Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36526541›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of preventive medicine2023

Playground Design and Physical Activity.

Deborah A Cohen, Meghan R Talarowski, Bing Han, Stephanie L Williamson, Emily C Galfond, Deborah R Young, Sarah Eng, Thomas L McKenzie

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of preventive medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Socioeconomic inequalities in exposure to neighbourhood environments for physical activity: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Playground Location and Patterns of Use.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2023
    Article
  3. Playground Design: Contribution to Duration of Stay and Implications for Physical Activity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Deborah A CohenFrom Southern California Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente, Pasadena, California. Electronic address: deborah.a.cohen@kp.org.
Meghan R TalarowskiStudio Ludo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Bing HanFrom Southern California Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente, Pasadena, California.
Stephanie L WilliamsonResearch Programming Group, Information Services, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California.
Emily C GalfondStudio Ludo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Deborah R YoungFrom Southern California Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente, Pasadena, California.
Sarah EngFrom Southern California Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente, Pasadena, California.
Thomas L McKenzieand the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, San Diego, California.
Kaiser Permanente · USRAND Corporation · USSan Diego State University · US

Funding

Do Innovative Playgrounds Mitigate Health DisparitiesR01HL145145 · NHLBI · RAND CORPORATION · PI COHEN, DEBORAH A · 2019 to 2021
$2.1M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL145145
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis study compares traditional post-and-platform playgrounds with innovatively designed playgrounds to assess the degree to which design influences use and physical activity. Innovative playgrounds are defined as having (1) a variety of surface types; (2) naturalized and planted areas designed for play; (3) open-ended structures that do not dictate play sequences; (4) loose, movable equipment; and (5) not comprised solely of traditional post-and-platform structures. This study also examines how neighborhood contextual factors contribute to playground use and physical activity.

methodsThe authors selected 30 traditional and 30 innovative playgrounds in 10 U.S. cities and used the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities to document the number and characteristics of users during 19 hourly observations over 1 week at each playground in the summer of 2021. Data were analyzed to identify the factors associated with the number of users and the amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity within each playground.

resultsInnovative playgrounds attracted 2.5 times more users and generated almost 3 times as much moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. After controlling for playground size, population density, neighborhood poverty, and destination location, innovative playgrounds still attracted 43% more visitors than traditional playgrounds. Whereas playgrounds in high-poverty neighborhoods saw less overall use, innovatively designed playgrounds mitigated the difference by 60% compared with traditional playgrounds.

conclusionsPlayground characteristics that attract more users and are associated with more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, such as design, size, and the number of unique features, should be integrated into future playground designs and renovations, with innovative designs prioritized for low-income neighborhoods.

Indexed as

ExercisePlay and PlaythingsCitiesHumansParks, RecreationalPoverty

Identifiers

PMID36526541
PMCPMC10264149
OpenAlexW4311507463

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.