Boys & Girls Teen Boys & Teen Girls Adults & Youth with Disabilities Older Adults Families People with Chronic Health Conditions Low Income Individuals Minority Groups A great deal of effort, Some Effort, and Very Little to No Effort

CharacteristicsMinimumMaximumMean Standard Deviation Operating Budget $23,894 $12,342,165$785,020$1,640,240 Capital Budget$600$10,320,253$1,028,4272,074,502 Number of Full Time Employees Size of Population Served941768,57448,032101,214 NC Park and Recreation Departments: Organizational Capacity Characteristics

Results Respondent CharacteristicsFPercent (%) Gender Male % Female4232.1% Years of Experience (M=20.14) % % % Years in Current Position (M=8.01) % % CPRP Status Yes3627.1% No9772.9% Recreational Resource Services, 2007

Partnership Participation among NC Park and Recreation Departments (2007) Percent

Partnership Agency/VariableX2X2 pCramer’s V County Health Departments Operating Budget Size of Population Served Community Organizations CPRP Status Obese Teen Boys Minorities Schools Number of Staff Obese Teen Boys Obese Teen Girls Associations between Partnership Participation and Department Characteristics

Discussion  Least frequent partners were churches and YMCAs.  Departments with larger budgets and populations partner more (Mowen et al., 2009).  Targeted population groups appear unrelated to partnerships.  Gender and tenure were not related to partnership participation; CPRP status was related.

Limitations 1.Findings were limited to North Carolina (2007). 2.Secondary data were used. 3.Limited measurement of partnership characteristics – e.g., Informal partnerships Frequency of contact Nature of “resource sharing”

Conclusions  Levels of partnership participation are encouraging but untapped opportunities exist.  Future research needs: What trends are occurring? Do partnerships lead to improved health or QOL? How do informal partnerships differ? What benefits and challenges exist in multi-sectoral partnership work? What is the nature of social networking structures?

Thank you! Candice Bruton, Doctoral Student Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Management North Carolina State University This research project was conducted by the Investigating Places for Active Recreation in Communities (IPARC) Initiative at North Carolina State University. It was funded in part by the North Carolina Forestry Foundation, Inc.